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Summary Youth studies an introduction
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Complete, clear summary of the book Youth Studies an introduction by Andy Furlong, chapter 1 to chapter 12.
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Youth Studies – Wild YearsChapter 1 – Youth and the life course
What is youth
Youth is a socially constructed intermediary phase that stands between childhood and adulthood, it cannot
be tied to specific age ranges nor can it be linked to specific activities. Youth is a broader concept than
adolescence, which relates to specific developmental phases (puberty to physiological and emotional
maturity). The brain’s frontal lobe cortex does not mature fully until young people are in their early or late
twenties. As a result, young people may exercise poor judgement and are prone to risky behaviour. The
sociological tradition in youth research has always place a strong emphasis on the way in which experiences
are central to definitions of youth as they link to patterns of dependence. Youth is essentially a period of
semi-dependence that falls between the full dependency of childhood and the independence of adulthood.
Youth is constructed differently across time and between societies. Heinz argues that youth is not self-
contained and is impossible to identify clearly. The identification of a clear youth stage has become
increasingly problematic because of changes in modern societies.
Why study youth
The traditional approach focusses on the relationship between education and work, and the ways in which
social inequalities are reproduced as part of the transition from youth to adulthood. The cultural perspective
focusses on lifestyles and youth subcultures, especially those that are highly visible and challenge the
cultural standpoints of older generations. Youth research is concerned with social justice, class/race, gender
and spatial divisions. It focusses on issues of power and privilege on the one hand, and deprivation and
exclusion on the other.
Youth and the life course
The idea of embedding the experiences of youth within the lifecycle is a positivistic approach in which the
individual’s journey through life is presented as normative and de-contextualized. Key sets of experiences
are closely linked to age-related stages in a developmental process. For Elder the key principles of life course
theory are historical time and place, the timing of lives, linked or interdependent lives and human agency in
constrained settings. The life course is age-graded through institutions and social structures and is
embedded in relationships that constrain and support behaviour. Bothe the individual life course and a
person’s developmental trajectory are interconnected with the lives and developments of others. Over the
years there have been changes in theories and different assumptions that different models rest on. The key
concerns, however, have changed very little.
The five principles of the life course theory according to Heinz
- Each life phase affects the entire life course (life-span development).
- Individuals actively construct their biography (human agency).
- The life course is embedded in historical events (time and place).
- Social circumstances and events influence transitions (timing of decisions).
- Social relationships and networks contribute to the shaping of biographies (linked lives).
Structure versus agency
One of the factors that has a strong bearing on young people’s experience relates to the nature of
opportunities that are available at a given point in time. Social policies and welfare regimes may constrain
opportunities, while the assumptions embedded in cultures can promote agency or reinforce barriers. The
idea of pathways highlights the importance of both structure and agency, while the idea of trajectory
suggests very limited scope for agency. With life presented as a project with uncertain outcomes, constantly
,being revised by individuals, a distinction is made between normal biography and the choice biographies.
The idea of choice biography does not necessarily involve free choice.
The idea of generation
The term generation is rarely used by youth researchers because the term is thought to lack both precision
and an adequate theoretical grounding. A generation can be defined as a society-wide peer group, born over
a period roughly the same length as the passage from youth to adulthood, who collectively possess a
common persona. Comte thought that conflict between generations ultimately led to social change as the
conservatism of the older generation was challenged by the younger cohort. He failed to develop these
ideas. Mannheim can be regarded as the firs social scientist to fully engage with the idea of generation.
Mannheim’s ideas have been developed by some writers in the Marxist tradition in ways that link directly to
social, economic and political change. Edmunds and Turner have developed a theory that rests heavily on
the idea that generations are shaped by their exposure to traumatic events that have a lasting effect on their
culture and consciousness. They make a distinction between active and passive generations, with the former
actively shaping its cultural milieu.
Summary of Mannheim’s generational theory according to Dunham
- Intergenerational continuity results from socialization into societal values by one’s parents.
- When fresh contact occurs, those values are challenged by generational experiences.
- The development of a generational consciousness results from this process.
- Generational units are formed which become a political force for social change.
The four characteristic types of generations according to Howe and Strauss
- Prophets are highly moralistic with strong core values that they vigorously defend (Boomers).
- Nomads are cynical and tough (generation X).
- Heroes are conformists and highly motivated (millennials).
- Artists are emotional and indecisive (silent generation).
Psychological perspectives
Social psychologists are interested in a broad range of experiences and are also likely to take account of the
objective constraints which shape subjective experiences.
Three stages in the psychological study of adolescence according to Lerner and Steinberg
- The first stage is characteristic of the period prior to the 1970s, tended to involve grand theory and
was marked by a concern to describe the processes which led to the transformation from dependent
to fully developed forms of consciousness.
- The second stage stretches from the 1970s to around 2000 and is characterized by mid-range theory
developed so as to account for person-environment relations within selected domains of
development. The focus is on an empirical understanding of adolescent psychological development
within their social and historical contexts.
- The third stage begins around 2000 and involves the emergence of a more practical and policy-
oriented psychology which aims to transfer knowledge in ways that advance civil society and
promote positive development among young people.
Policy perspectives
Youth policy tends to be fragmented and articulated within broad thematic areas and they tend to relate to
defined age groups, rather than by the types of transitional markers used by social scientists. The age ranges
vary according to government departments. They are higher in welfare-related areas where there is an
assumption that the young person is dependent on their parents, and lower in areas where the state wants
to be able to hold an individual accountable for their actions. The key message for policy that emerge from
, our knowledge of changes in the life course relate to protraction of transitions and the process of
individualization.
Chapter 2 – Divisions in youth
Conceptualizing divisions
The justification for the restrictions we place on youth can involve benevolence and regard for their security
and long-term well-being. The prevalent view is that young people are incapable of making crucial decisions
and need protecting from their tendency to act impulsively. Traditionally researchers have focused on
gender, social class and race or ethnicity that shape and differentiate young people’s experiences. Gender
differences are not just important because they affect people’s lives qualitatively, lend shape to day-to-day
experiences and impact on the assumptions of people with whom they fall into contact, they also lead to
crucial quantitative differences. Structured inequalities are built on the foundations of gender, even though
there is nothing in their biological essence that explains or justifies such divisions. Social class affects young
people’s core experiences even though they may not recognize the existence of such divisions or have ideas
about which class they belong to. Race or ethnicity can be a division that people recognize and identify with
more readily than class. Race is a socially constructed category and is often crosscut by other factors that are
associated with disadvantage. Apart from these three divisions, there are many other divisions that are often
overlooked.
Class, mobility and exclusion
Marx thought of classes as objective structures which impact on our experiences and life changes. According
to him there are two major classes, the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. With the relationships between
classes underpinned by exploitation, classes are in a state of constant conflict. Weber argued that key
resources included not just capital but ownership of skills and credentials. One’s position on the market has
a powerful impact on one’s life chances. Status and party are divisions that tend reflect economic position
but offer the potential for alternative lines of stratification. The socio-economic classifications used in the
official statistics of many countries are built on a Weberian tradition. Individuals are assigned to socio-
economic classes. When social class is used to explain inequalities among young people, the classifications
are based on the occupations held by the young persons’ parents. Researchers focus on class origins and
destinations. Young people’s family of origin remains a strong predictor of occupational destinations.
Absolute levels of social mobility have increased, while the relative changes of young people from a
particular social class accessing certain social positions may have remained static or even declined.
Researchers are interested in patterns of immobility. In this context, a distinction is sometimes made
between young people who are included and those who are excluded. Exclusion is often applied in the
context of employment. Those without jobs are regarded as at risk of exclusion, and measures must be
introduced to facilitate inclusion. The term deep exclusion is used to refer to those excluded in multiple
ways. Social exclusion of young people can be regarded as linked to the inadequate provision of resources by
the state. Yet social exclusion is often linked to class cultures. It is presented as a moral deficit issue, with the
excluded often represented as an underclass holding alternative, often criminal, value systems.
From class to capital
For some researchers, the key divisions among young people relates to the possession, or lack of, human,
social and cultural capital. These capitals can be seen as a class-based resource and as a dimension of the
process through which social divisions are reproduced. Human capital refers to things like knowledge and
skills. Social capital refers to the value of collective relations. Cultural capital refers to the ability to use status
and markers of distinction. Coleman argued that the relationship between social class and educational
attainment was mediated both by peer relations within schools and by the ways in which educational
establishments were integrated within the local communities.
Gender
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