The young persons training programme : a qualitative study of the implementation of a transition education programme for young unemployed people in a New Zealand technical institute : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at Massey University

THE YOUNG PERSONS TRAINING PROGRAMME

A G.ualitai:ive Study of the Implementation of a Transition Education Programme for Young Unemployed People in a New Zealand

Technical Institute

A thesis pr·es.ented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at M assey University

Wanda Julie Korndorffer

1987

ABSTRACT

The social re lations of a capitalist mode of production e ngender contradictions that underpin the lived e>:pe rience of individuals' daily practice . This p ractice thus b e comes a site of stru g g le as agents confront structures within an arena of com mon sense� taken-for-granted assumptic•m;. about the nature of those social relations. In 1 98 2 t a participant observation study of one y ear's Young Persons Training Program me courses was carried out in one N e w Zealand technical

institut e . Participant observation, interviews and d ocumentary analy sis we re used , within a m ethod e mploying theoretical realism , to g ain access to the ideas, practice s and d iscourses that both contain, and are constructed in, a specific site of struggle: the production of training program mes for une mploy e d y o uth . This rese arch focused on t h e linKs b etwee n social relations , d iscourse and practicet and used the case study in a refle>:ive way as material illustrative of particular social relations.

iii

Dr Ray N ash , supervisor and frie nd , v1h ose tough acad e mic criticism never prevented h i m from providing support for this thesis and whose

unde rstand ing of the real world g ave him confidence in the results. Without this support and confidenc e , I would not have cDmpleted a. study that was, in 1982, d ifferent from Dthe r re search work in our department.

Profe ssor Ray Ada.m :., super·vi:.Dr and mentor·, for providing suppor·t and criticism at important points in the study . He taught m e , through arg u m e nt, to cr·itique my own work tc• the e>:tent that I would then have confidence in the results.

Dr Jo h n Codd for hi:. e ncourage ment and willing ne ss tD put aside his own work to talk about m ine . I particularly want to th ank him for critiquing this thesis in its final stage s .

Avi:. William:.on a n d Philippa Robinson, my very g ood friends, w h D allowed me t o change my own life through living theirs. T h e y have provided valuable

fe edback at var·iot.is stag e s in this :.tudy , h ave encouraged and supported m e , and have m a d e m e feel th at what I was doing was i mportant i n a m uch wid er sense than :.imply completing the thesis.

The t utors and students and other participants in this study who can never be thanke d properly . I can only h c•pe that my work, which ha.:. b e e n b uilt on their lives , can contribute to ch anging the conditions within wh ich they live and work.

The women who, fpr the past si>: year·s, have provided pr·actical and e rn c•tional support, in the form of m one y , child care , acade m ic criticism and love. I particular·ly wish to thank !{as Ir·win, M ary Na.:.h , Viv Porzsolt, Lora

M ount.joy , Sue M cCaule y , Sheryl Hoffma.n, Jan Gunn, Christine Lee and , as an h onorar·y woman, Richard M cl achlan.

This thesis is d e d icated to my d aughters, Lilith and Diana, wh ose lives are e x tensively (and perhaps unfairly) intertwined with the worK.

Chapte r One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

TABLE OF CONTE NTS

I ntroduction

The labour M arl\et and Transition E ducation

• Orthodm: e conomic theor·�t

• Critique of orthodo:< economic theory

• Transition ed ucation

The Young Persons Training Progra m m e

• Relate d Studies of the Young Persons Training Progra m me to December 1 9:::2

. Critical analy sis of the Young Persons Training Progr·a m m e as a site of struggle

M ethod as The ory

• The re sea.r·ch meth od

1

3

5

1 0

1 3

1 9

20

30

33

35

V

• Data collection pr·c•cedur·e :. ³⁹

. Analysis of d ata ⁴¹

Chapter- Five M ethod as Pr·actice ⁴⁷

. Observations ⁴⁷

. I nter-view: ^{. 49}

. Docu m ents ⁵⁴

. Additional d ata ⁵⁴

. The rese arch schedule ⁵⁵

. Pr·ese ntation of data. ⁵⁶

Chapter Six The Conte:d of the Study ⁵⁸

. The site ⁵⁸

. The participants: ⁶³

(i) tutors ⁶³

(ii} stud ents ⁶⁸

(iii) others ⁷⁵

. The courses ⁷⁵

Chap t e r Seven

Chaptel" !Ught

Chaptel" N ine

Official Discoul" se

• ConstPucting the subJ e ct: Policy

• R e clai ming real i t y : Practice

Tutors

. 'M aKing th e b e st of a bad Job '

• Discipline

• DisJunctive discourse

• Re sistance

Students

• Stude nt d iscour:.e and the idea of 'fair e :< ch ang e '

• Being on the dole

• The l abour market

• Sex d iffe rence

• Coming to terms with marginal ity

• Re sistance

• Concl usion

80 81

92

101

101

106

114

117

123

123

129

132

138

140

147

149

Chapter Ten

Chapter B: leven

Th e Young P er sons Training Progr a m m e s in Practice ^- WorK S Kills

• WorK Sf<ills as di scour:.e

. Tutor practice

• Stude nt practice

• Structure and agency

. Appendi>: to Chapter Ten

The Young P er sons Training Progr a m m e s in Practice ^- S ocial ar.d Life S Ki lls

. Social and life sKills as discour se

• Tutc•r practice

• Student practice

. Str-ucture and age ncy

Chapter Twelv e Conclusion

Appendi>: One BacK ground to the Young Per·sons Tr-aining Pr-ogr- a m me

Appendix Tw o Department of L abour H e ad Office Cir cular to Local Offices re the Young Persons Trai ning Progra m m e

vii

151

1 51

156

166

177

179

182

182

18 7

1 9 7

206

210

21 8

227

Appendix Thr e e A Wee K in the Life of YPTP ^-field notes 258

Appendix F our Selected I nterview s ²⁷⁶

. WorK sKills tutor ^{2 7 7}

• Social a n d life s�<ills tutor· ²⁹⁶

• Student 1 ^- M ar y t 19 322

• Studemt 2 ^- June , 1 6 ₃₃₈

• Student 3 ^- Jeff, 16 ₃₅₂

• Gr·oup interview - Re tailing SKills Course ₃₆₄

Appendix F ive Course Conten-ts and Course Re ports _{3 7 7}

. Recepi:ionist a n d Typing SKills ₃₇₇

. Foodh andling Skills (1 and 2) 3 7 9

• Wareh ousing Skills 383

• Retailing SKills ₃₈₅

. General Office Skills 390

Appendix Six Bre aKdown of Demographic Data o n Students by Cour se 394

• F oodh andling Skill:. ( 1 ) 395

• R e c e ptionist and Typing Skills ₃₉₆

Appendix Seven

App e nd ix E:ight

Appendix Nine

Appe ndix Ten

Bibliogr-aphy

• Wareh ousing Skill�.

• Retailing SKills

• General Office SKills

. Foodhandling Skills (2)

Course Advertisement- 1983

R ole Reversal Story

B:xtracts from Manpower Planning Report to Local City Council, D. F erre ti: i (ear ly 1983)

Work V isits

ix

3 9 7

3 9 8

3 9 9

400

401

403

4 0 5

4 1 0

4 1 1

[ J ( ... )

GLOSSARY

Author's intervention

Abr·idged

Pause