Julia Coffey

Unpacking the black box: the problem of agency in the sociology of youth

Agency is a conceptual problem for youth studies. While the term is used in many analyses of young peoples lives, this paper argues that the nature and conceptual meaning of agency remain ambiguous: agency is a ‘black box’ which while fundamental to youth sociology remains unpacked. Ontological and epistemological confusion about the concept means that appeals to agency in contemporary youth sociology beg the very questions they claim to answer. Nevertheless, the concept has become central to the conceptual and political basis of youth research, coming to stand for practices that are ‘bounded’ by structures and resist existing states of affairs. This limits the explanatory power of theoretical frameworks in youth studies, and does not serve the ethical commitments of a politically engaged discipline. Identifying conceptual and normative problems raised by the way agency is deployed, this paper argues that a conceptually powerful and politically engaged youth sociology must move beyond the problem of agency as it stands, and incorporates theoretical perspectives on youth subjectivities and social action that indicate possibilities for how this might take place.

‘As long as I’m fit and a healthy weight, I don’t feel bad’: Exploring body work and health through the concept of ‘affect’

In diverse social contexts individuals are encouraged to ‘work on’ their bodies to improve their health and appearance. This article builds on recent sociological and feminist approaches which foreground the body and embodiment, combining a Deleuzian theorisation of bodies and the concept of affect to analyse qualitative interviews with young people about their body work practices. Empirical work which explicitly employs a Deleuzian theory of bodies in methodology and analysis is relatively new in sociological studies of the body. Drawing on young people’s narratives about their body practices, and their embodied everyday experiences of ‘health’, this article shows the value of a Deleuzian approach to rethinking bodies, arguing that the concept of affect helps to extend understandings of embodiment. Through interviews with young people about their bodies and body work practices, this article explicates how a Deleuzian approach to bodies can be practically extended in empirical analysis.

Influences on teachers' use of participatory learning strategies in health education classes

Objective: Participatory learning strategies are integral to the effectiveness of school-based health education programmes; however, use of such methods is not the norm in teaching. The omission of participatory learning strategies is a common form of programme breakdown leading to erosion of positive learning and behavioural outcomes. Based on a survey of 75 Australian high school health education teachers, the study’s objective is to examine teachers’ perspectives on the factors that influence their use of participatory learning strategies. Results: Whilst it is often presumed that training is the most significant factor, this study found that teachers identify understanding the educational rationale for the approach, student engagement, confidence in class control, and having positive relationships with the students, along with practicalities such as having time to adequately prepare a class, as the most significant influences on their pedagogical choices. Conclusion: The study concludes that a better understanding of the reasons why teachers make particular choices in their delivery of programmes gives valuable insight into what teachers need in order to support uptake or maintenance of such approaches. This understanding may in turn contribute to health education programmes being delivered with a higher fidelity and better outcomes for students.

Farmers as modern-day stewards and the rise of new rural citizenship in the battle over land use

ABSTRACT A decade ago, scholars such as Michael Woods suggested that mobilisation in response to development in rural spaces was the result of a redefinition of relations between individuals, communities and the State. This remains true with the rural representing a contested site characterised by debates concerning food and fibre, water and energy security. With the recent deployment of new energy technologies in areas traditionally used for agricultural production, increased confrontation and resistance over land use has forged unlikely alliances between farmers, environmentalists and concerned others, ultimately leading to the rise of a new form of rural citizenship. In the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) where resistance to burgeoning coal seam gas operations has become the customary response of many rural communities, environmentalists and concerned others are mobilising in support of farmers, who self-identify as modern-day stewards and are actively working to protect a resource hierarchy of water, land and soil against industries believed to be putting these at risk. Adopting a qualitative case-study approach, this paper examines how residents and supporters in the regional Shire of Narrabri in NSW have responded to what many see as competing land uses. We argue that values traditionally associated with stewardship and rurality are being revalorised by citizens to actively oppose the visions of the State, which seek to prioritise extractive development over other alternate futures. We contend that this rise in rural relations represents a significant shift in the notion of citizens as “inhabitants” and presents a new and enduring form of agency.

‘Steroids, it’s so much an identity thing!’ perceptions of steroid use, risk and masculine body image

This paper explores how taste and distaste, body image and masculinity play into young people’s perceptions of risk related to steroid use. Data are drawn from a qualitative study on risk-taking among 52 Danish youths enrolled in high school or vocational training. A number of ‘risky’ practices such as drug use, fights, speeding, etc. were discussed. In contrast to these practices, which were primarily described in relation to ‘physical risks’, steroid use was understood as part of an ‘identity’ or ‘lifestyle’ in a way these other risks were not. Few interviewees had used steroids, and the large majority distanced themselves from the practice. Reasons for not wanting to use steroids were related to (1) perceiving the drug to be part of a broader lifestyle and identity that they are not interested in committing to or embodying and (2) finding the body image, physicality and associations with steroid use ‘fake’, ‘gross’ and distasteful. We draw on recent developments in feminist sociological theory related to the gendered body as both a performance and process to understand steroid use as a practice through which the body and self is produced. More than a one-dimensional ‘risky’ practice, we argue that gendered and embodied identities are crucial to understanding the dynamics of steroid use.

Mental health in young Australians: a longitudinal study

This article discusses patterns in mental health of young Australians from age 19 through 25 and explores changes in mental health over these years. Data are derived from five waves of the Australian Life Patterns longitudinal study. The outcome variable in focus was self-reported mental health. Analyses were conducted in two steps using linear mixed models with both fixed and random effects. The analysis shows a negative linear trend in mental health status. The mental health of women was worse than that of men though a negative trend was found in both men and women. Though high socio-economic status (SES) individuals reported best mental health compared to their mid and low-SES peers, a negative trend was identified for them as well as for mid-SES participants. There is weak support for a negative trend among those of low-SES backgrounds. The study adds to evidence that there is a negative trend in mental health in young Australians but that this trend is not uniform across all young people. In light of this we argue the need for further research that analyses patterns of poor mental health in relation to social systems and institutions.

'I wouldn't get that feedback from anywhere else': learning partnerships and the use of high school students as simulated patients to enhance medical students' communication skills.

BackgroundThis article evaluates whether the use of high school students as simulated patients who provide formative feedback enhances the capacity of medical students in their fifth year of training to initiate screening conversations and communicate effectively with adolescents about sensitive health issues.MethodsFocus group interviews with medical students (n = 52) and school students aged 15–16 (n = 107) were conducted prior to and following involvement in Learning Partnerships workshops. Prior to workshops focus groups with school students asked about attitudes to help-seeking in relation to sensitive health issues, and following workshops asked whether the workshop had made a difference to their concerns. Prior to workshops focus groups with medical students asked about their needs in relation to initiating conversations with adolescents about sensitive health issues, and following workshops asked whether the workshop had made a difference to their concerns. Surveys were also completed by 164 medical students and 66 school students following the workshops. This survey featured 19 items asking participants to rank the usefulness of the workshops out of 10 (1 = not at all useful, 10 = extremely useful) across areas such as skills and understanding, value of learning activities and overall value of the workshop. SPSS software was used to obtain mean plus standard deviation scores for each item on the survey.ResultsThe Learning Partnerships workshops assisted medical students to improve their skills and confidence in communicating with adolescents about sensitive health issues such as mental health, sexual health and drug and alcohol use. They also assisted young people to perceive doctors as more likely potential sources for help.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that the innovative methods included in Learning Partnerships may assist in broader education programs training doctors to be more effective helping agents and aid the promotion of adolescent friendly health care. This research provides evidence that a new way of teaching may contribute to enhancing doctors’ capacity and willingness to initiate screening conversations and enhance adolescents’ preparedness to seek help. This has implications for educational design, content and communication style within adolescent health.

Young women’s negotiations of gender, the body and the labour market in a post-feminist context

Abstract This article explores the ways the body and femininity is understood and negotiated in relation to employment. This article draws on interview data from an Australian study which aimed to explore what it meant to be a ‘young woman’ in neoliberal late modernity, and in relation to the paradoxes of post-feminism. Though there has been an unprecedented rise in youth post-secondary school participation in Australia and elsewhere, girls’ and young women’s increased investment and participation in education has not provided the same gains as for their male counterparts. All interview participants described being aware of gender inequalities and gender discrimination in the workplace, including the glass ceiling, the gender pay gap, and demands and pressures on women to balance career and motherhood, however many did not associate these issues with ‘feminism’. We explore the dynamics of notions of equality, difference and the body in participants’ discussions of work and their anticipation of motherhood and the logics by which gender inequalities are sustained.

Learning with and from: positioning school students as advisors in pre-service teacher education

This article reports on an innovative pedagogical approach within the Learning Partnerships program in which school students help to ‘teach the teachers’ within pre-service teacher education. Classes of school students join with classes of pre-service teachers to provide input on how teachers can enhance school students’ engagement and wellbeing. The article draws on data collected from 125 students (aged 13–16) and 120 pre-service teachers in these workshops. Findings generated from a mixed methods study combining pre-workshop focus groups (n = Students: 38, Teachers: 33) and post-workshop focus groups (n = Students: 69, Teachers: 15) and post-workshop surveys (n = Students: 96; Teachers: 101) demonstrated that the workshops were mutually beneficial for both students and pre-service teachers. Participants found that workshopping together enhanced their belief in the possibility of positive student–teacher relationships. The pre-service teachers reported greater confidence in communicating with young people about the issues that affect student engagement and wellbeing. The school students reported that they were more willing to use teachers as a source of help. Implications include the need for increased attention to a ‘third space’ for learning in teacher development which provides opportunity for learning with and from young people about how to foster their engagement and wellbeing.

Gender, Sexuality, and Risk in the Practice of Affective Labour for Young Women in Bar Work

This article explores the ways that gender, sexuality, pleasure, and risk are entangled in affective labour and the production of value in ‘front of house’ bar work. Through their work as bar staff at ‘hip’ inner-city Melbourne venues, the young women we discuss produce affects in the form of a ‘vibe’ of relaxation, fun, pleasure, and release. We address McRobbie’s call for the ‘actual working practices’ which comprise affective labour to be explored and highlight the ways gender relations including the heterosexual matrix of desire are mobilised in the production of value in young women’s bar work. We discuss the tensions at play in this context where women are required to generate both a positive and a pleasurable feeling in their interactions with others while negotiating the complex politics of heterosexual desire while at work, including managing and negotiating harassment from male customers. This management requires complex sensate and embodied practices that are both conscious and unconscious (described, for example, as an ‘instinct’), involving constantly ‘scanning’ and ‘reading the crowd’ and monitoring their own embodied and affective responses to particular men while they carry on other conversations or pour drinks. We argue it is critical to study the ‘actual working practices’ which comprise affective labour in order to expose the ways relations of inequality can be mobilised in the production of value in this context.