Steven Roberts

Boys Will Be Boys … Won’t They? Change and Continuities in Contemporary Young Working-class Masculinities

This article contributes to the literature concerning the construction of working-class masculine identity in a context of unprecedented social transformation. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 24 young men currently employed in the retail sector, this study finds that contrary to much research on masculinities young working-class men are able to resist dominant and hegemonic cultural ideals. The respondents demonstrate a very different attitude towards the ‘emotional labour’ required in the service sector than is often documented, while also rejecting notions of traditional gendered domestic responsibilities in respect of their futures as potential partners and parents. Congruent with other emerging research in this area, the reference point for an ‘acceptable’ masculine identity appears to have shifted, with some young working-class men’s lives, at least, illustrating an attenuated or softened version of masculinity.

Misrepresenting ‘choice biographies’?: a reply to Woodman

This paper provides a reply to Woodmans (2009) recent argument that youth studies often incorrectly attribute the concept of ‘choice biographies’ to the work of Ulrich Beck. Drawing heavily on Becks own words, this paper contends that youth researchers might not be making this association unduly. Consideration is paid to some conceptual issues outlined by Will Atkinson, which Woodman has not appeared to consider, that challenge Becks rejection of the relevance of structural analysis. Further, a review of some empirical evidence countering Becks theory of ‘individualization’ suggests that ‘middle-ground’ positions in youth sociology can arguably be justified. Finally, it is proposed that Woodmans defence of Beck is partly a reflection of an alignment of focus between Becks theoretical repertoire and Woodmans preferred method for understanding the youth period – the concept of generation.

Traditional Practice for Non-Traditional Students? Examining the Role of Pedagogy in Higher Education Retention.

The current agenda for widening participation (WP) promotes equal access to higher education (HE), yet it also implicitly requires institutions to develop support strategies to ensure a successful learning experience and good retention for different groups of students. The objective of this article is predominantly reflected in the latter goal and considers student retention, rather than recruitment. Specifically, it focuses on whether non‐traditional students’ experiences of teaching environments could potentially contribute to ‘drop‐out’, ultimately enhancing our understanding of what role pedagogy might play in WP retention strategies. Using a qualitative framework, the views of a group of non‐traditional students are presented, focusing specifically on their experience of teaching provision, and the extent to which it matched their expectations of HE. Consideration is then paid to the students’ views to garner an account of solutions they deem to be essential in tackling negative experiences and subsequent attrition. The present project should have wider appeal for those interested in understanding how student‐centred research can help deal with the challenges faced by WP students.

One step forward, one step Beck: a contribution to the ongoing conceptual debate in youth studies

In a time of rapid and unprecedented social change, the concepts we use to make sense of the ways in which young people understand and interact with the world are very much under the microscope. Some researchers argue that we need to reinvigorate our conceptual repertoire, while others argue that our theoretical tool box still has the capacity to consider continuities as well as change. Building on an earlier paper, this article provides a rejoinder to recent contributions to this debate written by Woodman and Threadgold. Attending to some misunderstandings, misinterpretations and oversights, the article aims to clarify and re-emphasise some important points I have made previously. In particular, the article argues for a coherent and comprehensive critical review of Becks corpus before we uncritically and readily incorporate his perspectives into our ways of theorising the contemporary social world.

On the door-step of equality: Attitudes toward gay athletes among academy-level footballers

In this semi-structured interview research, we investigate the attitudes of 22 academy-level association football (soccer) players who are potentially on the verge of becoming professional athletes. We find that, as a result of these men belonging to a generation holding inclusive attitudes towards homosexuality, independent of whether they maintain contact with gay men, they are unanimously supportive of gay men coming out on their team. Thus, this research supports a growing body of literature suggesting that teamsport culture is no longer a bastion of homophobia in the UK. Their support includes athletes being unconcerned with sharing rooms with gay players, changing with them in the locker rooms, or relating to them on a social and emotional level. The only apprehension they maintain is that having a gay teammate might somewhat alter homosocial banter, as they would not want to offend that individual.

The problem of social generations: a critique of the new emerging orthodoxy in youth studies

Over the previous seven years the application of a social generation paradigm or ‘theory’ has gained increasing currency as a method in analysing young peoples relationship with the life course. Whilst not a new concept or approach its resurgence and reconfiguration to ‘new’ times has seen some writers positioning it as a ‘new orthodoxy’ or ‘consensus’ within youth studies. In this it is seen as providing a conceptual framework that better helps us understand the complexity of circumstances and conditions that shape youth identities in late modern society. In this paper we examine and explore the underlying assumptions and claims that are made by those advocating the social generational paradigm, raising questions and seeking further clarification on a number of key themes. We accept youth studies needs to move beyond ‘old models’ that define and understand social context as a simply a tension between ‘structure or/and agency’ or as a ‘flavour’ to social action. To conclude therefore we propose the need to have an approach that is ecological and both accepts ‘social change’ and ‘continuity’ as critical parts of the life course, one that recognises the nature and influence of power and social reproduction, especially for different social classes, in shaping the experience of being young.

Gaining skills or just paying the bills? Workplace learning in low-level retail employment

This paper analyses the workplace learning experiences of young male retail employees. Deeming formal education highly unattractive, the pursuit of lifelong learning and continuous development for such people relies on workplace learning. Their experiences, however, over several years and across various retailers painted a grim reality. Sector-level accreditation (at National Vocational Qualification level 2) was characterised as stigmatising and indicative of deficiency to prospective employers. These qualifications, indeed all formal in-house training, were positioned as lacking in quality, inauthentic and an unnecessary cost for employers and government. Effective learning was, instead, experiential and situated, with (limited) expertise cumulatively developed through doing the job. The paper moves beyond valuable, yet well rehearsed, arguments regarding which groups get access to training opportunities and a focus on upskilling those who are least qualified. Instead, this investigation asks whether current workplace learning provision in retail can provide genuine opportunities for advancement and development for ‘moderately qualified’ young people employed in the lower levels of the labour market – a section of society whose learning experiences and needs are often overshadowed by a polarised focus between Not in education, employment or trainings, and those undertaking apprenticeships or HE.

Debating Modern Masculinities

© Steven Roberts 2014. Individual chapters, the contributors 2014. All rights reserved. Masculinity, it seems, is in crisis, again. This edited volume critically interrogates the current situation facing contemporary young men. The contributors deconstruct and reject such crisis talk, with its chapters drawing on original research to present a more nuanced reality, whilst also developing a critical dialogue with one another.

Youth Studies, Housing Transitions and the 'Missing Middle': Time for a Rethink?

A recent but growing trend in studies of young peoples lives has been to highlight that there is a ‘missing middle’ in the youth studies research agenda. It has been argued that much youth research focuses on either successful or very troubled transitions to adulthood, with the lives of those who might simply be ‘getting by’ representing an empirical absence. Building on previous work that has addressed how such a missing middle can add to our understanding of educational experience and attainment, labour market engagement and participation, and issues of identity, this paper pays attention to the housing transitions, careers and aspirations of a group of ‘ordinary’ and apparently unproblematic working class young men. Because they do not represent groups that have been of especial interest in youth studies to date, their experiences problematize the on-going utility of dominant conceptual frameworks used to explain housing transitions. In addition to their ‘lack of fit’ with ideal type typologies, the young men also reveal the shifting nature of attitudes towards communal living ‘which is traditionally associated with middle class students’ in combination with the continuing role of social resources as a determining factor in their housing transition.

The New Zealand OE as governance through freedom: rethinking ‘the apex of freedom’

Against the backdrop of social, economic, and demographic changes of recent times, Arnett has proposed his theory of ‘emerging adulthood’, essentially a new stage of the life-course between adolescence and adulthood. Arnett sees emerging adulthood as a distinct, historically unprecedented period demographically, subjectively, and in terms of identity explorations. Furthermore, he claims that this time typically involves independence and represents the ‘apex of freedom’ in young peoples lives where they ‘have more freedom to decide for themselves how to live than they have ever before or will ever have again’. In this article, we expand on existing critique aimed at Arnetts concept, in particular with respect to his understanding of emerging adulthood as the ‘apex of freedom’. To exemplify the limits of Arnetts theory, we use Nikolas Roses theorisation around governance through freedom and apply it to qualitative research material about the working holiday phenomenon in New Zealand – an essential element of emerging adulthood, which, superficially, seems to offer unlimited options for self-exploration, choice, and freedom. Roses approach, however, illustrates that freedom and constraint are intertwined and that as emerging adults in New Zealand insert themselves into OE discourses, they are governed through freedom.