Disadvantaged older jobseekers and the concept of bounded agency

This article uses the concept of bounded agency to interpret the findings of a study that explored the training and job-seeking activities of a group of older adults. A qualitative, phenomenological approach was used to obtain personal and nuanced accounts of their experiences. A series of semi-structured interviews was conducted with eight adults aged 55 and older, who were low-skilled and unemployed. The findings identified that a range of interrelated barriers constrained their agency in those activities in two key areas. First, there was a disparity between their learning needs and preferences, and the delivery modes in their training programmes. Second, legacies from their personal histories contributed significantly to constraints in their current activities. The bounded agency concept explicated this range of barriers, as it incorporated institutional, societal and personal factors within the agency of individuals. A model of bounded agency was developed, that showed legacies from an individual’s personal history can lie at the base of their disadvantaged state, and that provisions in their training programmes can address those legacies. The article concludes by suggesting that this model could form the basis of further research with other jobseekers from disadvantaged backgrounds.     

Pedagogy,empowerment and discipline: comparative perspectives of novice teachers in England and Turkey reflecting on ‘the other’

This article discusses the views of Turkish and British novice teachers on pedagogy and pedagogical relationships with school students when confronted with the pedagogical practices of the ‘Other’ in particular policy contexts. Experiences of those practices were gained by novice teachers during an exchange visit for British and Turkish university students in the period 2008–2009. Data was collected through questionnaires and focus group interviews. Findings suggest that Turkish and British novice teachers initially constructed the ‘Other’ as very different from themselves. The views of members of both groups were heavily influenced by the cultural contexts in which they trained and worked. British novice teachers tended to take as axiomatic constructivist and inclusive approaches to pedagogy and the relevance to successful pedagogy of listening to students’ voices. Turkish novice teachers questioned both, many seeing control and dissemination of knowledge as central to pedagogy and student teacher relationships.     

试论公共图书馆服务弱势群体的困境与对策

弱势群体是一个复合性概念,图书馆服务弱势群体需要关注内外的排斥性因素。当代公共图书馆服务弱势群体的形式均等阻碍了均等价值和成效的实现。要转向＂面向需求＂和＂解决资源缺乏者问题＂并重,打造服务弱势群体的主流行动和文化,强化与地方政府机构和公众的积极合作,引入志愿者服务机制并寻求机构合作。     

社会资本与弱势群体子女大学生就业的相关性分析

大学生就业不仅关系到每一位大学生的自我生存和发展,也关系到社会的和谐与稳定。文章阐述了社会资本的内涵及其在我国就业市场运作的可能性和必然性,分析了社会资本对弱势群体子女大学生就业产生的影响,提出了相应的对策建议。     

社会学视域下的“蚁族”犯罪现象透视与反思

“蚁族”是我国社会变革大背景下孕育出的一个社会新底层弱势群体,“蚁族”犯罪虽不具有普遍性,却值得深思。国家应健全社会保障制度、提供均等的就业机会、积极推进高校教育改革。“蚁族”也要注重自身综合素质的提升,多管齐下,综合治理,祛除社会不稳定因素,实现遏制犯罪和促进城市和谐发展。     

教育福利:弱势群体解困的根本途径

在构建社会主义和谐社会和服务型政府的背景下,如何解决弱势群体问题迫在眉睫。针对目前我国解决弱势群体问题的不足,提出教育福利是弱势群体脱贫的根本途径。主要从保障弱者平等受教育权、消除身份歧视,提供公平的教育机会、遏制贫困传递,以及关注弱势学生、改善综合能力不足三个方面论述了教育福利如何使弱势群体摆脱困境。     

大学生弱势群体生命关爱教育体系构建

随着社会转型及高等教育的大众化,高校大学生弱势群体问题日益突出,逐渐成为影响学生全面发展和高校和谐稳定的重要因素。构建大学生弱势群体疏导调节机制及生命关爱教育救助体系是一项长期工程。     

论新闻标题中时髦词的交际语境顺应

从Verschueren语言顺应论的视角来看,新闻标题中时髦词的选择所体现的顺应主要是对交际语境的顺应,这具体表现在顺应受众求新求奇的心理、顺应新闻报道者求精求简的心理、顺应社会文化和规约、顺应社会环境、顺应所报道事件发生的时间和空间。从语用学的角度,以顺应论为理据,对新闻标题进行的研究较之以往从文体学和修辞学角度对其进行的研究更具解释力。     

Looking through the lens of a teacher's life: The power of prototypical stories in understanding teachers' instructional decisions in mathematics

The focus of this narrative inquiry was to examine how teachers describe influences on their instructional decisions in mathematics. Using a lens provided by pivotal or prototypical stories teachers told about their past experiences, connections were suggested between these past experiences and their instructional decisions. These connections helped to illustrate how instructional decisions may be shaped by priorities and beliefs established earlier in life, as well as by current contexts. Further research on the use and characteristics of prototypical stories is suggested.     

新时期公共图书馆为弱势群体服务的若干探索

阐明了在全面建设小康社会奋斗过程中，为弱势群体服务应当是公共图书馆的必然选择和重要职能，综合论述了公共图书馆为弱势群体服务的若干实践活动。