Education, Work and Identity: Themes and Perspectives

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Description

Education, Work and Identity explores changing patterns of education and work, the dynamic relationship between these two institutions, and the wider social and economic contexts shaping them. It locates this in processes of social and economic change, in particular the shift towards globalization and the post-industrial economy. The book examines how these changes have reshaped individuals' educational, transitional and labour market experiences. It also explores key themes and approaches in understanding the education and labour market interplay, and the way in which education and work institutions shape people's orientations and identities around work.

Reviews

This is a highly ambitious book which seeks to map the key changes in global knowledge capitalism, their impact on education and the labour market and their effects on the structuring of individual identities as students and workers. It is high time that we had a work of this kind which enables us to think through the relationships and issues that are posed by contemporary capitalism. Michael Tomlinson is to be commended for providing a crucial resource in debates over how we create relationships between educational, societal and economic institutions which are just and effective. * Hugh Lauder, Professor of Education and Political Economy, University of Bath, UK *
Clear in its presentation of concepts, thorough in its treatment of debate, this book crosses disciplinary boundaries to illuminate issues that are at the heart of current educational conflict and change. * Ken Jones, Professor of Education, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK *
Michael Tomlinson's book is notable for its impressive scholarship. He draws on wealth of literature to discuss the way in which writers have explored the themes of education, work and identity and their interrelationship. This is a coherent and clearly written text that makes a significant contribution to the literature on educational studies and provides a valuable resource for undergraduate students and those with a general interest in the above themes. * James Avis, Professor of Post-compulsory Education, University of Huddersfield, UK *
This is a serious and insightful analysis of the relationships between education and the economy. Tomlinson's book examines the complex and changing relations between education institutions, the economy and labour markets, in times of state re-organisation and wider global economic, social and cultural shifts. Using primarily a sociological approach within an interdisciplinary framework, individual people's experiences of education and labour market institutions are at the core of the book. An eloquent account of shifting identities, and an indispensable book for all those interested in the changing purposes, forms and outcomes of formal education in contemporary industrialised societies. * Nafsika Alexiadou, Professor of Education, University of Ume, Sweden *
This excellent and well-written book makes an important contribution to sociological work on the relationship between education, work and identity and offers a fresh analysis of debates on the purpose and value of education. Michael Tomlinson confidently steers the reader through some complex and contested debates about the changing nature of the relationship between education and work and about how individuals - whether as educational workers or learners- are positioned by such change. This book deserves a wide readership but it should appeal especially to students of education and sociology. * Farzana Shain, Senior Lecturer in Education, Keele University, UK *

Author Bio

Michael Tomlinson is a Lecturer in Lifelong and Work-related Learning in the School of Education at the University of Southampton, UK.