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Andrea C. Allard
Faculty of Education, Deakin University

'“Not Like my Mother”: A Cross-generational Study of the Educational, Labour Market and Social Experiences of Economically Disadvantaged Women'

Recent studies (Collins, et al, 2000; Lamb and McKenzie, 2000) demonstrate that females from low socio-economic backgrounds who leave school early (before Year 12) are the group most vulnerable and at risk, least likely to reach full time employment and most likely not to have access to an earned income. This paper reports on the initial stages of a three-year ARC-funded project: Young women negotiating from the margins of education and work: towards gender justice in educational and youth policies and programs. The study aims to identify the common and diverse needs and interests of these young women; examine survival strategies and crucial turning points in their lives and compare their life circumstances with those of their mothers (or mother figures) in order to analyse cross-generational continuities, disruptions and contradictions. The study is framed with reference to feminist debates around the politics of recognition/distribution. Young (1990) argues that social justice is contingent on recognition of difference: ensuring that the voices and needs of marginalised groups are properly heeded and that respect is accorded to different groups. Fraser (1997) argues that social justice requires not only recognition but also redistribution of material resources and opportunities. This paper considers the resources, including relational and interpersonal, that young women, identified as 'at risk' of leaving school early, deploy in making their choices to stay or to go. How these young women's life chances and choices differ from those of their mothers at the same age is examined. Ways in which 'recognition' of their views might inform policy and programs better to address questions of social justice are discussed.

Bio: Dr Andrea Allard is a lecturer in the Faculty of Education, Deakin University where she works at the pre-service and postgraduate levels. Her research interests focus on how identity and difference are constructed within educational milieu.

<acallard@deakin.edu.au>