Working-class Women on an Access Course - Article Example

Research Article Critique Brine, J. & Waller, R. 2004. Working-class women on an Access course: risk, opportunity and (re)constructing identities. Gender & Education, 16 (1), pp. 97-113women's access courses.pdf Introduction: The article looks towards examining the manner in which the social backgrounds of mature students especially women have on both the positive and imperative transitions which affects the learning habits. As the authors state, the further education Access to University courses are attracting students from varied backgrounds. The research involved studying the lives of 20 students -- 16 of whom were women -- over two years, in an attempt to gain insights into the issues of evolving learner and class identities, and femininities, during the transitional phase of acquiring higher educational qualifications. The authors note that their findings do not support the general assumption that a change in learner identity must necessarily lead to a concomitant change in class identity. What is the problem that is addressed in the research? The research question does not seem to have been clarified very well by the authors. They refer to several studies (Charlesworth 2000; Purcell 2002) to believe that education could lead to a change in class identity. The authors looks to present different problems through this article. Firstly, there is an issue related with the effect of Access program has on the learning habits of people. Secondly, they present the manner in which risk and identities have an effect on the social outlook which helps to determine the learning habits for individuals. The final issue is the affect that Access program has due to different identified and educational histories that students have undergone. What approach is taken to addressing this problem? The authors demarcate the precise research areas rather neatly. “We focus on four specific areas of gendered risk: risk of academic failure, economic and material risk, risk to personal relationships and risk to class identity. Critically, these areas of risk are also areas of opportunity: of academic success, of economic and material well-being or stability, of new or improved personal relationships, and for some, of changed class identity. These areas are not necessarily where risks actually lay for the women, but where they perceive them to be.” (Brine and Waller 2004: 102-103). The article takes the following approach while dealing with the issue addressed in the article: Involves interviewing the students regularly to glean qualitative insights into their experiences, feelings, and thoughts. Conducts a survey by focusing on eight women students from different background. This has been done to ensure that the sample has a range of people from different social background so that the effect of Access program can be better understood Through a focus research which looks to work on interviews based on the Access program for one year helps to highlight the manner social histories and background has an effect on learning and changing the behavior of students. The discussion through various interviews and having “women perceptions of their complex and interlocking, class and learner identities, viewed through overlapping (gendered) lenses of families, relationships, and occupation” (p. 110) provides justification to the method and looks towards adopting different ways to identifying the manner Access program gets affected. What conclusions does the author draw from the research? The authors through the research help to highlight the manner in which students from different histories background and experience gets affected in the Access program. The paper shows that Access program has helped to towards creating uncertainty based on long and short term economic reward. It further considers the manner in which people negotiate due to different identities and have an effect on different individuals in a different method. The study also highlights wide results as it shows that different students rate different risk accordingly and based on it determine their learning habits. Instead, the manner in which the learning habit was affected both by past experiences and identities. This resulted in different women showing different traits which thereby affected the involvement of students as the appetite of risk varied among women. This was primarily due to the fact that students have different past experiences and as a result the efforts were also affected towards the growth of the learning experience. This has been clearly stated by the fact that women anticipated the risk of changes to their learner-identity which have not been anticipated (p. 108) as a result of which the past experiences affected their learning habits. Thus, the past identities and histories has affected their learning through the Access program and will have an effect on the overall bearing of the study. What evidence does the author present in support of the conclusions? The conclusion provided by the author is completely justifiable as the study which was conducted on eight different women highlights similar results. The findings show that different people rate the learning through the Access program differently as their past experience and learning has affected their future projections. This is clearly evident from the statement of Sasha who was one of the person being surveyed shows that “A lot of my working class friends are quite threatened and would probably rather I wasn't doing it. Maybe they think that I'm going to ‘disappear’ or I'm not going to be around” (p. 108) The above statement highlights that students based on past experiences and identities had different feelings about their learning experience through the Access program. This can be seen from the statement provided by Jo who states the following “I've really lost track of some friends and family. I don't speak to some people for months, my sister for example”. The above statement shows that the survey carried on 8 students had different feeling and this was primarily due the fact that past identities and experience has an effect on the future Access program. This resulted in the students demonstrating different results. Another interesting fact which helps to consolidate the result of the study is that the students demonstrated different behavior which was due to different sample size being used. Since, the article used women students belonging to different social customs and societies it resulted in a change in perception and students as a result demonstrated different results. Further the fact that it presents the manner in which the risk factor associated with the identities and educational hierarchy has an effect on risk bearing and looks to present the manner in which the social background has an effect on the risk and experience that the students have due to the availability of different Access program. This created a difference in the manner students viewed their experiences and resulted in demonstrating a different trait. Further, the research is strengthened by the fact that women experiences also gets shaped by their family and friends which results in a different experience being shown to the people. Further, the study looks to consider the “additional risk the student, a risk of rupture and possible loss of existing relationships, a risk frequently focused on the assumed consequential shift in class identity” (p. 110) shows that the past experiences have an effect on their learning style. The study also shows that women based on their past experiences are ready for future Access programs and if the students are guided correctly. This determines the fact that students behavior can be guided and developed in a manner which will ensure that their past experiences and be molded towards the benefit of the students and provide them the required learning experience which helps to develop their future strategies accordingly. The study also highlights wide results as it shows that different students rate different risk accordingly and based on it determine their learning habits. Instead, the manner in which the learning habit was affected both by past experiences and identities. This resulted in different women showing different traits which thereby affected the involvement of students as the appetite of risk varied among women. This was primarily due to the fact that students have different past experiences and as a result the efforts were also affected towards the growth of the learning experience. Thus, the author looks to use different strategies and methods to ensure that the results of the experience and strategies were determined based on past experiences and identities which has helped to mould the behavior of the students and ensured maximum opportunity through the different learning experience which they undergo based on the Access program. What assumptions can be identified within the approach, conclusions or evidence presented? The author while looking to conduct the study has ensured certain assumption as having students from a different background and experiences give diversified results. The fact that the sample size is very small so it might not be a true representative of the entire population and might result in a different finding The fact that the author looks to challenge the assumption that learner identity brings a change in the class by shifting the identity is not very conclusive as different experiences have resulted in a mix finding showing different results which makes the findings to look into different directions. Also, the author looks towards analyzing the risk based on gendered complexities so it might result in a different finding as it might show a different result on a different gender. The author further through this survey has also concentrated on women and looking to include men in the surveys might result in a different finding and might highlight the manner the manner in which past experiences and identities have an effect on the learning experience on students. In conclusion, The article looks to present the manner in which the past experiences and identities have an effect on the learning experience of women through the Access program. It also looks to present the different perception that women have with regard to risk and experiences which finally transforms into different behavior leading to a change in learning. Read More