Governing school-to-work transitions : shaping the future worker

The governmentality framework invites an analysis that allows us not only to look at the government of specific groups, such as young people in transition, through policy, programmatic statements, and regimes of practices but also to consider the work young people do on themselves to regulate their conduct. In particular, as outlined above, this chapter is concerned with the ways educational practices encourage young people to do ethical work on themselves – to question themselves, to reflect on their motives and goals in engaging with education, to problematise their conduct and ultimately, very often, tomodify their behaviour – with the goal of making their conduct more acceptable in relation to what they see as the correct and desirable pathway to a successful transition. In the case of this study, the data suggest that a first and crucial step for many of the participants seems to be modifying their attitudes to education and training and seeing themselves as being able to participate on terms that they find acceptable. Moreover, the data seem to suggest that these young people must begin to participate on terms that are acceptable and intelligible to the governmental ends that the College might be seen to represent. This discussion asks: what type of young adult is desirable in this milieu and through what types of practices is this goal achieved? For this reason, the discussion in this chapter will focus on young people’s participation in education as part of the transitional process, preparing them for entry to the workplace.