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28 SES 12 B: Productive Subjectivities, Nurturing Pedagogies
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28. Sociologies of Education
Paper Types of Student Work and Religiosity among Higher Education Students in Central and Eastern Europe 1University of Debrecen, Hungary; 2MTA-DE-PARTNERS Research Group Presenting Author:The relationship between religiosity and work has been a key area of interest in the sociology of religion. The content of both religiosity and work has been transformed. However, the relationship between religiosity and students’ motivation for work is rarely studied, even though volunteering and paid student jobs are increasingly common. Previous research has shown that the largest group of volunteers is composed of university students and secondary school students (Tokhtarova 2014). In this study, we examine paid work of student as well as voluntary work. We seek to answer the question as to how the voluntary or paid work clusters are related to religiosity. According to the literature (Handy et al. 2010), a volunteer is a person who does work that is not compulsory, driven by some intrinsic motive, and without any financial reward. Volunteering can be intrinsically and/or extrinsically motivated. Following the turn of the millennium, a new type of volunteering has emerged, which is not necessarily based on solidarity but instead reflects career considerations (Hoskins et al. 2020). This career volunteering is no longer motivated by altruism, but rather it is based on purposeful preparation for later employment. Volunteering is thus motivated by different reasons, which may include incentives by the state or the school, volunteering for career development purposes, or volunteering as an introductory phase to paid employment, which in turn leads to the hybridisation of the concept of volunteering (Handy et al. 2010; Bazan 2021). Immediately after the political transformation in CEE, non-governmental organisations based on voluntary participation and non-profit activities existed mainly in church-related environments. In this church-related setting, social patterns of volunteering, which were destroyed in the middle of the 20th century, also returned (Máté-Tóth & Szilágyi 2020). Over the last decade, our results on students’ civic participation have shown that members of sports and church associations make up the majority of civic participants, as other organisations are not seen as attractive. This partly explains the association between volunteering and religiosity observed in Hungary and the cross border area (Fényes et al.2021; Fényes & Pusztai 2012). At the same time, in the period of pressure on societies during the COVID-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine, much of the voluntary work was organised through existing social networks. During the war, young people played a crucial role (Carlsen et al. 2020, Pallay et al. 2022). Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used The data was collected from a large sample of students (N=2,199) during the academic year of 2018/19. Students were surveyed at higher education institutions located in the Eastern region of Hungary and four other neighbouring countries (SK, RO, UA, SE). Specifically, the survey was conducted in higher education institutions located in the territories of these countries with significant Hungarian minority. It is important to note that the findings of this study only apply to Hungarian minority institutions in these territories and are not representative of the entire countries. In Hungary, quota sampling was carried out (N=1,034), designed to be representative with respect to faculties, field of education (arts and social sciences, economics, sciences, IT, engineering, teacher education) and form of funding. Probability sampling was used in the institutions in other countries, whereby groups of students were surveyed in full during university or college classes (N=1,154). The sample consisted of full-time second-year bachelor’s students and second or third-year master’s students. The sample represented all fields of study. We explored religiosity through religious self-declaration, individual religious practice and the frequency of church attendance. To measure students’ work motivations, we used a Likert scale assessing how the participants rated six items for paid work and eight items for voluntary work. For voluntary work, we reduced the motivation question block used by Clary et al. (1998) to eight items due to scope limitations. The motivational factors of paid and voluntary work were further examined by cluster analysis. Four motivational clusters were formed based on what motivated young people to work. The analysis applied k-means clustering, retaining the following four clusters: self-fulfilment-oriented, independence-oriented, career-oriented worker types, and materialists. We use bivariate analyses to investigate differences in background factors across cluster groups. Students’ gender, age, place of residence, and their parents’ educational attainment did not correlate with motivations for work, but the respondents of the country, relative financial situation of students’ family and students’ subjective self-assessed financial situation showed a significant correlation with work motivation clusters. We examine the factors affecting each cluster group through binary logistic regressions. Dependent variables were the four cluster groups and explanatory variables were those listed above. We hypothesise that paid and voluntary work are simultaneously observed for a certain group of students. We hypothesise that religiosity varies across clusters based on work orientations, with religiosity related to the emergence of a motivational type which includes both altruistic and utilitarian traits. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings We identified four types of students by work motivation. Self-fulfilment-oriented workers had a strong motivation to help and displayed a drive to develop skills and relationships, while also seeking fulfilment. Independence-oriented workers had financial independence as their most specific goal, while carrier-oriented workers focussed on gaining knowledge and experience for future employment. Materialist workers had remuneration as their primary purpose. Religiosity had a significant effect for clusters with self-fulfilment and materialist orientation. While the development of self-fulfilment orientation was supported by individual religious practice, the probability of materialist orientation was reduced by community religious practice. Religiosity did not play a role for independence-oriented and career-oriented groups. From the perspective of religiosity, it is noteworthy the self-fulfilment-oriented workers placed an equal emphasis on altruism and utilitarianism, which clearly shows the hybridisation of motivations for voluntary and paid work, while also highlighting the novel post-materialist link between work and religiosity in the examined region. As Inglehart & Oyserman (2004) points out, the acquisition of material values is less and less a life goal for the younger generation, so work is not just a means of earning, but a meaningful activity in which individuals can learn about themselves and develop their own way of life based on enrichment of wellbeing and self-expression. While in the previous period religiousness was associated with altruistically motivated voluntary work and non-religiousness with the pursuit of individual career goals, today's modern religiousness is creating a new attitude towards the employment of youth. Consequently, voluntary work and paid work are not alternatives, but can be a group-building factor if work is also seen as a fulfillment. For this reason, for a certain group of young people who see their lives as a search for meaning, both religiosity and voluntary or paid work can be an essential and determining factor. References Bazan, D., Nowicki, M. & Rzymski, R. (2021). Medical Students as the Volunteer Workforce during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Polish experience. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 55: 102109. Carlsen, H.B., Toubøl J., & Brincker, B. (2020). On Solidarity and Volunteering During the COVID-19 Crisis in Denmark: The Impact of Social Networks and Social Media Groups on the Distribution of Support. European Societies 1–19. Clary, G. et al. (1998). Understanding Assessing the Motivations of Volunteers: A Functional Approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 74 (6): 1516–30. Fényes, H., & Pusztai, G. (2012). Religiosity and Volunteering among Higher Education Students in the Partium Region. In Students in a Cross-Border Region. Higher Education for Regional Social Cohesion, edited by Z. Györgyi & Z. Nagy, 147–67. University of Oradea Press. Fényes, H., Markos, V., & Mohácsi, M. (2021). Volunteering among Higher Education Students as Part of Individual Career Management. Corvinus Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 12 (2): 3–22. Handy, F., et al. (2010). A Cross-Cultural Examination of Student Volunteering: Is It All About Résumé Building. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 39 (3): 498–523. Hoskins, B., Leonard, P., & Wilde, R. (2020). How Effective is Youth Volunteering as an Employment Strategy? A Mixed Methods Study of England. Sociology 54 (4): 763–81.https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038520914840 Inglehart, R. & Oyserman, D. (2004). Individualism, Autonomy, Self-expression: The Human Development Syndrome. In Comparing Cultures, edited by H. Vinken, J. Soeters, & P. Ester, 74–96. Brill. Masevičiūtė, K., Šaukeckienė, V., & Ozolinčiūtė, E. (2018). Combining Studies and Paid Jobs. UAB Araneum. Máté-Tóth, A., & Szilágyi, T. (2020). Faith Based Organizations in Hungary: Struggling with Goals and Autonomy. In Faith-Based Organizations and Social Welfare: Associational Life and Religion in Contemporary Eastern Europe, edited by M. Glatzer & P. C. Maniel, 177–96. Palgrave Macmillan Cham. OECD. 2015. Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers No. 169. Working and learning: Adiversity of patterns. Glenda Quintini. Pallay, K. Markos, V., & Fényes, H. (2022). Kárpátaljai fiatalok önkéntes tevékenysége a 2022-es orosz-ukrán háború idején. Önkéntes Szemle 2 (4): 3–26. Тохтарова, Ільміра Меметівна (2014). “Волонтерський рух в Україні: шляхдо розвитку громадянського суспільства як сфери соціальних відносин” Теорія та практика державного управління і місцевого самоврядування, 2 (5). Wood, N. et al. (2019). Qualitative Exploration of the Impact of Employment and Volunteering upon the Health and Wellbeing of African Refugees Settled in Regional Australia: A refugee Perspective. BMC Public Health 19: 1–15. 28. Sociologies of Education
Paper A Typology of Nurturing Pedagogies in Schools Serving Low-Income Communities 1University College Dublin; 2Maynooth University Presenting Author:Encompassing obligations to children’s welfare and well-being, it is accepted that all schools possess a ‘duty of care’ towards their students. This duty of care plays out in schools through the practice of ‘nurturing pedagogies’ (Gleasure et al., 2024). Drawing on the work of Noddings (2013), such nurturing pedagogies can be conceptualised as the ‘caring actions’ of teachers and other school personnel which arise from their attentiveness to the ‘expressed needs’ of the children under their care.
Although universal, the duty of care falls unevenly across schools, with research highlighting that it is often necessary for teachers in schools serving low-income communities to respond to the material and psychological effects of poverty as a priority (Crean et al., 2023; Moss et al., 2020). Against this backdrop, it has been argued that such schools play a dual role, not only as an education provider, but also as a frontline service for children living in poverty (Crean et al., 2023).
This dual role aligns with a body of research which suggests two corresponding domains of nurturing in schools serving low-income communities (Tichnor-Wagner & Allen, 2016; Valenzuela, 1999): a domain of ‘academic nurturing,’ centred on children’s academic progression and success, and a domain of ‘affective nurturing,’ related to children’s welfare and well-being. Research also indicates, however, that teachers in such schools often perceive these forms of nurturing as competing areas of interest, leading them to prioritise one over the other (Antrop-González & De Jesús, 2006; Martin & Amin, 2020).
Others challenge such binarism, arguing that teachers should uphold the dual role of schools serving low-income communities by simultaneously engaging in both academic nurturing and affective nurturing (Crean et al., 2023; Devine & McGillicuddy, 2016). We build on that argument, characterising such practices as ‘critical nurturing.’ Importantly, critical nurturing is distinct from ‘instrumental’ forms of caring, where affective nurturing practices serve a performative end in children’s academic achievement (Dadvand & Cuervo, 2020; Walls, 2022). Such instrumental practices are especially salient in the context of the increasing emphasis on children’s performance in standardised assessments arising from neo-liberal accountability measures in education systems globally (Devine, 2013).
Our focus on nurturing pedagogies in schools serving low-income communities is particularly relevant in light of the EU Youth Strategy 2019-2027 (European Commission, 2018) which underscores the need to pay attention to the risks of socioeconomic exclusion in children’s lives. The Strategy identifies a number ‘European Youth Goals’ which correspond to the nurturing pedagogies within our typology, including mental health and well-being, quality learning, and quality employment for all.
Here, we present findings from two strands from our research on nurturing pedagogies in primary schools serving low-income communities. First, we consider the nurturing pedagogies evident during Covid-19 school closures, a period during which socioeconomic inequalities in education became particularly pronounced (Crean et al., 2023). The following research questions frame our analysis:
Second, we examine primary school children’s perspectives on their experience of nurturing pedagogies, recognising their agency as active co-researchers of their own lives (Donegan et al., 2023; Samanova et al., 2022). Again, our investigation is framed by the following research questions:
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used This research draws on data from Ireland’s national longitudinal study of primary schooling, Children’s School Lives (CSL; www.cslstudy.ie). The study employs a mixed-methods longitudinal cohort design, tracing the experiences of a nationally representative cohort of about 4,000 children in almost 200 schools from 2019 to 2024, along with their parents, grandparents, teachers, principals, and other school personnel. The study also incorporates a sub-sample of thirteen schools in which in-depth ethnographic case studies are conducted each year. In this paper, we draw on data from three such case study schools, purposively selected due to their designated disadvantaged status by the Irish Department of Education. At the time of data collection, two of the selected schools were single-sex, with one serving girls only and the other serving boys only. The third school was co-educational. The study followed appropriate ethical guidelines and was approved by the University ethics committee. The first strand of this paper presents findings from the period of Covid-19 school closures in 2020. During this time, virtual interviews were conducted with 13 adult stakeholders across the three selected case study schools on their experiences of the pandemic and remote learning, as well as their perspectives on children’s engagement and well-being. Stakeholders included teachers, principals, parents, and grandparents. Interview transcripts were inductively coded using MAXQDA software and thematically analysed. The second strand explores children’s perspectives on nurturing pedagogies in the three case study schools using a photovoice methodology, encouraging children’s active participation and agency in the research process. In self-selected ‘friendship groups,’ 49 Second Class children (aged 8 to 9 years) across the three schools were invited to take photographs of places in which they did/did not experience care at school. These photographs served as the basis for subsequent focus group discussions with each friendship group. As before, focus group transcripts were inductively coded using MAXQDA software and thematically analysed. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings Findings from both strands of this paper offer important insights for our understanding of nurturing pedagogies in schools serving low-income communities. Our findings indicate that, during the period of Covid-19 closures, universal concern existed across the three case study schools for academic nurturing. This was evidenced in teachers’ encouragement of children and their families to participate in remote learning, the creation of a curriculum hierarchy focused on the ‘core’ subjects, and families’ expressed value for the routine created by remote learning. Such universal concern for academic nurturing challenges perceptions of a pedagogic deficit in schools serving low-income communities. By contrast, our findings reveal differing emphasis on affective nurturing across the three case study schools during this period. Only our co-educational school, with its strong culture of affective nurturing promoted by school leadership, demonstrated practices reflective of critical nurturing as described above. Findings from our photovoice research indicate that children across the three schools perceived their experience of care, as well as the absence thereof, in terms of academic and affective nurturing to varying degrees. In addition, children expressed a clear understanding of the difficulties experienced by their teachers in fulfilling both forms of nurturing simultaneously (what we describe as critical nurturing), with particular emphasis on the time pressures associated with doing so. Finally, children emphasised the importance of the care they experience from their classmates at school, highlighting particular behaviours such as sharing materials and protecting each other from harm. References Antrop-González, R., & De Jesús, A. (2006). Toward a theory of critical care in urban small school reform: Examining structures and pedagogies of caring in two Latino community-based schools. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 19(4), 409–433. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518390600773148 Crean, M., Devine, D., Moore, B., Martínez Sainz, G., Symonds, J., Sloan, S., & Farrell, E. (2023). Social class, COVID-19 and care: Schools on the front line in Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2023.2174077 Dadvand, B., & Cuervo, H. (2020). Pedagogies of care in performative schools. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 41(1), 139-152. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2018.1486806 Devine, D. (2013). ‘Value’ing children differently? Migrant children in education. Children and Society, 27, 282-294. https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12034 Devine, D., & McGillicuddy, D. (2016). Positioning pedagogy—a matter of children’s rights. Oxford Review of Education, 42(4), 424-443. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2016.1197111 Donegan, A., Devine, D., Martinez‐Sainz, G., Symonds, J., & Sloan, S. (2023). Children as co‐researchers in pandemic times: Power and participation in the use of digital dialogues with children during the COVID‐19 lockdown. Children & Society, 37(1), 235-253. https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12665 European Commission (2018). European Union Youth Strategy 2019-2027. European Commission. Gleasure, S., Devine, D., Martinez Sainz, G., Sloan, S., Crean, M., Moore, B., & Symonds, J. (2024, forthcoming). “This is where the care can step up”: A typology of nurturing pedagogies in primary schools serving low-income communities during COVID-19 closures. Early Childhood Education Journal. Martin, M., & Amin, N. (2020). Teacher care work in situations of severe deprivation. Pastoral Care in Education, 38(2), 156-173. https://doi.org/10.1080/02643944.2020.1725906 Moss, G., Allen, R., Bradbury, A., Duncan, S., Harmey, S., & Levy, R. (2020). Primary teachers' experience of the COVID-19 lockdown–Eight key messages for policymakers going forward. UCL Institute of Education. Noddings, N. (2013). Caring: A relational approach to ethics and moral education. University of California Press. Samonova, E., Devine, D., & Luttrell, W. (2022). Under the mango Tree: Photovoice with primary school children in rural Sierra Leone. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 21. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069211053106 Tichnor-Wagner, A., & Allen, D. (2016). Accountable for care: Cultivating caring school communities in urban high schools. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 15(4), 406- 447. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2016.1181185 Valenzuela, A. (1999). Subtractive schooling: Issues of caring in education of US-Mexican youth. State University of New York Press. Walls, J. (2022). Performativity and caring in education: Toward an ethic of reimagination. Journal of School Leadership, 32(3), 289-314. https://doi.org/10.1177/1052684620972065 | ||