Whose agency? Whose structure? Social background, social mobility and the transition from school to work
Jessica Sutherland
The Smith Family and National Institute of Labour Studies
Contact Email:   Jessica.Sutherlandflinders.edu.au

Recent approaches to the study of social mobility aim to adequately capture the complex interplay between structure and agency. Often this leads to a simplistic distinction between the two within the discussion of research findings. In terms of the transition from school to work, outcomes which challenge a position of dis/advantage are perceived as evidence of the triumph of agency and processes of individualisation. Outcomes which are seen as reinforcing one’s original social position are explained by the persistent effects of structural forces, despite claims of individualisation within academic literature and its reflection in policy developments. This paper will discuss recent work on the transmission of dis/advantage which render simplistic distinctions of structure and agency problematic. Preliminary analysis of life history interviews with young people in Adelaide will be used to reflect on such discussions with a particular focus on methodological approaches to studying the school to work transition.

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