2nd Annual Critical Social Thinking

Conference Friday 28th January 2011 School of Applied Social

Studies, University College Cork Venue: Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, UCC

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The Critical Social Thinking Committee welcomes you to the 2nd Annual Critical Social Thinking Conference. This conference aims to showcase undergraduate and postgraduate research in the School of Applied Social Studies and associated disciplines. In the current climate where economic policy dominates to the detriment of social considerations, this conference aims to foreground social issues in ways which are currently lacking in political and media debate. Conference themes will address contemporary social issues within the three main School fields of Social Policy, Social Work and Youth and Community Work. This year we are also delighted to welcome participants from outside the School, whose contributions will enhance interdisciplinary research on matters affecting our lives, our communities and the society in which we live. We hope that these papers will motivate and stimulate undergraduate and postgraduate research interest in the social sciences and that this activity contributes to the vibrant research culture of the School of Applied Social Studies. Critical Social Thinking Conference Committee: Eileen Hogan Eluska Fernandez Jacqui O’Riordan Eleanor Bantry-White Peter Herrmann Féilim Ó hAdhmaill

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Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, G02

9.15am: Conference Registration

9.30am: Welcome address by Prof. Fred Powell,

Professor of Social Policy, Dean of

Social Science and Head of the School of

Applied Social Studies at University

College, Cork

9.45am: Keynote Address by Fintan O’Toole

Session 1A: Room G04, 10.30am-12.30pm Tim Noonan, An Exploratory Study on the attitudes of Social Workers in Cape Town Child Welfare on Current Child Welfare and Protection Policies The following research focuses on Cape Town Child Welfare (hereafter CWS), a non-governmental organisation providing child welfare and protection services. This agency was analysed in terms of their capacity to provide preventative measures and the social workers attitudes on current practice. The research is a qualitative study that is rooted in the paradigm of Interpretivism whilst also adopting some critical theory perspectives. A case study approach as well as semi structured interviews were used. The study focussed on the development of social welfare in post-apartheid South Africa as well as children’s rights. The nature of child neglect and abuse in the country as well as an analysis on current child welfare legislation was investigated. The government’s role into promoting and providing alternative interventions (preventative measures) in a child protection context was also examined. The current work practice in CWS and their capacity to implement alternative interventions was presented. The research ultimately explores the attitudes of the social workers currently working on the frontline on current practices in the agency and concludes by making a number of suggestions for future practice.

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Ciara Moriarty, Video game addiction: Implications for social work practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services This study is concerned with the debate around video game addiction. The main research question is an investigation into whether the use of video gaming among children and adolescent’s become problematic to the point of addiction. If so what are the implications for social work practice and what are the implications if any for child and adolescent mental health. The study undertakes an extensive literature exploration and invokes much theoretical discussion on the effects of video game addiction on identity formation and mental health for children and adolescents. Furthermore it employs a case study to conceptualise the debate. Primary research includes personal interviews from the qualitative and interpretivist ethnography, which brings to light the opinions of mental health social workers on whether video gaming is addictive. The impact of the addiction on their practice is also highlighted as well as practical considerations for current and future social work practice, in regard to treating and working with the phenomenon. The research offers recommendations to conclude while also offering practical diagnostic examples for video game addiction. Aoife Horgan, Immigration Policy versus Welfare Policy: Protection issues facing separated children on arrival in Ireland. This paper will explore the conflict which exists between immigration policy and welfare policy in relation to separated children and the situation they face when they arrive in Ireland. While Ireland is bound under national law, the Child Care Act 1991, and international commitments such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to protect and care for separated children, this right to care and

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protection is brought into question as conflicts arise between immigration policy and welfare policy in relation to entry to the state and age assessment procedures. This paper will focus on entry procedures and age disputes in Ireland and the subsequent effect that this has on separated children however; reference will also be made to current practice in the UK and in the US. It must be noted that while separated children’s perceived vulnerability is linked to their experiences prior to arrival in a country, it is important to acknowledge the current challenges that separated children face in the country that they seek asylum in.

Andre Kenneally, Have Children’s Rights Advo-cacy Groups influenced Children’s Rights Dis-course in Ireland? The publication in 2010 of the proposed wording for the change to Article 42 of the Irish Constitution has set in motion the possibility for children in Ireland to be recognised, for the first time, as individual rights holders. The potential consequences of this Constitutional change will reverberate throughout every institution in Ireland which works with, or on behalf of, children. How was it possible for Ireland to have moved from a state which viewed destitute children in the late 19th and early 20th century as potential criminals, to a State which now recognises the importance of ’best interest’ practices for children? This paper aims to track the construction of children through the discourse of children’s rights advocacy and to analyze the role which these groups have played in shaping or resisting prevailing discourses of children and children’s right during the period under study. The methodology adopted for this study is Critical Discourse Analysis. Through this methodology it will be possible to examine the language adopted by the State and other institutions in their construction of the child. This analysis will assist in the unpacking of the prevailing discourse of the child, while offering a clear examination of both the positive

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and negative impact of language on children’s rights dis-course. Social theories of Michel Foucault and Alain Touraine will be utilised to show how opposing discourses (Foucault) and social movements (Touraine) can lead to societal change.

Session 1B: Room 302, 10.30am-12.30pm

Mark Cullinane, Do Not Adjust Your Sets: The Problems with RTE Television News What is 'the news'? Why does it look and sound the way that it does? And why does this even matter? This presentation offers an invitation to think critically about television news, conceiving it as a product of culture and the inevitable result of a process of social reality construction. It will briefly outline the outcomes of a research project that sought to examine the extent to which RTÉ Television News can be considered implicitly or explicitly supportive of the prevailing dominant ideologies in contemporary Irish society. It will then offer a more general analysis of what I see as some of the fundamental structural pathologies of television news, and how these intertwine with the professional values and routines of journalists. Some provisional and tentative remedies to these pathologies are suggested, with the aim of reducing systematic distortions in mass communication, contributing modestly to a broadly Habermasian project aimed at revitalising the public sphere as a modern-day agora of deliberation on competing ideas. Given RTÉ's large audiences and high levels of public trust, it is asserted here that the implications of news pathologies are far-reaching for areas as diverse as journalistic practice, the media's regulatory environment and the health of our democracy itself.

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Julie Connelly, The impact of public sector reform on ‘street-level’ bureaucrats and professionals involved in the implementation of social policy in Ireland: A review of the literature and methodological proposal Historical analysis demonstrates that public sector reform in Ireland has been largely concerned with New Public Management (NPM) style reforms. NPM style reforms are centred around the application of business models to government, putting more emphasis on the outputs of policy. The changes introduced as a result of NPM type reforms have been both at organisational and individual levels. Social policy is an area in which the application of NPM type reforms may pose problems, as policy goals, means and results may not be easily identified or quantified. The goals and values of social policies may be more in conflict with NPM than other policy areas. There is no one specific group that implements social policy in Ireland, however, this research will deal with the “street-level” bureaucrats and professionals associated with the delivery of social security, education, health care, housing and personal social services. This research is concerned with these individuals’ experience of public sector reform and how it impacts on the delivery of social policy. Values, work practices and motivations will be examined. The effect of public sector reform on the process of social policy implementation in Ireland is an area yet to be investigated from a political science perspective. Eamonn Singleton, Apathy and Disengagement in Political Participation. Communication with others is the means by which people feel they belong in society. In any society communication that includes its members fully is the ideal. The absence of an adequate communication system can be seen as a

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problem. This is true from both a community and a societal perspective. Inadequate communications at community level are reflected at societal level. At societal level it manifests itself as inadequacies in political communication. Problems in communication are leading a level of disenchantment with the political system. This paper will seek to examine the nature of disengagement in regard to the political process in Ireland. It will approach this problem from a communicative action perspective, since it is through communication that people learn to act together. The absence of an ideal form of political communication nationality implies that there are inadequacies in communication at local or community level. From this perspective it is appropriate to assume social psychological pathologies that impede adequate communication. This paper uses the ideas of Habermas and Honneth among others to explore the areas of evolution, society and communication. It also attempts to explore from a psychological perspective the processes that impede engagement with the political process. These processes interfere with the development of a political process that is more inclusive of the opinions of all those who wish to contribute to society.

Claire Dorrity, Cohesion or Coercion: Integration as a Two Way Process?

While integration is a widely debated, the way in which small ethnic groups are represented in the integration processes often remains unquestioned and under-explored in Irish so-cial politics. This paper is an attempt to critically review key issues associated with the integration process and examines the capacity of representative organisations to effectively influence policy change. Some of the current issues presenting for migrants would indicate that while Ireland has become a more culturally diverse society, the way in which representation is constructed is limited and does not take into account the diversity and complexity of migrants’ lives. The research draws on the theoretical perspectives of Iris

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Marion Young (2000) and Anne Phillips (1998), Will Kymlicka (2000) and argues that such perspectives, even when adopted, are often compromised to reproduce power relations in which migrants often have to negate their cultural identity to negotiate their position in a bureaucratically dominated integration process. The main focus of analysis for this paper is the integration of asylum seekers and refugees in Ireland. The paper is critical to existing models of integration and argues that such a system fails to reconcile cultural diversity with social cohesion. The research presented in the paper is based on the findings from a number of interviews with representative NGOs, and focus groups and interviews conducted with asylum seekers. The findings indicate that alliances with the state continue to shape current approaches which often exclude the possibility of building new relationships and alternatives. Session 1C: Room 304, 10.30am –12.30pm Carmel Best, The Human Rights of Same Sex Couples in Ireland and the Civil Partnership Act 2010 In June 2010 the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgment in the case of Schalk and Kopf v Austria where a same sex couple argued that their inability to enter into marriage was discriminatory. The Court rejected the argument finding that the matter was left to the margin of appreciation of contracting States. While the court noted that the institution of marriage has undergone major social upheaval since the adoption of the Convention in 1950 there remained no overriding consensus regarding same sex marriage. The applicants in Schalk and Kopf v Austria also bravely attempted to argue that if a State did choose to provide same sex couple recognition they are obliged to ensure that it corresponds to marriage in each and every respect. The European Court was not at all convinced and again found that a State will enjoy a margin of appreciation

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with regard to the exact status conferred by alternative means of recognition. Ireland has become the latest European country to confer an alternative means of recognition upon same sex couples with the passing of the Civil Partnership Act 2010. While the importance of the Act cannot be understated in terms of its significance it remains to be seen whether one can proclaim the legislation a major social achievement in the area of human rights for same sex couples in Ireland. Anne Crotty, I Do or I Object? An examination of lesbian responses to civil partnership.

This presentation is based on my Master’s thesis which essentially examined the Irish response to civil partnership. Within this talk I will outline the concept of heteronormativity, which posits that the presence of a heterosexual world is assumed. This has led to heterosexual definitions of marriage and the family in policy and law, directly impacting on the lives of those not included, namely same-sex couples. The strengths and weaknesses of the Civil Partnership Bill 2009, now the Civil Partnership Act 2010, will be briefly outlined. Even though same-sex couples now have the option of registering their partnership and attaining rights and responsibilities previously only associated with marriage, their children are still not recognised. The majority of this presentation will highlight the findings of my research, which assessed the understandings of lesbians on the Civil Partnership Bill and their knowledge of how this will affect their lives. Fourteen participants were involved by means of seven interviews and two focus groups. The responses of participants will be examined in order to link policy developments to the reality of people’s lives.

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Eimear Roche, An Analysis of Multi-Agency Prac-tice within the delivery of Domestic Violence Ser-vices in Ireland This Research project explores the level of multi-agency practice that occurs between agencies that deliver services to victims of domestic violence and it investigates the challenges of adopting multi-agency practice. The research centers on one particular region in Ireland and treats this as a case study. The author used a qualitative method of research to interview four professionals from different agencies that provide services to victims of domestic violence. Non-participant observation at the Regional Advisory Committee which reports to COSC the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence was also undertaken. The main findings are broken into two themes, factors that assist multi-agency practice and factors and hinder multi-agency practice. It was found that good professional relationships are key to the implementation of successful multi-agency practice. When there is collaboration and effective communication between agencies multi-agency practice flourishes. Conversely if little communication occurs and there is a lack of understanding surrounding the roles of agencies it may result in service users being referred inappropriately and multi-agency practice is severely inhibited. Within the Irish context multi-agency practice has developed in an ad-hoc and unregulated manner however the new National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence 2010-2014 aims to remedy this and the recommendations from this strategy are reviewed within the research.

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Patricia Stapleton, Human Trafficking in Ireland – Identifying Victims of Trafficking This research explores the ways in which victims of human trafficking are identified in Ireland. While trafficking in human beings is described as a form of modern-day slavery, little is known of the victim identification process or how victims are identified at a national level. Arguably identification is crucial as it guarantees the safety of the victims and removes them from the control of the traffickers. In Ireland victim identification is solely carried out by the Garda National Immigration Bureau at the request of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. A qualitative research approach was adopted and data was collected from interviews carried out with state agencies and non-governmental organisations who advocated on behalf of trafficking victims. Perspectives were sought on the victim identification processes, and what could be done to improve those processes. This study concluded that identification was not being carried out in a timely or consistent manner and this infringed on the victims human rights, as laid out in international protocol. A possible alternative is the OSCE National Referral Mechanism which advocates for a rights-based multi-agency approach to victim identification. Session 2A: Room G04, 2-4pm Emma Bennet and Aoife Farrell, Effective Praxis in Drugs Work with Young People; a Case Study This paper is concerned with youth work’s alternative and creative responses to drug issues amongst young people. In order to investigate this theme, primary research was conducted in Youth Work Ireland Cork’s (YWIC) Drug Task

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Force Project in the Gurranabraher/Churchfield area of Cork City. The data from this primary research represents the core knowledge used in this paper. The paper includes a brief description of the area and the area’s socio-cultural context alongside an outline of the agency’s work, including a profile of the service users and project workers. The models, methods and theories employed by the agency are discussed in terms of their effectiveness in responding to the needs of drug users in the community. Of particular note in this regard are the contrasts between this particular project’s approach and the more formalised tier system recommended by the Local Drugs Task Force in Cork City. The paper highlights the unique aspects of this particular project, the transferrable learning that can be gained by other youth work services from this project’s operations, and ultimately, the need for sophisticated, theoretically informed and pragmatic responses when dealing with drug issues and young people in a postmodern age. Robert O’Driscoll, ‘Old Wine in New Bottles’: A study of under 18s presenting with drug and alcohol problems to Adolescent Drug and Alcohol Services This paper presents the findings from this mixed method study of adolescent substance users in the Cork and Kerry region. Adolescent substance use is a very complex social phenomenon, so to conduct this study and to answer the research question adequately it was necessary to devise a multi-method inquiry to attempt to understand this aspect of our social world. It involved gathering and analysing quantitative data on under-18 substance users attending Arbour House Youth Drug and Alcohol treatment Services in 2009. This data was synthesized with qualitative data gathered on the lived experiences of five service users and their parents. Ultimately, this information produced a set of

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theoretical explanations grounded in the data gathered and analysed. This can be of use to all drug and alcohol treatment stakeholders and students alike. This endeavour created a space for the views, opinions and experiences of young substance users to emerge. This is in accordance with Article 12 of UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), European Commission guidelines and Irish government policy (Department of Health and Children, 2000). With this in mind the study sought to generate knowledge and understanding of adolescent drug users attending for outpatient treatment services in 2009, aiming to uncover the subjective drug use experiences of young psychoactive substance users and their parents requiring treatment during 2010. The research thus gave meaning and insight into some of the key drug and alcohol issues that affect adolescents from the perspective of the young people themselves and their parents and produced a substance use ecology of adolescents attending Arbour House during the period of the study. In some way this study addresses the paucity of qualitative research available on adolescent substance users in the Cork and Kerry region. John Fitzgerald, The quality of life of adults with intellectual disabilities living in community settings The aim of this study is to provide qualitative information regarding the quality of life of adults with intellectual disabilities living in community settings, or in supported independent living accommodation in the Limerick region. Schalock (2004) identifies eight quality of life domains which this research considers. In this study these headings were further broken down into five categories which are based around the five levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and were informed by guidelines on how questions can be simplified, outlined by Prosser and Bromely (1998). The study indicates that the lower levels of the participant’s needs are being met however; the research suggested that participants had low expectations in regards to meeting their

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needs. The research indicated that the participants had the basic skills required to live in the community. It also revealed in order to reach their full potential through community living a more holistic service user assessment could be performed based on the principles of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Kevin Rea, Exploring Effective Practice Arrangements In Special Care Settings This study is concerned with the concept of effective practice within special care settings. Special care refers to a secure residential placement for young people. Typical service users in special care units were found to present with a range of complex and challenging behaviours. The notion of risk and risk taking behaviour appeared intrinsically linked to young people in special care. The researcher undertook this study in Gleann Alainn Special Care Centre which is located in Glanmire Cork. The researcher set out to explore the views held by social care workers on the effectiveness of practice within special care units. A primary research approach, using methods of semi-structured interviews facilitated this process. The researcher also applied secondary research methods within the study. This was undertaken by the review of case files from former residents. The review process highlighted common themes of practice arrangements which were deemed significant in the placements of young people. The key findings emanating from both research approaches were mirrored together, which supported particular views with evidence already collected. Grounded Theory shaped and guided the research process. This approach facilitates the emergence of theory through the analysis of data. The research found that the Rogerian principles of Person Centred Therapy were most effective in punctuating difficult and complex behaviours presented by young people in special care settings. The concluding theory which emerged from the research process holds that the person centred approach is most effective

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when it is tailored to meet the individual needs of young people in special care. The recommendations emanating from the research highlighted the value in formalising the application of person centred practice so that its effect can be measured and evaluated as a specific practice approach in special care settings. Session 2B: Room 302, 2-4pm Lorcan Byrne, The Axial Moment of Irish Catholicism: Theorising the Devotional Revolution The mass popularisation of Catholic devotional practices in Ireland during the third quarter of the nineteenth century has been the focus of much attention, particularly since the historian Emmet Larkin coined the term ‘Devotional Revolution’. This paper focuses upon two seminal accounts, Larkin’s (1972) The Devotional Revolution in Ireland (1850-75) and Tom Inglis’ (1998) Moral Monopoly: the Rise and Fall of The Catholic Church in Ireland. Both accounts have rightly achieved prominence and together they provide the foremost accounts of the rise of Irish Catholicism. Focusing upon these two narratives is done firstly to highlight their merits, but also to call attention to some theoretical short-comings. This paper will offer an alternative theoretical paradigm, through which we can begin to understand the persistence of the Irish Catholic identity and its ramifications, even if such a collective identity appears to be diminishing. The paper relies upon a theoretical framework derived from Van Gennep (1909) on rites of passage, Turner (1969) on liminality, and Jaspers (1953) on the Axial Age; material brought into the field of sociology by Arpad Szakolczai (2000, 2008) and refined further by Bjorn Thomassen (2009). The paper seeks to show how and why the ‘Devotional Revolution’ can be understood as the genesis of Irish Catholicism.

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Mary Larkin, A Narrative of Emplacement: Exploring the experience of ageing in place with older rural Irish men. Views, perceptions and attitudes about ageing vary in contemporary society. Recent research has tended to focus more on the lives of older women and while research into men’s health is undertaken, the broader social, economic and cultural aspects at play in older men’s lives have been largely ignored. From an Irish perspective, a dearth of research devoted to ageing in rural areas is noticeable despite an increase in Ireland’s older rural population. Employing a qualitative approach and a hermeneutic phenomenology strategy, this paper explores the experience of ageing in place among a group of retired rural Irish men. Retirement is a historically recent phenomenon and consequently adapting to retirement can be problematic for men whose identity is enmeshed with a previous occupation such as farming or those forced into early retirement for various reasons. Adopting a decidedly rural focus, the research highlights the synergy between ageing in place and attachment to place for older male farmers especially. The benefits of male friendship, associational membership and mobility in promoting social connectedness and wellbeing in the latter part of the life course are important factors when proposing an alternative view to the portrayal of rural aging as inherently problematic. Robert O’Connor, Fingerprints on the Research Process: A Discussion on Valuing Participant Subjectivity and Interviewer Reflexivity in the Research Approach For some, methodology in the social sciences is that boring part that you want to get through before you can actually reach the exciting task of doing the research? For others, the

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methodological research journey seems like a long road dotted with stumbling blocks in the form of questions such as, Who is the research for? Whose voice is actually heard in the research? and Who validates the research? This piece moves away from boredom and stumbling blocks to explore a more positive take on the methodological process by treating it as a central feature of the research leading to unique and interesting insights. This will be done by discussing a research approach that challenges objectivity and power differentials and allows for interviewee expertise as well as demanding interviewer reflexivity. This is namely a feminist research approach. A practical application of this feminist research approach will then be outlined in the form of a specific narrative type method termed Biographical Narrative Interpretive Method. This approach gives a practical method that allows the principal features of feminist methodology above to be espoused. Accordingly, ‘fingerprints on the research process’, refers to the influence both the interviewer and the participant has on the research produced based on reflections from my own research PhD’s methodological journey. Dave Walker, How does one ‘Sustain’ a Community? There is a worrying lack of coherence in official social policy. We have a government and its departments of state relying on emigration and cutting social supports, both direct social welfare payments and grants to the NGO sector. At a time when communities across the country are having to cope with the stresses resulting from the influx of large numbers of new residents, they are, by default, being called upon to act as ‘service providers’ with little, or no, input into wider policy debate. This presentation poses several questions: Is it possible to define ‘community’ in a generic way? How do ‘communities’ operate and what do ‘they’ do? Why would we wish to sustain them? Having posited (tentative) answers to these questions, the presentation will consider one particular

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case study and attempt to highlight certain discontinuities between rhetoric, implementation and realities on the ground. Finally it will conclude by suggesting ways to address the issues raised and to create policies which genuinely “Deliver Homes and Sustain Communities”. Session 3C: Room 304, 2-4pm Nicola Maxwell and Claire Dorrity, Non Traditional Students and the Third Level Sector: Challenging the Dynamics of Power and Equality of Access Persistent educational inequalities and disadvantage among certain sections of the population remain the focus of policy and programme initiatives. The issue of access to third-level education for non-traditional students from lower socio-economic groups is ostensibly being addressed through equal access policies within the sector. However, while participation rates have increased, structural and psycho-social barriers to third-level participation continue to persist. Various studies have indicated that such inequalities remain despite targeted interventions. This paper examines some of these issues and addresses the complex nature in which inequality operates. The study looks specifically at issues presenting at local level in Cork City. A number of issues warrant attention; the need to move beyond a ‘deficit model of disadvantage’; the recognition that standardised approaches may not meet the needs of all; the need to recognise the complexities and range of supports required to tackle educational inequality; and the need for more collaborative and interactive consultation processes in representing communities that are persistently marginalised. The research was conducted through the Strategic Innovation Fund ‘Connections Project’ at UCC with a focus on adult non-traditional learners. It was one of four strands of

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the project. The research findings reflect the views of key stakeholders, incorporates data from both quantitative and qualitative sources, and current literature and policy. The findings highlight a number of areas that warrant closer examination. Paddy Duggan, Towards the Ideal in Irish Secondary Education Little qualitative research has been undertaken with regard to the status of Irish secondary education in terms of seeking to ascertain the level of success in achieving the Ideal education. The emphasis in this research is to examine how well does secondary education impact on the ‘self-actualisation’ of the student as seen through three core headings: school curriculum and curricular content; relations between school and significant stakeholders i.e. parents, teachers and students; and teaching and teacher training. In taking this course of action, the research seeks to interrogate what actually comes close to the “ideal education” and what is deficient in the Irish secondary education system in terms of preparing young people to be critical thinkers and to have the personal and social capabilities to blossom as human beings and to confront various opportunities and challenges throughout their life spans. The research fieldwork, through the insights, experiences and reflections gleaned from key actors in the educational field, helps to deepen the understanding with regard to the concept of ideality of the education system. This crystallisation of what an ideal education is or should be will prove beneficial to educators, policymakers and educational stakeholders everywhere.

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Susan Martin, Downloads: Business, Technology and Attitudinal Training in Ontario’s Curriculum For twenty years public institutions in Ontario have been dominated by socio-economic interests that insist on a “lean state” and corporate-friendly economy; the health of the marketplace is positioned as the key to a healthy and content citizenry. Secondary school reforms at the close of the province’s last structural recession mirrored and extended Ontario’s capitalist restructuring, and highlighted the ‘individual’ by encouraging the linking of student identities to the marketplace. The belief that individual achievement in the economy as a worker is dependent upon society’s ability to integrate skills and competencies training into schooling prevails: post-secondary success professionally and as con-sumers, the message goes, will, otherwise, elude graduates. An analysis of the policy and curriculum documents that guided the re-culturing of Ontario’s secondary schools reveals the government’s efforts to conscript youth into the neoliberal economic agenda: attitudinal grooming as ‘useful’ workers in the global economy, with an emphasis on the pervasiveness of technology in the workplace. Thus schools, responding to both the needs of capital and the goals of capital, have become a territory where students are offered few political alternatives: workplace skills are delivered by market-focused drills at the expense of democracy, dissent, and personal autonomy.

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Notes

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Notes

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Thank you for attending the Critical Social Thinking 2nd Annual Conference. Further student research is available in the

School of Applied Social Studies Critical Social Thinking Online Journal at

http://cst.ucc.ie

For further information on a wide range of postgraduate opportunities in the

School of Applied Social Studies, visit http://appsoc.ucc.ie.