Where Do the Precariat Go? a Generational Perspective and Others
Where Do the Precariat Go? a Generational Perspective and Others
Friday, 11 July 2025: 11:00-12:45
Location: SJES028 (Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences (JES))
RC04 Sociology of Education (host committee) Language: English
Precarity stretches back beyond deindustrialization, Great Depression and all the way to Industrial Revolution. In comparison, the older-generation precariat were mostly low-skilled workers with little to no education at all, and they were ‘victims’ falling prey to income inequality and resultant social exclusion and political underrepresentation, if any. Yet, the past decades have witnessed some unique challenges more overwhelming than ever that the contemporary precariat have faced due to the evolving nature of work, education and their relationship, for example, globalization and all kinds of outsourcing, neoliberal policies for marketization, deregulation, flexibilization and privatization, overqualification and education-job mismatch, and so on. The living conditions of the precariat go from bad to worse, compounded by the entry of new groups into the job market, including women, senior citizens, immigrants, etc.. At the same time, however, highly educated individuals out of self-will become part of the precariat. They reject exploitation, seek alternatives and pursue work-life balance, and are hence referred to as ‘heroes.’ They are counted on to act as a force for change in labor rights and social justice.
This session welcomes both quantitative and qualitative studies and aims to outline the diversity of employment situations and social experiences within the precariat across generations, social classes, genders, ethnicities, and many other parameters, and on the basis of which, hopes to enhance understanding of diverse socio-economic trajectories of the precariat and offer deeper insight into educational, economic and societal policy making towards equitable education, inclusive economy and social justice for all individuals.
Session Organizers:
Oral Presentations