Age(ing) In Educational Organizations – Images, Norms, Identities across the Lifecourse

Age is one of the key markers that greatly shape how a person is treated in our societies. From a social science perspective, age(ing) can be understood as a practical accomplishment – not something people are or do, but something that is being done through practices. Educational organizations co-constitute age through practices, for example by drawing age boundaries through the institutionalized separation of different age groups such as children, youth, young adults, middle-aged adults and older people. This becomes visible in age-segregated institutions, age-graded school classes, age-specific curricula, or the expectation that certain transitions — entering school, leaving school, starting vocational training or university, completing a degree — occur at a socially appropriate age.

The joint session aims to reflect age-related practices in educational institutions. By asking: “How do educational organizations contribute to practices of un/doing age?” and “How do organizational practices in educational fields shape our understanding of age(ing) and education?” it draws attention of audiences from both age studies and sociology of education.

Consequently, we invite contributions that...

• ... discuss theories, concepts and method(ologie)s of researching age as a social category of difference in educational organizations across the lifecourse
• ... reflect on age-related practices in educational organizations and its consequences for our understanding of age(ing) and education
• ... build bridges between educational and ageing research
• ... discuss the role of age in educational institutions and how this role is constituted, shaped and contested
• ... showcase empirical projects that deal with practices of un/doing age in educational institutions