The literature on internships (also placements) emphasises their importance in career development, even seeing them as a launch pad for graduate careers. Indeed, universities use internships to enable students to develop a range of skills and to help clarify and refine employment intentions and career goals. Traditionally, most internships have…

It is the aim of this paper to provide a better understanding of how university students in Australia are preparing for their future work in the labour market through their work orientations. It draws upon a survey of over 300 final-year undergraduates to present their rationales for engaging in paid work, and their preferences for different job…

This article draws on the first two years of a longitudinal study of young people's pathway and career-related experiences and perspectives. It argues for a richer conceptualisation of young people's transition to study, training and employment than what simple school-to-labour market models allow. We present four clusters of young people's…

Career aspirations of 57 British girls and 64 boys aged 14- 16 were examined. Girls' choices have become far more ambitious. In contrast to the literature, these boys' aspirations remain high. Choices still reflect a deeply embedded gender dichotomy and demonstrate little recognition of changes in the labor market. (Contains 33 references.) (SK)

A study of four people enrolled in General National Vocational Qualifications courses shows that career and educational choices are constrained by culture and by issues of status and prestige. Simply giving choices does not address social inequalities, market forces, or status differentials, making GNVQs less empowering than intended. (SK)

An ethnographic study of British professional football (soccer) Youth Trainees shows how the attitudes and practices regarding education and work of a distinct subculture affect those who sought preparation for postfootball careers through educational development. Within the subculture, college attendance was regarded as unmanly and threatening to…

The relationship between schooling and employability is both close and ambiguous; close because governments are always keen that education should promote those practical skills that are employable. To this end, considerable investment has been made in promoting the virtues of industry. The question remains whether all the initiatives have…

This paper reports data from a questionnaire-based UK study that examined occupational sex-role stereotypes, perceived occupational gender segregation, job knowledge and job preferences of male and female pupils aged 14-18 for 23 jobs. Data were collected from 508 pupils in total. Both boys and girls perceived the majority of the jobs as being…

This paper is based on research conducted as part of the Equal Opportunities Commission's General Formal Investigation into gender segregation in the United Kingdom labour market. The project comprised a survey of and focus groups with 14/15 year-olds in eight English schools in spring 2004 and a survey of 15/16 year-olds in four Welsh schools in…

This paper explores the link between international tertiary education and evolving attitudes about women and work in China. The paper reviews literature about gender and education in China, commenting on the late-twentieth-century post-reform environment. It goes on to present illustrative primary research material from two studies carried out…

In this article we calculate the magnitude of occupational segregation pre- and post-labour market entry for young people using the Karmel and Maclachlan IP index. Our data refer to 22,280 males and 17,678 females who entered the labour market during the period 1988-91. Our results show that the magnitude of segregation is substantial, and is…

This study investigated how African American women from low-income, single-parent female-headed households conceptualize work and transitions to work, and how these conceptualizations relate to the dominant discourse of work underlying policies and practices in education-for-work. The study used the construct of cultural models as a conceptual…