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This book examines the university experiences of first-in-family university students, and how these students' decisions to return to education impact upon their family members and significant others. While it is well known that parental educational background has a substantial impact on the educational levels of family and dependents, it is unclear how attending university as a first-in-family student translates into the family and community of the learner. With the continuing requirements for higher education institutions to increase the participation of students from a range of diverse backgrounds and educational biographies, this is a major gap in understanding that needs to be addressed. Exploring how this university participation is understood at an individual, familial and community level, this book provides insights into how best to support different student requirements.

Edited abstract from publisher's website.

The contents are as follows: Part one, 'Surveying the first-in-family student terrain', contains the following chapters: Setting the scene (pages 3-31); The lack of what ...?: first-in-family learners and their university experience (pages 33-53); Disrupting the deficit: beyond notions of lack for first-in-family students (pages 55-71); What am I waiting for? (pages 73-93). Part two, 'Narrating the first-in-family experience', contains: Trailblazing: motivations and relationship impacts for first-in-family enabling students (pages 97-117); The online student experience: new challenges for engagement and support (pages 119-135); 'So how was big school today?': family perceptions of HE participation (pages 137-154); Parents managing university and family life (pages 155-176); Motivated men: first-in-family male students (pages 177-201); Concluding thoughts (pages 203-2015). Show less

First in Family (FiF) is an under-recognised equity grouping which may encompass low-SES, mature-aged, regional and remote, and Indigenous students. FiF tertiary students are more likely to be in a position of educational disadvantage over students who have other family members available to share the experience of university life and discuss aspirations. Building on previous research, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 18 FiF university students from a range of disciplines across three South Australian institutions. We analysed the interview data based on themes derived through readings of FiF literature, adding new ones as they emerged as part of the process of analysis. In this paper, we specifically focus on the interview responses which included metaphors or analogies. Metaphors provide a conceptual framework for thinking about a particular problem and drawing comparisons between unlike situations. Our experience as educators told us that students often subtly and unintentionally utilise metaphors when articulating lived experiences. We both specifically asked the FiF students to identify a metaphor that reflected their experience of being at university and also considered their use of metaphors in response to other questions. In exploring these metaphors, we have gained insight into students’ day-to-day experience of attending university and have gained information about their motivations and their struggles. When considered by university staff and policy-makers, this information could be used to guide the development of strategies that may help future FiF students.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

Japan's rate of population aging is currently the highest in the world. In relation to policies related to older people, Japan may be facing issues that are yet to arise in other countries. In response, this special edition focuses on employment issues associated with combining work and family care, particularly caring for older people. The articles are as follows: Current situation and problems of legislation on long-term care in Japan's super-aging society / Kimiyoshi Inamori (pages 8-24); Family care leave and job quitting due to caregiving: focus on the need for long-term leave / Shingou Ikeda (pages 25-44); Choices of leave when caring for family members: what is the best system for balancing family care with employment? / Mayumi Nishimoto (pages 45-67); Frameworks for balancing work and long-term care duties, and support needed from enterprises / Yoko Yajima (pages 68-91); Current issues regarding family caregiving and gender equality in Japan: male caregivers and the interplay between caregiving and masculinities / Mao Saito (pages 92-111).

Also included in this issue is the following article: Job creation after catastrophic events: lessons from the Emergency Job Creation program after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake / Shingo Nagamatsu, Akiko Ono (pages 112-131).

Edited excerpts from publication with additional information. Show less

This Australian Learning and Teaching Fellowship focuses on those students who are the first in their families [FiF] to come to university, in order to explore approaches to retaining and engaging this cohort. Of particular interest was the ways in which the family and community of learners might be included in this university journey. [The author suggests that], whilst many university outreach and retention programs have been put in place to improve the participation rates of students from equity groups, arguably they are missing a key component essential to the success of these programs - meaningful engagement with the family and community of learners. The consequence is that many outreach programs may not achieve their potential because family members lack awareness of what it means to go to university and how to effectively support students in this journey.

In recognition of this, the fellowship worked with university stakeholders across Australia, many of whom were involved with the transition and retention of FiF students. Through a series of workshops and the development of online resources, the fellowship has showcased approaches to fostering connections with the family/community of learners to better sustain student engagement during transition into the university environment.

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This study explores the linkage between nine policy indicators of public childcare provision and maternal employment in terms of employment propensity and (conditional) working hours. We apply different identification strategies with a two-way fixed effects specification with individual and macro-level confounders as well as year and state fixed effects as our most ambitious specification. Based on German microcensus data for waves 2006-2014, our findings show that identification, particularly in terms of state fixed effects, is crucial for the estimated effects. For three indicators however, we are left with significant associations even in the most complex model: For 1-2 year old children cared for by a childminder (3-5 year old children in daycare centres), an increase in the share of children taken care for less than 25 weekly hours on all same-age children attending public care by 10 percentage points is associated with a decrease of maternal employment propensity by 2 (4) percentage points. Thirdly, the existence of a legal claim on childcare from the age of one is associated with an increase in weekly working hours by 4.3 per cent, compared to a situation without such an entitlement. Compared to medium-level educated mothers, associations with respect to employment propensity are stronger (weaker) for mothers with a high (low) educational level whereas hours associations are weaker for highly skilled mothers. Compared to mothers in couples, single mothers respond less sensitively concerning both the extensive and the intensive margin of employment.

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Using survey data from 1028 high school seniors and interview data from 54 participants, this study investigates the status quo regarding equity and access to higher education in China. Findings indicate that students from higher socioeconomic family backgrounds, better high schools, and more urban homes are more likely to be admitted into prestigious colleges. [The authors] conclude that the surface fairness of the Gaokao system that allocates students to different college prestige strata masks an underlying design of deep social inequity. [The authors] finally recommend strategies to reform the admissions process in order to achieve greater fairness in university access in China.

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This article examines how women managers in the maritime sector in Eastern and Southern Africa perceive the meaning of 'success' in their careers and how their work impacts on their lives. Eastern and Southern Africa have experienced the highest economic growth of the sub-African regions in the last few decades. As the majority of these countries are either coastal states or islands, the role of the maritime sector is large, contributing significantly to boosting the local economies. Despite the sector's traditionally male-dominated work environment, some women have reached managerial positions and have performed as remarkably as their male counterparts. However, this study highlights that to be successful in their maritime careers, women managers tend to live a work-led life rather than one that is work-life balanced. There is a lack of research on the work-life balance of the women labour force in Eastern and Southern Africa, particularly in the maritime sector. Here, a phenomenological method was adopted in which a survey was conducted to address this gap. A total of 45 responses were analysed to identify the challenges that Eastern and Southern African women managers are facing in the maritime sector today. Interviews were also carried out to further understand the meaning of career success to these women professionals engaged in the maritime sector. Although opportunities for women to participate in the formal economy have increased as a result of rapid industrialization in the regions, women are still expected to carry out the majority of domestic jobs associated with their traditional gender roles. The research concludes that the lack of a work-life balance model failed to increase women managers' agency within the 'man-made' system of the maritime industry. Given the particularities of each country, which impact on the actual realization of these women's aspirations, the article also acknowledges the importance of targeted capacity-building programmes by the International Maritime Organization for women at a regional and international level. This article is published as part of a collection on the role of women in management and the workplace.

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Aotearoa New Zealand is enjoying a period of low unemployment and unprecedented growth in the construction industry, and yet youth, and especially Maori aged 16-24, are still overly represented in statistics of people not in education, employment or training (Buzzeo et al., 2016; MBIE, 2018; TEC, 2014). For this reason, this group is a priority area for Government, who are highly supportive of programmes which can show success in moving young people from unemployment to the workplace - and help them to stay there. Kiwi Can Do has been offering vocational training and work experience opportunities over the past four years, demonstrating strong employment outcomes for graduates of around 67 per cent. The purpose of this report is to tell the organisation's story, and identify the strategies which are contributing to this success.

Excerpt from publication. Show less

Purpose: The paper reports a comprehensive study on dilemmas faced by working mothers in synchronizing their occupational life (job) along with domestic life (children). The target of this paper lies in portraying the origin, determinants and outcomes of this imbalance and crossroad situation. Layout/method: The scholarly articles reviewed are extracted from Proquest and Google Scholar databases, where the scrutinised articles are from the years 2000-2015 only. These scholarly articles are investigated according to the critical viewpoint of the author, hence only the articles which are devoted to (home and office) sphere of working mothers are referred. Thus, these articles not only put a light on problems of working mothers but also penetrate into various related issues of working mothers that still need to be observed/studied.

Outcomes: The study deals with the cause and effects of work family imbalance for working mothers. Precise focus is on the following determinants: outcomes of the in equilibrium; role of family and office; and impact on family, health and work. There is still a large scope to work on the remedial measures that working mothers can opt for to decrease this imbalance and enhance their quality of life by keeping both work and family at par. Research implications/limitations: The problems and outcomes of working mothers cited in this article are based on 21 scholarly articles and are relevant only to a chain of causes that lead to work-family conflict and its effects. Hence, this article should be examined only in accordance to the mentioned spheres of the study. Originality/validity: Twenty-one critically related articles on work and family conflict domain indicating the causes and outcomes for working mothers, and indicating further scope for research opportunities in this area.

Edited published abstract. Show less

Using [European Union-Statistics on Income and Living Conditions] EU-SILC data for 2005 and 2011, we compare the role of family background on labour outcomes in three EU countries [Spain, Italy and Poland] that experienced large swings in unemployment during this period. We use a multidimensional family background indicator that avoids undesirable cohort effects. Our results suggest that family background affects employment prospects and job quality (hourly wages and contract insecurity), and that human capital formation explains a significant part (but not all) of the family background effects. There is significant cross-national variation in the extent to which human capital can explain the effects of family background. Finally, we do not find any evidence that the effect of family background is substantially moderated by the economic cycle in any of our countries.

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