Jenny Chesters – författare

Investing in Children: Work, Education, and Social Policy in Two Rich Countries presents new research by leading scholars in Australia and the United States on economic factors that influence children's development and the respective social policies that the two nations have designed to boost human capital development.The volume is organized around three major issues: parental employment, early childhood education and child care, and postsecondary education. All three issues are intimately linked with human capital development. Since both Australia and the United States have created extensive policies to address these three issues, there is potential for each to learn from the other's experiences and policies. This volume helps fulfill that potential.The authors demonstrate that in both nations, the effects of low family income and income inequality emerge early in life and persist. However, policies that increase parental employment, augment family income, and promote quality preschool and postsecondary education can boost children's development and at least partially offset the negative developmental effects of family economic disadvantage.

This book investigates the impact of neoliberalism on inequity in education systems around the world. Leading scholars examine how the adoption of neoliberal economic policies has resulted in the marketisation of education systems, where education is regarded as a private rather than public good.Bringing together an array of contributions from Asia, Europe and Oceania this book examines how educational opportunities are distributed and how levels of educational inequality may have been impacted by neoliberal policies. Contributing authors emphasise how neoliberalism’s impact on educational inequality differs depending on the existing education system, the political context and the importance of education within its respective network. Highlighting the importance of social justice, chapters also analyse education policies designed to alleviate inequity, noting how inequality in access to education has implications for broader society.Neoliberalism, Inequality and Education is an essential resource for students and academics in education, economics, politics and sociology, as well as educators and policy-makers involved in education systems.

This prescient Research Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges that young people from across the globe face as they navigate the transition from adolescence to adulthood.An international collective of expert scholars takes stock of the changing social, political, and economic contexts that have exacerbated the difficulties experienced by young people as they leave education and embark on their journey to financial and emotional independence. Exploring both the Global North and South, chapters examine the manifold complexities of the transition to adulthood, covering youth policies and participation, mobility and belonging, life course and intergenerational relations, gendered transitions, youth precariousness and marginalisation, youth cultures, and health and wellbeing. The Research Handbook ultimately concludes that linear pathways from full-time education to full-time employment have become increasingly rare as rapidly evolving educational and labour market contexts continue to disrupt traditional views of adulthood.Engaging with contemporary theoretical debates on transitions into adulthood, this erudite Research Handbook will be an essential reference for advanced students and scholars of youth studies, life courses, education policy, geographical mobilities, and the sociology of work. Its examination of how government policies determine how economic circumstances impact young people will also benefit policymakers.

This open access book focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on well-being, happiness and quality of life, taking into account the mediating effects of social inequalities.

This open access book focuses on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on well-being, happiness and quality of life, taking into account the mediating effects of social inequalities. The volume brings together and into dialogue the different experiences and perspectives of countries and researchers from the Global North and South. Expert scholars from across the world have analyzed empirical data to reveal how the restrictions associated with the pandemic interrupted lives and livelihoods, and how different socio-economic groups and classes have been differently affected by the crisis. The chapters coalesce around four themes: the impact of COVID-19 on subjective well-being, life satisfaction and happiness in a comparative and longitudinal perspective; the impact of COVID-19 on employment and workers’ well-being; sociability, civic participation and solidarity during COVID-19; and the impact of COVID-19 on children’s and youths’ well-being. Engaging with contemporary theoretical debates on well-being, happiness and quality of life, this volume is of interest to scholars working on well-being, happiness and quality of life, global and cross-national studies, the social impact of COVID-19, and on social and economic change.

This book investigates the life trajectories of Generation X and Y Australians through the 1990s and 2000s. The book defies popular characterizations of members of the ‘precarious generations’ as greedy, narcissistic and self-obsessed, revealing instead that many of the members of these generations struggle to reach the standard of living enjoyed by their parents, value learning highly and are increasingly concerned about the environment and the legacy current generations are leaving for their children and remain optimistic in the face of considerable challenges. Drawing on data from the Life Patterns longitudinal study of Australian youth (an internationally recognized study), the book tells the story of members of these ‘precarious generations’. It examines significant dimensions of young people’s lives across time, comparing how domains such as health and well-being, education, work and relationships intersect to produce the complex outcomes that characterize the lives of members of each of these generations. It also explores the strategies these generations use to make their lives and the ways in which they remain resilient. While the book is based on Australian data, the analysis draws on and contributes to the international literature on young people and social change.