Papers by Ellen Vanderhoven
Compare, Mar 5, 2024
Despite growing consensus around the need for a more holistic vision of development, realising th... more Despite growing consensus around the need for a more holistic vision of development, realising the human development potential of educational interventions has proven a challenging task. This Forum grapples with how these tensions manifest in the international transfer of dual models of Vocational Education and Training (dVET) to low- and middle-income countries. While dVET has gained global currency, its developmental potential has been primarily framed in economic terms. Conversely, its alignment with human development remains an abstract possibility and is often not reflected in the policy design of dVET transfer attempts. Each contribution to this Forum probes a different facet of these tensions, exploring how dVET can be calibrated in different contexts to realise its human development potential. Taking a practice-led approach and featuring representatives from cooperation agencies, consultancy groups, and research organisations, this piece contributes to ongoing debates about the possibility of effectively integrating human development thinking into education policy.
Children's Geographies
Recent work in children’s geographies and geographies of education has presented the argument tha... more Recent work in children’s geographies and geographies of education has presented the argument that when conceptualising the various roles that adults occupy in children’s lives, it is equally important to conceptualise adultism. In this paper we argue that this existing work critiques adultism’s logics but does not adequately conceptualise adultism’s structural and scalar spatialities. We reconceptualise adultism as a structural and scalar phenomenon by examining our case study of a community music programme designed to reconnect children with their ‘learning identities’. We borrow the spatial metaphor of ‘chains’ from human geography’s postcapitalist literature to highlight how adultism structurally pervades this space of resistance, underscoring the more broadly applicable point that practices of resistance that fail to address adultism’s co-creative relationships with other structures of domination can end-up reasserting adultist relations. However, towards the end of the paper we argue that this reconceptualisation of adultism does not mean community music (or other critical pedagogies) should be abandoned, rather illustrating how the organisation in our case study innovate in order to address adultism’s structural and scalar facets.
Dual Apprenticeship Project Report, 2022
CHILDREN’S GEOGRAPHIES, 2022
Recent work in children’s geographies and geographies of education has
presented the argument tha... more Recent work in children’s geographies and geographies of education has
presented the argument that when conceptualising the various roles that
adults occupy in children’s lives, it is equally important to conceptualise
adultism. In this paper we argue that this existing work critiques
adultism’s logics but does not adequately conceptualise adultism’s
structural and scalar spatialities. We reconceptualise adultism as a
structural and scalar phenomenon by examining our case study of a
community music programme designed to reconnect children with
their ‘learning identities’. We borrow the spatial metaphor of ‘chains’
from human geography’s postcapitalist literature to highlight how
adultism structurally pervades this space of resistance, underscoring the
more broadly applicable point that practices of resistance that fail to
address adultism’s co-creative relationships with other structures of
domination can end-up reasserting adultist relations. However, towards
the end of the paper we argue that this reconceptualisation of adultism
does not mean community music (or other critical pedagogies) should
be abandoned, rather illustrating how the organisation in our case
study innovate in order to address adultism’s structural and scalar facets.
Multidisciplinary Journal of Educational Research
This research analyses, using a case-study approach, the perceived success factors in an outstand... more This research analyses, using a case-study approach, the perceived success factors in an outstanding Chilean public school serving socioeconomically vulnerable students. This qualitative study draws on qualitative interviews with school staff and class observations, using the Instructional Core model as an analytical framework. Analysis revealed that the beliefs and structural cultural values shared by the school community where more relevant to explaining school success than concrete practices, and highlighted the importance of the interrelation among success factors for understanding their impact on school effectiveness. Additionally, elements such as the ongoing and changing nature of success factors, the strong influence of leadership and internal relationships and the use of professional judgement and situated knowledge by teachers were also identified as key to understanding effectiveness. Lastly, the unintended consequences apparent in this case-study are discussed, as the sc...
Landscapes of Lifelong Learning Policies across Europe
In this chapter, we explore the meanings and motivations young adults attach to their participati... more In this chapter, we explore the meanings and motivations young adults attach to their participation in lifelong learning (LLL) policies and aim to identify LLL policy “participation styles” among young people in three functional regions across Europe: Kainuu in Finland, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire Region in Scotland, and Girona in Catalonia, Spain. We examine the participation styles in relation to young adults’ displayed agency, social background and resources, and previous life course progression, as well as the different policies and regional opportunity structures. The analysis is based on biographical interviews with young adults and thematic interviews with LLL policy experts. We identified four distinct participation styles based on the examined dimensions at both individual and policy levels. Furthermore, an additional pattern emerged from the data, as some young adults were able to alter the conditions of a given policy to meet their individual needs in a way that was n...
WP1 reviews the international academic literature concerning the transfer and transferability of ... more WP1 reviews the international academic literature concerning the transfer and transferability of the dual apprenticeship model. Its aim is to address our project’s central research question: Can dual apprenticeships create better and more equitable social and economic outcomes for young people? In service of this aim, a Realist Synthesis approach has been adopted. This is an approach which has been specifically developed as a means of reviewing research evidence on complex social interventions and is particularly attentive to the role of context in producing divergent outcomes (Pawson et al., 2004). Thus, Realist Synthesis allows us to go beyond identification of ‘what works’ or simply ‘does it work?’, and instead interrogate ‘what works, for whom, in which circumstances and why?’ It does so by focusing on the identification and extraction of causal mechanisms operating in particular contexts to produce specific outcomes or Context-Mechanism-Outcome configurations (CMO-Cs) – that th...
Journal of Business Venturing Insight, 2020
The Social Innovation Fund (SIF) - funded by Scottish Government and the European Social Fund - a... more The Social Innovation Fund (SIF) - funded by Scottish Government and the European Social Fund - adopts a ‘public venture capital’ model to support socially innovative organisations. This article critically explores the use of public venture capital programmes to fund and grow the social economy through the case study of Heavy Sound Community Interest Company. We conclude that, while SIF funding helped Heavy Sound to scale-up an effective intervention in the short term, further significant scaling might undermine the project’s success and long-term sustainability was not assured. We call for further research into the long-term consequences of public venture capital programmes coming to an end, including coordinated evaluation of the SIF.
Administrative Theory & Praxis, 2019
YOUNG_ADULLLT Working Papers, 2019
This dissemination paper presents findings and recommendations produced from the research project... more This dissemination paper presents findings and recommendations produced from the research project entitled Policies Supporting Young Adults in their Life Course: A Comparative Study of Lifelong Learning and Inclusion in Education and Work in Europe (YOUNG_ADULLLT). The project ran from 2016 to 2019 and was funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation initiative.
This paper is intended for use by Scottish policymakers, practitioners and researchers in the fields of adult education, lifelong learning, youth policy and skills policy, as well as international audiences interested in the case of Scotland.
University of Glasgow [Unpublished Thesis], 2018
As the interrelated causes of deprivation, social exclusion and academic underachievement are inc... more As the interrelated causes of deprivation, social exclusion and academic underachievement are increasingly recognised, multi-agency working has become the new norm in community development and education. Despite the increasing prevalence of partnership models in post-devolution Scottish public policy, sustainable and fundamental transformations in working practices appear elusive. This research investigates the perspectives of front-line partners at one community education project in the West of Scotland in order to fill gaps in the extant literature and enhance ‘practice-relevant scholarship’ (Antonacopoulou, 2010). By telling the story of partnership at Killoch Homework and Cookery Club (KHCC), the benefits and frustrations of multiagency working for small community projects are highlighted, and characteristics that could support success and sustainability are identified.
Furthermore, a novel hybridization of Habermas' (1987) colonization theory is developed, incorporating the work of Michael Lipsky (1980) and Ulrich Beck (1992, 2014). Hybridization of this kind is shown to be a crucial element of building social theory that can be put to work for the benefit of society.
Community Links, 2012
This report summarises major projects and proposals related to the social legacy of the London Ol... more This report summarises major projects and proposals related to the social legacy of the London Olympic Games in East London, identifying the main parties involved and the progress of any plans. Also included are reactions from civil society as well as Community Links' recommendations for the London Legacy Development Corporation. The report focuses on three principal areas: housing; employment, skills and business; community resources and connections.
Journal Articles by Ellen Vanderhoven
Compare, 2024
Despite growing consensus around the need for a more holistic vision of development, realising th... more Despite growing consensus around the need for a more holistic vision of development, realising the human development potential of educational interventions has proven a challenging task. This Forum grapples with how these tensions manifest in the international transfer of dual models of Vocational Education and Training (dVET) to low- and middle-income countries. While dVET has gained global currency, its developmental potential has been primarily framed in economic terms. Conversely, its alignment with human development remains an abstract possibility and is often not reflected in the policy design of dVET transfer attempts.
Each contribution to this Forum probes a different facet of these tensions, exploring how dVET can be calibrated in different contexts to realise its human development potential. Taking a practice-led approach and featuring representatives from cooperation agencies, consultancy groups, and research organisations, this piece contributes to ongoing debates about the possibility of effectively integrating human development thinking into education policy.
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Papers by Ellen Vanderhoven
presented the argument that when conceptualising the various roles that
adults occupy in children’s lives, it is equally important to conceptualise
adultism. In this paper we argue that this existing work critiques
adultism’s logics but does not adequately conceptualise adultism’s
structural and scalar spatialities. We reconceptualise adultism as a
structural and scalar phenomenon by examining our case study of a
community music programme designed to reconnect children with
their ‘learning identities’. We borrow the spatial metaphor of ‘chains’
from human geography’s postcapitalist literature to highlight how
adultism structurally pervades this space of resistance, underscoring the
more broadly applicable point that practices of resistance that fail to
address adultism’s co-creative relationships with other structures of
domination can end-up reasserting adultist relations. However, towards
the end of the paper we argue that this reconceptualisation of adultism
does not mean community music (or other critical pedagogies) should
be abandoned, rather illustrating how the organisation in our case
study innovate in order to address adultism’s structural and scalar facets.
This paper is intended for use by Scottish policymakers, practitioners and researchers in the fields of adult education, lifelong learning, youth policy and skills policy, as well as international audiences interested in the case of Scotland.
Furthermore, a novel hybridization of Habermas' (1987) colonization theory is developed, incorporating the work of Michael Lipsky (1980) and Ulrich Beck (1992, 2014). Hybridization of this kind is shown to be a crucial element of building social theory that can be put to work for the benefit of society.
Journal Articles by Ellen Vanderhoven
Each contribution to this Forum probes a different facet of these tensions, exploring how dVET can be calibrated in different contexts to realise its human development potential. Taking a practice-led approach and featuring representatives from cooperation agencies, consultancy groups, and research organisations, this piece contributes to ongoing debates about the possibility of effectively integrating human development thinking into education policy.
presented the argument that when conceptualising the various roles that
adults occupy in children’s lives, it is equally important to conceptualise
adultism. In this paper we argue that this existing work critiques
adultism’s logics but does not adequately conceptualise adultism’s
structural and scalar spatialities. We reconceptualise adultism as a
structural and scalar phenomenon by examining our case study of a
community music programme designed to reconnect children with
their ‘learning identities’. We borrow the spatial metaphor of ‘chains’
from human geography’s postcapitalist literature to highlight how
adultism structurally pervades this space of resistance, underscoring the
more broadly applicable point that practices of resistance that fail to
address adultism’s co-creative relationships with other structures of
domination can end-up reasserting adultist relations. However, towards
the end of the paper we argue that this reconceptualisation of adultism
does not mean community music (or other critical pedagogies) should
be abandoned, rather illustrating how the organisation in our case
study innovate in order to address adultism’s structural and scalar facets.
This paper is intended for use by Scottish policymakers, practitioners and researchers in the fields of adult education, lifelong learning, youth policy and skills policy, as well as international audiences interested in the case of Scotland.
Furthermore, a novel hybridization of Habermas' (1987) colonization theory is developed, incorporating the work of Michael Lipsky (1980) and Ulrich Beck (1992, 2014). Hybridization of this kind is shown to be a crucial element of building social theory that can be put to work for the benefit of society.
Each contribution to this Forum probes a different facet of these tensions, exploring how dVET can be calibrated in different contexts to realise its human development potential. Taking a practice-led approach and featuring representatives from cooperation agencies, consultancy groups, and research organisations, this piece contributes to ongoing debates about the possibility of effectively integrating human development thinking into education policy.