David Balwanz

University of Johannesburg, South Africa, Centre for Education Rights and Transformation -CERT, Post-Doc

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David Balwanz is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation at the University of Johannesburg. His current research focuses on secondary education and youth development. David holds a PhD in International Education Policy/Political Economy from the University of Maryland – College Park and is a co-chair of the Youth
Development and Education Special Interest Group in the Comparative and International Education Society.

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Judith L Green

University of California, Santa Barbara

Richard Kahn

Antioch University

E. Wayne Ross

University of British Columbia

Jessica Ringrose

University College London

Jill V Jeffery

Leiden University

Nicole Mirra

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

jan jagodzinski

Univeristy of Alberta

Prince H A M I D Armah, PhD

University Of Education, Winneba

Antonia Darder

Loyola Marymount University

Guilherme Moerbeck

UERJ - Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro / Rio de Janeiro State University

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Making a Life: Doing, Radical Humanism, and Agency

More than one billion people globally are making a life outside of the formal labor market. This ... more More than one billion people globally are making a life outside of the formal labor market. This paper draws on original research in South Africa to argue that many people are making a life outside of the market in accordance with a set of values which fundamentally contest core assumptions embedded in dominant discourses about the relationship between learning, labor, and having a good life. People we spoke with argued that their making a life was characterized by concrete labor (or doing) and radical humanism and saw these elements as constitutive features of their well-being and instrumental to their well-being improvement. This chapter shares this research, explains the making a life framework, and then draws on this framework to explore its relationship with human agency and capability. In this exploration, the chapter notes that while structural perspectives often emphasize the (very real) agency-freedom constraints facing poor and working class people, a making a life framework demonstrates the inherent agency and humanity expressed by people enduring often extreme hardship and importantly offers a new perspective for interpreting human agency - inclusive of the self-defined efforts of people to make their lives own better and on their own terms.

in Ghana How Equity in Service Delivery Affects Educational and Learning Outcomes

World Bank Studies are published to communicate the results of the Bank’s work to the development... more World Bank Studies are published to communicate the results of the Bank’s work to the development community with the least possible delay. The manuscript of this paper therefore has not been prepared in accordance with the procedures appropriate to formally edited texts. This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. Note that The World Bank does not necessarily own each component of the content included in the work. The World Bank therefore does not warrant that the use of the content contained in the work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. The risk of claims resulting from such infringement rests solely with you. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and oth...

David Balwanz

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