Young Adults, Inequality and the Generational Divide: Learning and Life Chances in an Era of Uncertainty

LLAKES Centre Conference 2018

15-16 November 2018, London

Young people in many western countries face declining opportunities across various life domains, including in work, housing and welfare.  For several decades now, the ageing of populations, globalisation, and the shift in power from labour to capital, have been increasing inequalities in incomes and wealth, including between generations.  Young people have been in the front line of changes in work and welfare, and have generally suffered more than other age groups from the 2008 financial crisis and ensuing austerity.  In the UK now, with the added economic uncertainties of Brexit, some would argue that the prospects for millennial youth are worse than for any generation since those born at the turn of the 19th Century.  The LLAKES Centre Conference 2018 aimed to explore the changing opportunities structures for young adults in the context of growing inequality and economic uncertainty. 

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Day 1 – Thursday 15 November – Mary Ward House

Keynote: Changing Opportunities for Young Adults in the UK – Increasing Inequality or Intergenerational Decline?
Andy Green, Professor of Comparative Social Science and LLAKES Centre Director, UCL Institute of Education 

Keynote: Private schooling in 21st century Britain
Francis Green, Professor of Work and Education Economics, LLAKES Centre, UCL Institute of Education 

Panel: School Reform
Melissa Benn, Writer and campaigner
John Jerrim, Professor of Education and Social Statistics, UCL Institute of Education
Warwick Mansell, Education journalist

Strand 1: Young People: Perceptions, Attitudes, Civic Values and Political Engagement
Development of Values and Civic Engagement

The Development of Civic Values and the Effect of Education Jan Germen Janmaat, Reader in Comparative Social Science, UCL Institute of Education 

Volunteering: A route to Citizenship and Employability ?Rachel Wilde, Lecturer in Education, UCL Institute of Education 

‘Inequalities of Participation’: intergenerational and intragenerational differences in participation across the EU James Sloam, Reader in Politics & International Relations, Royal Holloway 

Influence on Political Engagement

Social media and youth political engagement: What are we measuring and how much does it matter?Avril Keating, Senior Lecturer in Comparative Social Science, UCL Institute of Education

Are schools making things worse?: The social reproduction of inequalities in political engagement
Bryony Hoskins, Professor of Comparative Social Science, University of Roehampton 

Beyond voting: Youth political participation and civic engagement in eight European countries Vassilis Pavlopoulos, Associate Professor of Cross-Cultural Psychology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens 

Strand 2: Young People: Education, Skills Inequalities and the Changing Nature of Work
Job Quality for Young People

Examining the Trends and Profile of Insecurity at Work
Alan Felstead, Research Professor, Cardiff School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University 

Great reversal or continued expansion?: The evolution of job skills in Britain over the last two decades Golo Henseke, Research Associate, LLAKES Centre, UCL Institute of Education 

The Changing Effect of Participative Decision-making on Employee Well-being Ying Zhou, Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management, University of Surrey 

Innovation and Productivity

Winners and losers in the knowledge economy Rebecca Riley, Director of Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence, NIESR 

Crossing the Divide: Extending life chances for young adults with chronic health conditions through learning and innovation Alison Fuller, Professor of Vocational Education and Work, UCL Institute of Education, Susan Halford, Professor of Sociology, University of Southampton and Kate Lyle, Research Fellow, Health Sciences, University of Southampton 

Making Better Use of Workers’ Ideas: New Evidence on a Neglected Aspect of the Productivity Debate Alan Felstead, Research Professor, Cardiff School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University 

Strand 3: Youth Transitions and Generational Inequalities
Youth and Intergenerational Mobility

Coming of Age in a Changing World: Constellations of Risk and the Dynamics of Agency Ingrid Schoon, Chair of Social Policy, UCL Institute of Education 

Youth and Working Life Transitions in Changing Social Landscapes Karen Evans, Emeritus Professor of Education, UCL Institute of Education 

The intergenerational transmission of socio-economic status: a comparison of the British 1958 and 1970 cohorts Alice Sullivan, Professor of Sociology, UCL Institute of Education 

Young People and the Great Recession

Imagining the Future in the Neoliberal Era: Young People’s Optimism and Their Faith in Hard Work Michela Franceschelli, Lecturer in Sociology, UCL Institute of Education 

The Great Recession and Economic Conditions of Young Adults Maria Sironi, Lecturer in Quantitative Sociology, UCL Institute of Education 

For Some, Luck Matters More.  The impact of the Great Recession on Early Careers of Graduates from Different Socio-Economic Backgrounds Greta Morando, ESRC Post-Doctoral Fellow, Economics Department, Royal Holloway 

Day 2 – Friday 16 November – Senate House
Keynote: Improving opportunities and life chances for young people – the challenge for policy makers Sir Vince Cable MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrat party and the MP for Twickenham 

Keynote: How more equal societies reduce stress, restore sanity and improve everybody’s wellbeing Kate Pickett, Professor of Epidemiology, Department of Health Sciences, University of York 

Panel: Repairing the generational contract
Georgia Gould, Cllr for Kentish Town Ward & Leader of Camden Council
Laura Gardiner, Research Director, Resolution Foundation

Strand 1: Young People: Perceptions, Attitudes, Civic Values and Political Engagement
Brexit: voting behaviour and attitudes

Were the Young Really “Screwed by Older Generations”? Evidence from The British Election Study David Kingman, Senior Researcher, Intergenerational Foundation 

Exploring voter profiles and the age gap in the Brexit vote using the Understanding Society data Gabriella Melis, Research Associate, LLAKES Centre, UCL Institute of Education 

The Generation Divide: How Young and Old View Brexit Sir John Curtice, Professor of Politics, University of Strathclyde and Senior Research Fellow, NatCen Radicalisation: different policies in different states

The Various Logics and Mechanisms of Youths Radicalization in France: Teenage Rebellion, Group Dynamics and Institutional responses Fabien Carrié, Doctor of Political Science, Paris Nanterre University 

Fundamental British values and ‘dangerous conversations’ Carol Vincent, Professor of Sociology of Education, UCL Institute of Education 

Strand 2: Young People: Education, Skills Inequalities and the Changing Nature of Work
Young People’s Labour Markets

Pulling Apart? A decade of change in Europe’s Graduate Labour Markets Francis Green, Professor of Work and Education Economics and Golo Henseke, Research Associate, LLAKES Centre, UCL Institute of Education 

Securing the future?: Young people, diversity and work entry routes Pauline Leonard, Professor of Sociology, University of Southampton 

Schools, Skills and Inequalities

Skills and educational attainments around the world: the role of the post-compulsory phase Nic Pensiero, Research Officer, LLAKES Centre, UCL Institute of Education 

Equity in Education: Evidence from the Programme for International Student Assessment Tarek Mostafa, Policy Analyst in the Directorate for Education and Skills, OECD 

Is Education Enough? Education, Skills and Socio-economic Inequalities Anna Vignoles, Professor of Education, University of Cambridge 

Strand 3: Youth Transitions and Generational Inequalities
Intergenerational Inequalities

Youth, education and deschooling from above Stuart Tannock, Senior Lecturer in Sociology of Education, UCL Institute of Education 

Tackling the Intergenerational Housing Crisis Dan Tomlinson, Research and Policy Analyst, Resolution Foundation 

Young people’s employability, skills and the impact of the socio-economic inequalities in their life course. The case of Greece Nikos Papadakis, Professor of Political Science, University of Crete 

Youth Transitions and Lifelong Learning

Young people’s labour market transitions: the role of early experiences Richard Dorsett, Professor of Economic Evaluation, University of Westminster 

Teenage height and weight, and the socio-economic circumstances of young adults Martin Weale, Professor of Economics, King’s College London 

Higher education, initial vocational training and continuing education and training: where should the balance lie?” Geoff Mason, Visiting Professor, LLAKES Centre, UCL Institute of Education