Name
Abstract | ||
|---|---|---|
Government, major information and communications technology (ICT) companies, and educational institutions in the United Kingdom currently claim that ICT skills training offers inclusion into the new economy. We focus on a private-public training initiative and its impact on the socially excluded, specifically lone women parents. Narrative data from four United Kingdom educational sites participating in this computer network engineer training program highlight a systemic paradox: that ICT skills development initiatives designed to support lone women parents are simultaneously working in opposition to broader policy goals such as work-life balance and ironically serve to reproduce the participants' classification as socially excluded. The assumptions underpinning the model of social inclusion driving the ICT skills training course are analyzed critically using the concepts of community of practice, classificatory systems, and marginalization. Our findings suggest that ICT training courses and initiatives should be accompanied by changes in pedagogic practice that accommodate the more wide-ranging needs of those targeted for inclusion, as well as changes in employment settings. We conclude by exploring the implications of this for government policy formation, business vendor qualifications, the design of ICT skills training initiatives, and our understanding of the role of ICT skills in overcoming the digital divide. |
Year | DOI | Venue |
|---|---|---|
2007 | 10.1080/01972240601057254 | Inf. Soc. |
Keywords | Field | DocType |
social inclusion,ict skills development initiative,ict skills training course,ict skills training initiative,private-public training initiative,ict skill,network engineer training,ict skills training,ict training course,lone women parent,ict inclusion,computer network engineer training,network engineer,marginalization,iron,computer network,information and communication technology,government policy,social exclusion,digital divide | Digital divide,Sociology,Public relations,Social exclusion,Public policy,Information literacy,Information and Communications Technology,Community of practice,Work–life balance,Government | Journal |
Volume | Issue | ISSN |
23 | 1 | 0197-2243 |
Citations | PageRank | References |
10 | 0.77 | 13 |
Authors | ||
3 | ||
Name | Order | Citations | PageRank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hazel Gillard | 1 | 10 | 1.44 |
| Nathalie Mitev | 2 | 28 | 3.56 |
| Susan Scott | 3 | 285 | 19.99 |