Sociology of Adolescence is a second- or third-year course, examining the social definitions of adolescence in cross-cultural and historical perspectives. In their previous examination of the Sociology of Adolescence in a book titled, Generation On Hold (1994), the authors observed the increasingly prolonged transitional period between the dependency of childhood and the independence of adulthood caused by diminished workplace opportunities. Critical Youth Studies now expands upon that topic using clear evidence of this trend and its troubling consequences. Not only in Canada, but also in virtually every advanced industrialized country in the world, the full cohort transition now spans the ages of 15 to 30. Young people constitute a disadvantaged group in need of special academic and policy attention, whether they go on to higher education or complete high school or less. What lies behind the growing inequalities among age cohorts? Should it be taken for granted as the “new normal”? This book presents a focused argument that challenges complacency and provides a model for critical thinking on these issues.

critical youth studies

Politics & Social Sciences

Allahar, Anton L.

Côté, James E.

Sociology

Pearson Education Canada

The present state of the university is a difficult issue to comprehend for anyone outside of the education system. If we are to believe common government reports that changes in policy are somehow making life easier for university graduates, we cannot help but believe that things are going right and are getting better in our universities. Ivory Tower Blues gives a decidedly different picture, examining this optimistic attitude as it impacts upon professors, students, and administrators in charge of the education system.
Ivory Tower Blues is a frank account of the contemporary university, drawing on the authors? own research and personal experiences, as well as on input from students, colleagues, and administrators. James E. Côté and Anton L. Allahar offer an insider?s account of the university system, an accurate, alternative view to that overwhelmingly presented to the general public. Throughout, the authors argue that fewer and fewer students are experiencing their university education in ways expected by their parents and the public. The majority of students are hampered by insufficient preparation at the secondary school level, lack of personal motivation, and disillusionment. Contrary to popular opinion, there is no administrative or governmental procedure in place to maintain standards of education.
Ivory Tower Blues is an in-depth look at the crisis facing Canadian and American universities, the factors that are precipitating the situation, and the long-term impact this crisis will have on the quality of higher education.

Ivory Tower Blues: A University System in Crisis

Education & Teaching

Côté, James

Schools & Teaching

University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division

The present state of the university is a difficult issue to comprehend for anyone outside of the education system. If we are to believe common government reports that changes in policy are somehow making life easier for university graduates, we cannot help but believe that things are going right and are getting better in our universities. Ivory Tower Blues gives a decidedly different picture, examining this optimistic attitude as it impacts upon professors, students, and administrators in charge of the education system.
Ivory Tower Blues is a frank account of the contemporary university, drawing on the authors’ own research and personal experiences, as well as on input from students, colleagues, and administrators. James E. Côté and Anton L. Allahar offer an insider’s account of the university system, an accurate, alternative view to that overwhelmingly presented to the general public. Throughout, the authors argue that fewer and fewer students are experiencing their university education in ways expected by their parents and the public. The majority of students are hampered by insufficient preparation at the secondary school level, lack of personal motivation, and disillusionment. Contrary to popular opinion, there is no administrative or governmental procedure in place to maintain standards of education.
Ivory Tower Blues is an in-depth look at the crisis facing Canadian and American universities, the factors that are precipitating the situation, and the long-term impact this crisis will have on the quality of higher education.

University of Toronto Press

What happens to the liberal arts and science education when universities attempt to sell it as a form of job training? In Lowering Higher Education, a follow-up to their provocative 2007 book Ivory Tower Blues, James E. Côté and Anton L. Allahar explore the subverted 'idea of the university' and the forces that have set adrift the mission of these institutions. Côté and Allahar connect the corporatization of universities to a range of contentious issues within higher education, from lowered standards and inflated grades to the overall decline of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences instruction. Lowering Higher Education points to a fundamental disconnect between policymakers, who may rarely set foot in contemporary classrooms, and the teachers who must implement their educational policies—which the authors argue are poorly informed—on a daily basis. Côté and Allahar expose stakeholder misconceptions surrounding the current culture of academic disengagement and supposed power of new technologies to motivate students. While outlining what makes the status quo dysfunctional, Lowering Higher Education also offers recommendations that have the potential to reinvigorate liberal education.

Lowering Higher Education: The Rise of Corporate Universities and the Fall of Liberal Education

What happens to the liberal arts and science education when universities attempt to sell it as a form of job training? In Lowering Higher Education, a follow-up to their provocative 2007 book Ivory Tower Blues, James E. Côté and Anton L. Allahar explore the subverted 'idea of the university' and the forces that have set adrift the mission of these institutions. Côté and Allahar connect the corporatization of universities to a range of contentious issues within higher education, from lowered standards and inflated grades to the overall decline of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences instruction.Lowering Higher Education points to a fundamental disconnect between policymakers, who may rarely set foot in contemporary classrooms, and the teachers who must implement their educational policies—which the authors argue are poorly informed—on a daily basis. Côté and Allahar expose stakeholder misconceptions surrounding the current culture of academic disengagement and supposed power of new technologies to motivate students. While outlining what makes the status quo dysfunctional, Lowering Higher Education also offers recommendations that have the potential to reinvigorate liberal education.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Allahar, Anton L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Allahar, Anton L.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Allahar, Anton L.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

critical youth studies

Ivory Tower Blues: A University System in Crisis

Ivory Tower Blues: A University System in Crisis

Lowering Higher Education: The Rise of Corporate Universities and the Fall of Liberal Education

Lowering Higher Education: The Rise of Corporate Universities and the Fall of Liberal Education