Ness, K (2013) Constructing craft identities: discourses of skill and identity in the building trades. PhD thesis, University of Reading, UK.
Abstract
Apprenticeship and training in UK construction crafts have declined dramatically over the past 35 years, and much learning now takes place informally, on the job. This is the background to the aim of this research, to explore the nature of skill and identity in the building trades. 49 semi-structured interviews were carried out with informants having worked on construction sites in England over the period since the Second World War. A narrative analysis produced 'life histories' of learning and practicing a trade. The interviews were also analysed in terms of changing understandings of skill and identity, comparing data from contemporary sites in the southeast with a historical case study of the Manchester Direct Works Department in 1979-1982. Critical Discourse Analysis identified site discourses used to construct indentities and compared these with discourses from policy documents since 1950.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | apprenticeship; building trades; case study; construction site; construction sites; craft; england; interview; learning; policy; training; UK |
| Index terms: | war, documents, identity, interview, history, narrative, England, critical discourse analysis, building trade, case study, apprenticeship, construction site |
| Subjects: | Geography, sociology, work location, qualitative and interpretive research, professional education, conflict and crisis studies, professional development, data analysis and analytics, data collection methods, practitioner, architectural and construction history |
| Topics: | Site Management, Information Management, Legal Issues, Education, Geographical Context, Roles and Professions, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here