Research Project
Researchers: The Australian National University (Associated with)
Full description The Negotiating the Life Course Project is a leading Australian social science resource widely used by university researchers and students, especially PhD students. The research on life course pathways allow Australian researchers to contribute to major advances that are being made in this field, particularly in Europe. Beyond its major academic contributions, results have been extensively reported in the media and have increased community understanding of Australian society. It has an important role in several areas of policy formulation especially in work/family, housing and education. Its principals are leading social commentators in these policy areas partly because they are able to draw upon this significant national resource. The Negotiating the Life Course Project provides theoretical and methodological insights into the life pathways of Australians. Using a longitudinal life course perspective, the focus is the transitions and trajectories of Australians' work and family lives, investigating issues that cannot be adequately addressed with cross-sectional data. The program of research examines how trajectories in people's lives interact, and how the life stages of other family members affect individual pathways. This research on work/family linkages, housing pathways and lifetime learning has direct relevance to social policy. The Project has been funded through ARC awards.