Transitions from Education to Work: An Introduction

Abstract

The concept of a ‘transition’ from full-time education to full-time work is one with a long history in youth studies, sociology, psychology and education. However, along with other transitions typically associated with the period of ‘youth’ (i.e. from the parental home into independent housing and from the ‘family of destination’ to the ‘family of origin’), it has been subjected to considerable critical scrutiny over recent years. As will be discussed in more detail later in this chapter, some researchers have argued that it now offers little theoretical purchase on the experiences of young people in the twenty-first century and the increasing complexity of the choices they are required to make as they move towards adulthood. While acknowledging the changes to the social, political and economic context within which young people now live, other scholars have suggested that it is more helpful to discuss changes to the nature of transitions, rather than assume that the concept is now obsolete. Indeed, in mapping some of these changes over recent decades, youth researchers have highlighted three significant trends in young people’s transition from education to work, which have been identified in many parts of the world. First, it is clear that young people are remaining in full-time education for longer periods of time and, as a consequence, entering the labour market (as full-time employees) at a correspondingly older age.