Life course, educational trajectories and social integration of young people in Slovenia

english

2011

volume 48, issue 5

Youth    Education    Social integration    Labor market    Slovenia 

Univerza v Ljubljani, Fakulteta za družbene vede

Young people in Slovenia are nowadays confronted with a competitive educational system, a demanding and restrictive labor market, as well as with a prolonged period of dependence on parents. The risky transition to adulthood compels them to search for flexible strategies that are able to lead them to their (uncertain) goals through the maze of the education system, work, entertainment, family, and peer relations. The article interprets Slovenian results from the international qualitative study Governance of Educational Trajectories in the context of life course and social integration of young people in Slovenia. We use the life course concept to analyze the adequacy of education for social integration, and how students in the last year of primary school (ninth-graders) in Slovenia plan their educational trajectories, what they expect from the future and what social support they rely on. Ongoing differentiation and de-standardization of life courses have extended the perspective of school learning towards lifelong learning. Accordingly, life courses are addressed as lifelong educational trajectories.

19.06.2014