This book presents the results of the project on Young Adults with Low Levels of Education, conducted jointly by the OECD and the Canadian Policy Research Networks.

This book addresses growing reservations about the relevance of educational systems to the economic and social needs of individuals by examining different aspects of transitions from school to work or further studies within formal and informal settings in Asia. Highlighting important issues such as selectiveness and inclusiveness, integration of transversal competencies, vocationalisation of secondary schooling, approaches to career guidance and emerging models of student support, it is of particular interest to educators, policymakers and other stakeholders who are concerned about the effectiveness of system-wide and institutional-based approaches. The first part of the book explores different models, mechanisms and approaches to policy and practice in the context of Asia, while the second part examines Hong Kong students’ transitions to post-school life and provides an account of issues and challenges the government and individual schools experience in terms of structural support for both mainstream and special-needs students.

Including youth in the labour market is a major challenge facing many European countries. This book examines the transitions from education to employment with a focus on Nordic youth in the broader European context. The book combines insights from the social sciences and law by linking the challenges facing young people in general and the more specific barriers facing the more vulnerable groups of young people. Youth, Diversity and Employment provides original insights on the interdependencies or interaction between redistributive and regulatory social policies.

This report examines changes over time among young adults who have experienced particular difficulties in achieving and retaining paid work in the ordinary labour market: youth with family background from non-Nordic countries and youth with disabilities in the Nordic countries. The report identifies processes and mechanisms enabling or preventing the labour market prospects of the two youth groups. The report focuses on policy measures aiming at tackling demand-side barriers to employment for the two youth groups. While available data have not made it possible to determine robust evidence of an effect (positive or negative) of the social regulation policies for the employment of vulnerable youth groups in statistical terms, the report identifies processes and mechanisms through which social regulation policies make a difference.

Reviews of the first edition “Not only does the clarity of the authors’ writing make the book very accessible, but their argument is also illustrated throughout with a broad range of empirical material … undoubtedly a strong contribution to the study of both contemporary youth and ‘late-modern’ society.” Youth Justice “A very accessible, well-evidenced and important book … It succeeds in raising important questions in a new and powerful way.” Journal of Education and Work “the book will be very popular with students and with academics…..The clarity of the organization, expression and argument is particularly commendable. I have no doubt that Young People and Social Change will rightly find its way onto the recommended reading lists of many in the field.” Professor Robert MacDonald, University of Teesside A welcome update to one of the most influential and authoritative books on young people in modern societies. With a fuller theoretical explanation and drawing on a comprehensive range of studies from Europe, North America, Australia and Japan, the second edition of Young People and Social Change is a valuable contribution to the field. The authors examine modern theoretical interpretations of social change in relation to young people and provide an overview of their experiences in a number of key contexts such as education, employment, the family, leisure, health, crime and politics. Building on the success of the previous edition, the second edition offers an expanded theoretical approach and wider coverage of empirical data to take into account worldwide developments in the field. Drawing on a wealth of research evidence, the book highlights key differences between the experiences of young people in different countries in the developed world. Young People and Social Change offers a wide-ranging and up-to-date introductory text for students in sociology of youth, sociology of education, social stratification and related fields.

This edited volume provides multidisciplinary and international insights into the policy, managerial and educational aspects of diverse students’ transitions from education to employment. As employers require increasing global competence on the part of those leaving education, this research asks whether increasing multiculturalism in developed societies, often seen as a challenge to their cohesion, is in fact a potential advantage in an evolving employment sector. This is a vital and under-researched field, and this new publication in Springer’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training series provides analysis both of theory and empirical data, submitted by researchers from nine nations including the USA, Oman, Malaysia, and countries in the European Union. The papers trace the origins of business demand for diversity in their workforce’s skill set, including national, local and institutional contexts. They also consider how social, demographic, cultural, religious and linguistic diversity inform the attitudes of those seeking work—and those seeking workers. With clear suggestions for future research, this work on a topic of rising profile will be read with interest by educators, policy makers, employers and careers advisors.

A rich, comparable and up-to-date array of indicators on the performance of education systems in OECD countries.

These indicators look at who participates in education, what is spent on it, how education systems operate and the results achieved.

This book addresses a wide range of migration-related issues in the European context and examines the socioeconomic consequences of migratory flows throughout Europe, focusing on a number of emblematic European countries. The book is divided into three parts. The first part deals with the tension between migrants and their integration processes in the receiving country, which is deeply influenced by the attitude of the local population and the different approach to highly and less skilled immigrants. The second part analyses the impact of migration on the economic structure of the receiving country, while the third part explores the varying degree of immigrants’ socioeconomic integration in the country of destination. The book offers an essential interdisciplinary contribution to the issue of migration and provides readers with a better understanding of the effects that different forms of migration have had and will continue to exert on economic and social change in host countries. It also examines migration policy issues and builds on historical and empirical case studies with policy recommendations on labour market, integration and welfare policy issues. The book is addressed to a wide audience, including researchers, academics and students of economics, sociology, politics and history, as well as government/EU officials working on migration topics.

"Many young people around the world --- especially the disadvantaged --- are leaving school without the skills they need to thrive in society and find decent jobs. As well as thwarting young people's hopes, these education failures are jeopardizing equitable economic growth and social cohesion, and preventing many countries from reaping the potential benefits of their growing youth populations. The 2012 Education for All Global Monitoring Report examines how skills development programmes can be improved to boost young people's opportunities for decent jobs and better lives."--Publisher's description