Social Inclusion – When the School Lets Go

Abstract

Social networks and informal social learning are examined and analysed. Factors – individual and contextual – help us to understand and explain the risks of belonging to a small social network at different times over a life course. Contextual changes over time are analysed, discussed, and compared with the effect of categorised individual factors influencing the students’ lives. The impact of contextual stability and change were compared in both strategically and spontaneously shaped social relations and networks. The risk of social isolation and social inclusion is analysed using logistic regression analysis. The chapter discusses how previous school experiences and important personal traits affect which social networks one participates in many years later. The chapter ends with reflections on further research in the field.