Young People without an Upper Secondary Education in Sweden. Their home background, school and labour market experiences

Abstract

In the context of the expansion of upper secondary education, young people without an upper secondary education might be considered an at‐risk group on the labour market. The present investigation is a longitudinal study of career both in school and at work for young people without upper secondary education. The study is part of a nationwide school research project, in which a national sample of pupils (9000) has been followed from the age of 13 through their school careers. Employment data were collected via a questionnaire given to young people without upper secondary education in 1991 when they were 23‐24 years old. The results show that even though 97% of the age cohort applied to upper secondary school in their final year of compulsory school, about one‐fifth lacked an upper secondary education at the age of 20. The dominant pattern among young people without upper secondary education was a blue‐collar home background, extensive special education, low and declining school achievements, and low self‐esteem. A similar pattern also characterized the comparison group with a two‐year vocational education in upper secondary school. Their school achievements were, however, not quite so low as for young people without upper secondary education. Although the majority of young people without upper secondary school had great difficulties in school they never experienced real unemployment but entered the regular labour market no later than at age 20. The context of these findings is the long economic boom of the 1980s.