Participation in Transition

The Editors: Andreas Walther is a senior researcher at the Institute for Regional Innovation and Social Research (IRIS) and lecturer at the Institute for Educational Studies at the University of Tübingen (Germany).
Manuela du Bois-Reymond is emeritus professor for education and youth sociology at the University of Leiden (The Netherlands).
Andy Biggart is a research consultant in Coleraine (Northern Ireland).

Across Europe there is an increasing consensus that individuals need to become more active in their own social integration process. Participation in Transition focuses on young people's motivation in their transitions from education to work. Through an analysis of case studies the book provides empirical insight into the transition experiences of young people and examines how different types of transition policies affect motivation. The key objective is to examine whether and under what conditions the principle of active participation is effective in re-motivating disengaged young people and argues that mainstream approaches to activation remain ineffective as they neglect young people's subjective realities. The book adopts an innovative interdisciplinary approach that combines discrete research and policy perspectives on the labour market, youth and citizenship as well as learning and motivation.
The study has been carried out in the framework of the European Group for Integrated Social Research (EGRIS).

Contents: Andy Biggart/Manuela du Bois-Reymond/Andreas Walther: Introduction - Andreas Walther/Manuela du Bois-Reymond/Andy Biggart: Learning, Motivation and Participation in Youth Transitions: theoretical perspectives - Andreas Walther: Regulating Youth Transitions: trends, dilemmas and variations across different 'regimes' in Europe - Torben Bechmann Jensen/Barbara Stauber: Researching Motivation and Participation in Youth Transitions in a Comparative Perspective - Morena Cuconato/Amanda Hayes/Gabriele Lenzi/Andreas Walther: 'Soft' and 'Hard' Policy Measures for Young People - Wim Plug/Manuela du Bois-Reymond: Transition Patterns between Structure and Agency - Barbara Stauber/Andreas Walther: Motivational Careers in Transition: expectations, experiences and changes - Barbara Stauber/Alexandra Holmboe/Torben Bechmann Jensen/Gabriele Lenzi/Corina Laasch/Pat Leahy/Andreu López Blasco/Wim Plug/Holger Seifert: Experiences of Self-determination. Case studies into biographical effects of participatory practice - Axel Pohl/Manuela du Bois-Reymond/Paul Burgess/Alexandra Holmboe/Amanda Hayes/Loredana Iacob/José Machado Pais/Octav Marcovici/Mafalda Santos: Learning Biographies. Case studies into dimensions and prerequisites of competence development - Andreas Walther/Axel Pohl/Paul Burgess: Potentials of Participation for Citizenship and Social Inclusion.