INCREASINGLY DEMANDING, RISKY, AND DESTANDARDISED – YOUNG PEOPLE COPING WITH LIFE COURSE TRANSITIONS IN THE MIDST OF SOCIETAL CHANGES
After a short introduction of the goals and objectives of this working paper, we discuss some definitions of the concept of life course and the main tenets of life course research. The working paper examines also topics such as life course institutionalisation and destandardisation, understandings and experiences of time in life course, and constructing life courses in today’s late modern societies. A particular emphasis is placed on youth as a life phase as well as to the life course transition from youth to adulthood in Western countries.
Tikkanen, J., Barroso-Hurtado, D. & Guerrero-Puerta, L. (2021). Increasingly
Demanding, Risky, and De-Standardised – Young People in Western Countries
Coping with Life Course Transitions in The Midst of Societal Changes. RYOT
Working paper on the Life Course. RYOT Working Paper. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4719820
BEYOND THE UNPRODUCTIVE DUALISM – DEVELOPING UNDERSTANDINGS OF STRUCTURE AND AGENCY IN YOUTH STUDIES AND LIFE COURSE RESEARCH
This RYOT working paper presents some of the many definitions and understandings of social structures and individual agency together with a short overview of the perennial sociological debate about their relationship. The focus of the paper is on the recent changes in and the current state of the structure-agency relationship in today’s societies – and on the ways it is understood and applied particularly in the fields of youth studies and life course research.
Tikkanen, Jenni, & Jacovkis, Judith. (2021). Beyond the Unproductive Dualism –
Developing Understandings of Structure and Agency in Youth Studies and Life
Course Research. RYOT Working Paper. Zenodo. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4722916
MULTI-FACED NATURE OF YOUTH TRANSITIONS
This RYOT paper examines youth transition from different perspectives, on the one hand addressing the relationship between education and the labour market and the most salient issues. We focus to provide an understanding and how LLL policies can be used to facilitate youth transitions. Hence, we want to stress the importance of promoting and strengthening the link between education and work should be considered, taking into consideration both (1) the process of preparing young people for transition whereby young people have access to and can develop the skills (i.e., knowledge, competencies, attitudes and qualifications) required by the labour market to secure, retain and thrive in productive and decent employment, and adapt to the evolving economy; and (2) the process of making the actual transition whereby young people are able to smoothly access productive and decent work opportunities that make effective use of their skills (UNICEF, 2019). To successfully answer those two processes, three elements should be held in mind: skills demand, skills availability, and prompt skills activation (ILO, 2018).
Chan, Ralph, Pandolfini, Valeria & Pazur, Monika. (2023). Multi-faced nature of youth transitions. RYOT Working paper on Youth Transitions. Zenodo. https://zenodo.org/record/7742902#.ZBOy2-zMI6A