Freedom in a rocking boat : the changing nature of youth transitions

![CDATA[This paper examines the changing contexts in which Australia’s youth negotiate the transition from school to work or further study. It seeks to re-position young people not as children then adults, nor as students then workers, but as active agents in a post-modern world, active in the re-construction and re-interpretation of their multiple possible selves in an environment that admits many possibilities that were not imagined in the past, but also excludes many options that once were taken for granted. The paper reviews the literature on reasons for early school leaving and argues that greater curriculum flexibility may be needed in schools where the concentration of difficult cases is very high. Research evidence also suggests that students who participate in part-time work tend to make more effective transitions to the workforce than those who do not. The important role of transition support workers both in and out of school is emphasised.]]