This paper is based on a small-scale mixed-method research project, which was located in south-east England and was funded by the British Academy. The project, investigated the factors that affected young people's decisions not to progress to higher education (HE) after following a Level 3 vocational pathway in upper secondary education. Set…

Based on the results of transition studies in the UK, Germany, USA and Canada, the virtues of analysing the structural contexts, institutional arrangements and the young peoples' action orientations are presented. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, school and the labour market have become more and more decoupled and transition routes…

British survey data from 3,733 on-time graduates and 841 mature graduates (first degree after age 25) showed that lower pay for mature graduates was linked with social class, institution attended, and public sector employment. The public sector was less likely to discriminate against mature graduates. (SK)