Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review 2010, 46(1): 73-100 | DOI: 10.13060/00380288.2010.46.1.03

The Transition to Adulthood as Experienced by Long-Term Unemployed Graduates of Vocational Programmes in Brno and Surrounding Areas

Jana Havlíková
Výzkumný ústav práce a sociálních věcí, v.v.i., Brno

The aim of this article is to provide insight into the circumstances of long-term unemployed graduates of (mostly) non-GCSE vocational programmes from the perspective of their transition to adulthood. The analytical framework used for this research is life course theory, according to which it is possible to approach the transition from youth to adulthood as a multiple transition. This point corresponds well with reality because young people follow at least three trajectories on their way to adulthood: from school to work, from family of origin to family of procreation, and from dependence to independence. The data necessary for the analysis were collected through repeated biographical and semi-structured interviews with 14 long-term unemployed graduates of non-GCSE vocational programmes and 6 employed graduates of vocational programmes as a reference group. Their implicit theories of adulthood, progress on the path to adulthood, and everyday strategies were examined in a qualitative data analysis, with special attention paid to contextual aspects. As for the dominant form of transition, the author found that long-term unemployment has a delaying impact on the transition to adulthood, above all owing to financial strain. These people suffer from prolonged economical dependency on their parents and remain at the threshold of the socially constructed path to adulthood. Typically there social status is vague.

Keywords: transition to adulthood, long-term unemployment, graduates of vocational programmes, life course theory, Czech Republic.

Published: February 1, 2010Show citation

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Havlíková, J. (2010). The Transition to Adulthood as Experienced by Long-Term Unemployed Graduates of Vocational Programmes in Brno and Surrounding Areas. Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review, 46(1), 73-100. doi: 10.13060/00380288.2010.46.1.03.
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