Background
The Danish Government has as educational policy goal that 95% of all young people should have finished an upper secondary education within 5 years, after they have left primary school. Only 65 % of the youth now realize this goal. It seems that instead of getting more young people through a secondary education, this group of young people is left behind and excluded from participating in society.

In Denmark, the dominating political understanding argue that we should educate ourselves out of the economic crisis and succeed in the global marketplace by a high degree of knowledge production. Therefore, young people are expected to be educated as soon as possible and as fast as possible after they have left primary school. There are very few alternatives to education since unskilled jobs are few and difficult to get. Also young people who are dependent on social help are faced with the requirement to complete an education. Education has thus become a prerequisite for being included in society. Young people, who are not completing an upper secondary education, are therefore at a high risk of being excluded.

The reasons why 35% of the young people do not succeed, are various. Many of them have personal and social challenges. Some are burdened by bad school experiences; others do not know what they want to do for a living and therefore find it difficult to choose an educational path. Regardless of the situation of this group of young people, both primary and secondary schools should be able to secure that also the group of more vulnerable young people succeed in finishing a secondary education and thereby secure their possibilities of participation in society through education.

 Goal:
The aim of the project is to explore young people’s own experiences with primary and secondary schools. Through young people’s life narratives the aim is to gain knowledge about how primary and secondary schools can qualify their efforts in order to enhance students’ participation opportunities, analyzed from a student perspective.

 Research questions:

• How have young people not completing a secondary education within 5 years, after they have left primary school, experienced school life
• How can primary and secondary schools improve their efforts in order to enhance all students’ participation opportunities  

Theoretical framework

The project is based on research in the neoliberal welfare state and the role of educational policy within the neo-liberal welfare state. Furthermore, the project is based on theory of inclusion and exclusion processes in schools. The analysis part is informed by discourse theory and narrative theory.

Evans, L. & Lunt, I. (2005): “Inclusive Education –are there limits?”, in Topping, K. & Maloney, S. (ed.) (2005): “Inclusive Education”, pp. 1-15, Routledge, London Hansen, J.H. (2010): "Limits to Inclusion", Journal of Inclusive Education Laclau, E. 1993: “Discourse”, in R.E. Goordin and P. Petitt (ed): “A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy”, Blackwell, London Pedersen, O.K. (2011): "The State of Competition", Hans Reitzel Skidmore, David (2004):”Inclusion”, Open University Press, Berkshire Topping, K. & Maloney, S. (ed.) (2005): “Inclusive Education”, Routledge, London