In this project, topics such as inclusion, exclusion and marginalisation in different domains of life are to be studied in a cohort of vulnerable youth who started in upper secondary school in 1995. Experiences in school and their subsequent transitions to arenas such as work and independent living, family, further education and leisure time is central. This paper focus on variations and changes in leisure networks and the associated adaptive situations they represent. These are central but under-researched themes in educational research.

Most young people attend school. In Norway, more than 95% of those leaving lower secondary school in the spring of a particular year start in upper secondary education in the autumn. This is also the case for vulnerable youth, those at risk for later adverse development. For this reason, this longitudinal study uses the admission cohort to upper secondary education as its empirical point of departure. The 1995 admission cohort has been studied exhaustively for many years, analysing the relative weight of e.g. individual factors, family factors and school factors in order to understand and explain their pattern of adaptation in adult life. We have analysed the vulnerable youth adaptation (Kvalsund and Bele 2010) by data from 2002 i.e. shortly after they completed or should have completed upper secondary school.

Based on the data set from 2007 we ask what changes there are in the distribution of adaptive situations. What are the explanatory factors behind the pattern of adaptation five years later? Can we identify new or complementary explanatory factors compared with the situation in 2002? 

In VULNERABLE YOUTH the theoretical and methodological approaches are varied. Perspectives from life span psychology (for example Diewald and Mayer 2009; Rutter et al. 1998; Wyn and White 1997) and life course sociology (Mayer 2009; Elder and Giele 2009) are combined with elements from disability theories (Stewart et al. 2010; Kvalsund and Bele 2010; 2003; Priestly 2003; Barnes, Mercer and Shakespeare 1999; Oliver 1996;). Analyses of this kind are necessary to understand and explain educational or socio-political interventions that aim to support young people facing difficulties in their transitions to adult life.

Barnes, C., Mercer; G: and Shakespeare,T. (1999): Exploring disability. A sociological introduction. Cambridge: Polity Press. Diewald, M. and K.U. Mayer (2009): The sociology of the life course and life span psychology: Integrated paradigm or complementing pathways? Advances in Life Course research 14:5 – 14. Elder, G.H. and J.Z. Giele (2009): Life Course Studies: An Evolving Field. In: Elder, G.H. and J.Z. Giele (eds.): The Craft of Life Curse Research. New York: The Guilford Press. Foster, E.M., C. Flanagan, D.W. Osgood and G.R. Ruth (2005): The Transition to Adulthood for Vulnerable Youth and Families: Common Themes and Future Directions. In: Osgood, D.W., E.M. Foster, C. Flanagan, and G.R. Ruth (eds): On Your Own Without a Net. The Transition to Adulthood for Vulnerable Populations. University of Chicago Press. George, L.K. (2009): Conceptualizing and Measuring Trajectories. In: Elder, G.H. and Giele, J.Z. (eds): The Craft of Life Course Research, pp. 163-186. New York: The Guilford Press. Kvalsund, R. and Bele, I. (2010): Students with Special Educational Needs-Social Inclusion or Marginalisation? Factors of Risk and Resilience in the Transition Between School and Early Adult Life. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research;Volum 54(1), 15-35. Mayer, K.U. (2009): New Directions in Life Course Reearch. Annual Review of Sociology. 35:413 – 433. Pachucke, M. A., & Breiger, R. L. (2010): Cultural Holes: Beyond Relationality in Social Networks and Culture. Annual Review of Sociology, 36:205-224. Priestley, M. (2003): Disability. A life course approach. Cambridge, England: Polity Press. Rutter, M., H. Giller and A. Hagell (1998): Antisocial behavior by young people. Cambridge University Press. Stewart, D., M. Freeman, M. Law, H. Healy, J. Burke-Gaffney, M. Forhan, N.Young and S. Guenther (2010): The transition to adulthood for youth with disabilities: Evidence from the literature. http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/en/article/110/ Wyn, J. and R. White (1997): Rethinking Youth, London: Sage.