The present approach for retention in youth education in Denmark is focussed on interventions that aim at strengthening self-esteem. A research project at Centre for Youth Research shows that this is an important element in youth retention. But it also shows that it cannot stand alone. Rather, self-esteem goes hand in hand with trust in education as a system. It is therefore important for successful retention of vulnerable youth in education that there is a shift in focus from individual competences to the interaction of individuals in social processes.

In this paper, I will discuss the concept of self-esteem and place it in a context of individualised interventions that, on its own, doesn’t grasp the complexity of retention of vulnerable youth in education. Via a theoretical investigation I will show that self-esteem is best understood in collaboration with the more socially directed concept of ‘trust’. Hence, I will unfold the concept of trust theoretically and exemplify with empirical cases. Anthony Giddens and Niklas Luhmann will offer sociological accounts of trust while Martin Buber will contribute a philosophical perspective and together this will form an outline for the relevance of the concept of trust in relation to retention of vulnerable youth in education. The theoretical discussion will unfold trust as a social phenomenon and empirical cases will show how trust and movements in education are interwoven. Especially, movements between positions of ‘participation’ and ‘isolation’ will be central. Three empirical cases will illustrate movements between silence and isolation on the one hand and openness and participation on the other. 

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