In this innovative book, Professor Alan France tells the story of what impact the 2007 global crisis and the great recession that followed has had on our understandings of youth.
Drawing on eight countries as case studies he undertakes an in-depth sociological analysis of historical and contemporary developments in post-sixteen education, training, work, and welfare policy to show how the ecological landscape of youth has been affected. He maps the growing influence of neoliberalism as a political strategy in each of the countries, showing how, after the crisis, it is accelerating the reconfiguration of institutions and practices that are central to the lives of the young.
This book is essential reading for students of youth studies, sociology and policy, seeking a greater understanding of international public and social policy in relation to the youth question.
Understanding Youth in Contemporary Times;
Theorising Youth;
The Global Crisis and the 'Age of Austerity';
Education and Training; The broken promise;
Education and Training; From public benefit to private responsibility;
Unemployment and Work; Precarious futures;
NEETs and the Disengaged; The 'new' youth problem;
Divergence and Difference: Contrasting cross-national experiences of being young;
Education, Work and Welfare in Diverse Settings;
Youth and Mobility; Inequality, leaving home and the question of youth migration;
After the Crisis; Social change and what it means to be young.
