Selected Research Papers in Social Change, Education, Labour Market, and Criminology Volume II

III. Youth Transitions: Education and Labour Market

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82

Marlene Lentner
Educationally Disadvantaged Youth in Austria

1 Background – Challenge of the educationally disadvantaged

The youth of today are confronted with modified living conditions in the context of major socio-structural transformation processes. These changing processes, which are manifest in all aspects of social life, appear clearly in the context of the changing work world, whether we are talking about the new flexible forms of labor, the globalization of the economy and the labor markets, or the destandardization of forms of labor. As a consequence, changes in juvenile socialization are being observed that lead to different (living) problems and unhappiness among children/youth (Specht, 1997, 67f; Ecarius, 2010; Fuhs, 2010; Großegger, 2005; Thole, 2010). Specht (1997, 67) and other authors (Ecarius, 2010; Fuhs, 2010; Großegger, 2005; Thole, 2010) assume that children and youth are more uncertain, individualistic, demanding, and critical. They seesaw between conflicting experiences (real and medial) and are less willing to follow commands of adults. In addition to these modified conditions of socialization and the possible accumulation of problematic living conditions, children and youth are affected by the crises of the labor market: Youth still strive for the hardly realizable social construct of an “ordinary biography” (preparation for occupation, time of employment, seniority on the basis of pension) – for a time of employment without disruptions. To realize this construct – a “safe” alternative – many competences are needed (capacity for teamwork, social competences, flexibility, etc.), which are often less associated with disadvantaged young persons. The highly differentiated Austrian educational system presents an essential structural contribution that aggravates the problem.

It is (educationally) disadvantaged youth who are especially suffering from the structurally problematic situation on the labor markets – particularly in times of financial crises, when the number of jobs and apprenticeship training positions are decreasing. Furthermore, occupations that demand a low qualification level and are needed by educationally disadvantaged people are constantly being reduced or eliminated.

With that perspective, the educational level can be assumed to determine the shape of life and its realization in modern societies. A lack of sufficient vocational training often means (Steiner/ Wagner, 2007, 11ff; Ribolits, 2008):

• poor chances on the labor market • higher risk of becoming unemployed • harder access to the labor market in case of re-entry • precarious employment relationships

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• low-paid jobs • impaired social participation ability • fewer chances in life In Austria there are around 63,000 young people age 18 to 24 years1 who are, on the one hand, confronted with those difficult conditions of socialization and, one the other hand, afflicted with the risk factors of the educationally disadvantaged. This group turns out to be quite heterogeneous:

• those who refrain from starting a further (vocational) education after compulsory school

• those who cannot find an apprenticeship training position • those who drop out of further (vocational) education programs • those who completed vocational training/education abroad that is not accredited in Austria

Many of the phenomena concerning educationally disadvantaged youth are caused by early dropout from vocational training and further education at ISCED Level 3. Therefore, the educationally disadvantaged rate rises with increasing age (Steiner/Wagner, 2007, 4). That also means that most of the youth concerned are not refusing education/schooling, but rather fail due to different reasons in the educational processes at ISCED Level 3.

2 Educationally disadvantaged youth in (Upper) Austria

2.1 The study

Based on the rising awareness of the problem of educationally disadvantaged youth, the Chamber of Labor of Upper Austria authorized the Institute for Vocational Training and Adult Education at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz (IBE) to conduct a study. The aim of the study was to identify the main factors that increase the risk of becoming educationally disadvantaged. The term “educationally disadvantaged” – in German “bildungsfern”, also described as “early school leaver” (definition of Eurostat) or “dropout” – means persons who have not received more than a secondary education and are not engaged in further education or training. In Austria, these are persons who leave school after compulsory school (after nine years of schooling). The study design, which was realized in the years 2008–09, included on the one hand the accomplishments of qualitative interviews through the Institute for Sociology at the Johannes Kepler University, and on the other hand a quantitative survey conducted by the IBE. The Institute for Sociology conducted 34 guideline-supported in-depth interviews (two waves) in the framework of a practical course for students. The first wave

1 Calculation on the basis of data from Statistik Austria (www.statistik.at).

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delivered explorative data that built the basis for the questionnaire of the standardized survey.

2The basic population for the quantitative survey was defined as 15 to 24-year-old Upper Austrians who are not working in the public service but who are members of the Arbeiterkammer Oberösterreich (Upper Austrian Chamber of Labor), as well as youth in that age group who are registered at the Arbeitsmarktservice Oberösterreich (Upper Austrian Employment Agency) as seeking work/apprenticeship training positions, unemployed or in qualification. In total, 13,826 questionnaires were sent out, of which 1,343 analyzable questionnaires were returned. In the dataset, 384 cases of persons (28.6%) who could be labeled as educationally disadvantaged youth are included. Educationally disadvantaged youth (“early school leavers”) are defined as persons aged 15 to 24 years who have a compulsory school degree (ISCED Level 2) at maximum and are not engaged in formal further education or training. In 2009 the early school leaver rate in Austria was 8.7%. Due to the main focus of the study, educationally disadvantaged youth were intentionally overrepresented with a rate of 28.6% in the sample. The next part presents socio-demographic and further characteristics of educationally disadvantaged youth (in contrast to those who are not). The results are described in detail in Lentner and Niederberger (2009).

2.2 Socio-demographic profile of educationally disadvantaged youth
Social background has a significant influence on the risk of becoming educationally disadvantaged. The study results refer to three main sociodemographic attributes: educational level of the parents, place of residence, and mother tongue/ migration background (see Figure 1). These findings conform strongly with those of Steiner and Wagner (2007, 8).

The youth of parents who have a low educational level (both parents can be defined as educationally disadvantaged themselves) have a double risk of becoming educationally disadvantaged. So 44% of those youth who have parents with a low educated level are educationally disadvantaged themselves, compared to only 24% of those whose parents have a high or average education level. It stands out that the youth whose parents have a low education level have more fear of exams, realize their “occupational dreams” less often, and announce more often that they had to stop schooling for financial reasons.

2 Eurostat, Structural Indicators (Population and social conditions – Educational attainment, outcomes and returns of education – Early leavers from education and training by gender (tsisc060)).

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Figure 1: Respondents by educational background and educational level of parents, mother tongue, and place of residence

ma x .   ISECD  2

ISECD  3   and  mo r e

Ger ma n

not  Ger ma n

ur ba n56% 44%

76 % 24%

76 % 24%

45% 55 %

60 % 40%

76 % 24

%0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% rura l

educationally  not di s a dva n ta ged educ a ti ona l l y di s a dva n ta ged

The influencing factor “place of residence” implies that youth from urban areas are at a 1.7-times higher risk of becoming educationally disadvantaged (40% to 24%). The higher amount of educationally disadvantaged youth in urban areas can be traced back to the attribute migration background in two-thirds of the cases. Nevertheless, youth with German as a mother tongue living in urban areas face nearly triple the risk of becoming educationally disadvantaged compared to youth with German as their mother tongue in rural areas (59% to 21%). Young persons in urban areas have significantly more troubles with teachers, achieve worse grades, and are more likely to judge the schooling content to be more boring and uninteresting than youth from rural areas. Youth in urban areas have, on the one hand, a higher risk of becoming educationally disadvantaged, but on the other hand they also have greater opportunities regarding higher education careers. In contrast, youth from rural areas are more certain to achieve the “middle educational career”. For them, the risk of becoming educationally disadvantaged as well as the opportunity to study higher education is low.

Youth who do not have German as their mother tongue have more than double the risk of becoming educationally disadvantaged than youth who have German as their mother tongue. Whereas the amount of educationally disadvantaged youth with German mother tongue is 24%, the amount in the group of youth for whom their mother tongue is not German is 55%. Regarding young persons with origins in Turkey, this proportion rises as high as 72%! One-third of the parents of children who do not have German as their mother tongue do not have an educational degree higher than compulsory school and can be regarded as educationally disadvantaged themselves. In contrast, this applies to only a tenth of the parents without migration backgrounds. Beyond that, the place of residence has no influence for youth with migration backgrounds: The risk of becoming educationally disadvantaged does not change if they live in urban or rural areas.

The results of the study stress again the educational gap between youth with migration backgrounds and those without. The educational careers of youth with migration backgrounds are shorter and less successful. They are overrepresented

Educationally Disadvantaged Youth in Austria 86 par entslevel  ofEduc ationaltongueMo th erresidenc ePlac e  o

f

3in the PISA risk group as well as in the Austrian “Hauptschule” and “Sonderschule” school types. They also have enormous problems entering the labor market (Bauer/Kainz, 2007, 1). Although the group of youth with foreign origins is relatively heterogeneous, they are disadvantaged overall when it comes to the educational system and the labor market; the inequalities are passed on and reproduced from generation to generation as well. In total, it has to be assumed that young persons with migration backgrounds are structurally discriminated in the system of education and (vocational) training. The historical composed structure of the Austrian educational system (early selection, half-day schooling, focus on deficits instead of talents, and so on) must be interpreted as a major reason why persons with a migration background are in many cases underperforming in educational processes as well as why they are achieving lower educational levels.

The three described socio-demographic attributes are closely related to educational and occupational careers. They shape the social environment, patterns of behavior, values, orientation – simply the whole living environment of young persons. Some of these attributes will be described in the next section.

2.3 Further relevant attributes

The study shows that educationally disadvantaged youth are significantly unhappier with all aspects of life (current living situation, relationship to parents and friends, etc.) and work (income, career options, job security, etc.) than the reference group (see Table 1).

Educationally disadvantaged youth try to solve problems on their own and without the help of others (see Table 2). The study data allows for the assumption that this does not refer to a higher active capability of handling problems, but to lack of support from the social environment. Educationally disadvantaged youth, compared to the reference group, get significantly less support from friends/family members when it comes to relocation, repairing, solutions for private problems, or advice regarding the handling of public authorities. There are also significantly fewer people who stick by them if they make mistakes. Consequently, families as well as friends play a less important role. Every sixth educationally disadvantaged young person is very or rather unsatisfied about relationships with the parents and for every seventh this applies also to friends. This problem of missing social networks is getting worse for youth with migration backgrounds and those who are hit by unemployment.

3 Special school.

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Table 1: Satisfaction with job- and life-related aspects by educational background Satisfaction with job- and life-related aspects

Job- and life-related aspects (1=very satisfied to 4=very unsatisfied) Educationally not disadvantaged

n= 921–950 Educationally disadvantaged

n= 337–371 sign. (p)

mean mean

Relations to friends 1.39 1.61 0.000 Relation to parents 1.42 1.69 0,000 State of health 1.60 1.79 0.000 Job security 1.67 2.20 0.000

Working atmosphere 1.69 2.20 0.000 Housing situation 1.71 1.92 0.000

Living situation (general) 1.79 2.34 0.000 Occupational career until now 1.82 2.62 0.000

Occupational activity 1.87 2.50 0.000 Line manager 1.87 2.31 0.000 Working time regulations 1.90 2.22 0.000 Further occupational training possibilities 1.93 2.40 0.000 Career opportunities 2.09 2.58 0.000 Income 2.25 2.43 0,004
Table 2: Support from the social environment by educational background Support from the social environment

Statements regarding the social environment (1=applies absolutely to 4=doesn’t apply at all) Educationally not disadvantaged

n= 946–953 Educationally disadvantaged

n= 370–375 sign. (p)

In the event of relocation and repairing, I get support from friends/family

There are people who stick by me even if I make mistakes

Dealing with agencies, I get good advice from friends/ family

If I have problems, I first try to solve them on my own

In the event of private problems, I get support from friends/ family

Mean Mean

1.38 1.64 0.000

1.19 1.33 0.000

1.92 2.03 0.038

1.50 1.41 0.022

1.32 1.47 0.001

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At the same time, educationally disadvantaged youth have more precise family plans than the control group. This wish points at an “escape strategy” into private life (no table): The more precise the family plans are, the more vague the educational and occupational plans become. This result is essentially influenced by the high number of youth with migration backgrounds who are classified as educationally disadvantaged. Another major difference between the groups can be seen when it comes to the orientation toward “advancement” or “knowledge” (no table). Orientation toward “advancement” means that job, success, assertiveness, effort, order, and fortune are higher than average. Orientation toward “knowledge” stresses the importance of individuality/self-fulfillment, education, and politics. Whereas educationally disadvantaged youth are more strongly oriented toward advancement, educationally non-disadvantaged ones are more often oriented toward knowledge. It seems like educationally non-disadvantaged youth are seeking occupational success via knowledge, while educationally disadvantaged youth try to go the “direct” way.

Table 3: Personnel review on aspects of schooldays by educational background

Aspects of schooldays

Statements regarding schooldays (1=applies absolutely to 4=doesn’t apply Educationally not disadvantaged

n= 944–952 Educationally disadvantaged sign. (p)

at all) mean mean

Glad about ending compulsory schooling 2.31 2.11 0.00 Difficulties with studying for an exam 2.86 2.48 0.00

Bad marks 3.09 2.60 0.00 Afraid of exams 2.76 2.61 0.01

Content of curriculum was uninteresting 2.80 2.72 0.11 Difficulties with teachers 3.14 2.94 0.00 Feeling of being overstrained 3.14 3.02 0.02 Difficulties with classmates 3.38 3.18 0.00

Another central characteristic of educationally disadvantaged youth are the negative experiences with school (see Table 3). Learning disabilities/difficulties and other factors in school cause these problems. In general, school was not a stomping ground for educationally disadvantaged youth. Difficulties with studying, fear regarding exams, and low grades are the main reasons for this. Youth in urban areas announce more frequently that it is difficulties with teachers that are the reason, as opposed to those from rural areas. This is independent of the mother tongue of the respondents. More than half of all educationally disadvantaged youth have already dropped out of educational/vocational training, while it is only one-sixth in the control group. It shows that dropping out triples the risk of becoming educationally disadvantaged. The major reasons for dropping out – in both groups – are financial considerations (“I wanted to earn money as early as possible”), being tired of school, and problems with teachers/trainers. These

Educationally Disadvantaged Youth in Austria 89 n=376–381

negative associations with school and studying often constrict active employment policy measurements (e.g., qualification trainings) and lead, in many cases, to unemployment and/or permanently low qualification levels.

In total, 75% of the respondents (n=934) declared (no table) that they started with their “first choice” for educational/vocational training after compulsory school, while 25% would have liked to start with something different (n=316). While only 17% of educationally disadvantaged youth could start with their “first choice” for educational/vocational training, for educational non-disadvantaged youth this rises to 83%. From their responses, the major reason was a lack of apprenticeship training positions in their favored working field. Especially for youth with nonGerman mother tongue skills and those whose parents are educationally disadvantaged, they start with their favorite training less often. It must be assumed that missing the possibility of starting the “first choice” for educational/vocational training is a major factor for occupational careers “going wrong”. This is also clarified by a survey regarding occupational careers by the IBE (2005). It shows that 42% of young persons who completed apprenticeship training no longer work in that same job three years after graduation (Blumberger et al., 2004, 136).

At the same time, educationally disadvantaged youth utilize educational consulting services or occupational guidance offers in schools less (no table). They are less likely to attend fairs dealing with education and jobs. Furthermore, the study shows that educationally disadvantaged youth in total are using active information channels (Internet, lectures/seminars/advanced trainings, reading, and friends/colleagues) less frequently. This problem could be used as an appeal to intensify the discussion about vocational-orientation programs/approaches, especially in connection with youth with migration backgrounds. In the case of youth with migration backgrounds, the problem of knowledge regarding the complex Austrian education system appears in addition. In such complex structures, it is very important to have good knowledge about the system itself and the particular pathways to push the “right” educational decisions and strategies. But immigrant families often have a lack of knowledge in this context and this deficit in information cannot be compensated through knowledge about the educational systems in the country of origin – in Turkey, for example, compulsory school ends after five years, in Austria after nine.

In most cases concerning educationally disadvantaged youth, it becomes apparent that they are willing to start educational training or work and do have conceptions and wishes regarding that. More than half of the respondents plan to get a formal education degree in the near future. This is valid for both educationally disadvantaged and advantaged youth. The highest number of youth who plan to get a formal education degree can be found in the group that is not educationally disadvantaged and has a migration background; the lowest number can be found within the group of educationally disadvantaged youth from urban areas with German as their mother tongue.

Educationally disadvantaged youth are often hit harder by unemployment. The higher risk of being unemployed especially shows up in urban areas and can only be traced back to a certain degree to the higher number of youth with migration backgrounds in those areas. Youth with German as their mother tongue who live in cities with more than 30,000 inhabitants have double the unemployment rate than youth from rural areas. More than two-thirds of those who are unemployed

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cite a lack of appropriate job offers in the region as being the reason. This is true for urban as well as for rural areas. If educationally disadvantaged youth have work, they mostly work as unskilled workers and for small firms.

3 Youth in social projects

A large part of the described target group sooner or later finds itself in active policy-related employment programs for youth. It can be observed that institutions and projects with a focus on integration into the labor market have to deal with a rising number of youth who are suffering from psychological diseases/disabilities, which is related to behavioral problems in particular (Sepp et al, 2009, 146). In many cases, educationally disadvantaged youth have to struggle with deficits in so-called life skills (e.g., self-confidence, social competences), which are important in the labor market. Parallel to that, these youth often come from families/milieus with a low socioeconomic status and/or unstable family situations (violence, alcohol, financial problems, divorces, abuses, neglect, etc.).

One example of an integrative program is the concept of integrative vocational apprenticeship (Integrative Berufsausbildung – IBA). This project caters to disadvantaged youth with personal obstacles regarding job integration. It opens the possibility for the target group to pass through an extended apprenticeship period or a partial qualification in an occupation. A central aspect of this concept is the guidance and support from a personal vocational assistant (Berufsausbildungsassistenz – BAS). This assistant forms the core of the IBA. He/she can be considered as the point of coordination for all relevant actors (youth, parents, company, vocational school, etc.), as well as providing support and guidance for the youth and the company. The evaluation of the BAS in Upper Austria by the IBE clearly shows that through this holistic approach to the living and working situation of the clients, the IBA can be seen as a cornerstone for the unfolding of an educational career for disadvantaged youth (Stadlmayr et al., 2009).

Professionals also point to some of the superficial needs of these youth: personal stabilization through trust-building, durability of the assistance situation, and a structured daily routine. Empowerment, support, and crisis intervention by a trusted person can be seen as critical for success regarding vocational integration. In addition, more focus on the field of personality development (realistic selfevaluation) and competences (ability to concentrate, autonomy, individual responsibility) is necessary; this can be observed and learned in the framework of the working processes. Furthermore, the broadening of social competences and the ability to work in teams proves to be an important step. These steps can be assessed as a precondition to work on the need for vocational orientation in the setting of individual clarification and personal support as well as on the requirement for a job (Niederberger/Ratzenböck-Höllerl, 2007; Sepp et al., 2009; Stadlmayr et al., 2009).

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