Career Decision Making and Culture in the Transition from School to Work

In Chapter 1 we outlined a paradox within the current literature on the transition from school to work. On the one hand, much research describes long-standing patterns of inequality, influenced by class, ethnicity and gender. On the other hand, much policy making is now driven by assumptions of free choice and individual responsibility. The stories described in this book strongly suggest that both perspectives contain an element of truth, though we would give more credibility to the former than the latter.