ABSTRACT
There is a vast literature, across a range of disciplines, concerned with the ‘problems’ of youth. 1 Popular discussion frequently, and academic discussion on occasion, treats concerns about youth as if they were almost entirely without precedent – in nature or extent, or sometimes both. It is important to recognize, however, that complaint and concern about young people are far from new (Pearson 1983). While recognizing the considerable historical continuities which underpin much discussion of youth, it is also clear that there have been profound changes affecting young people in Britain over the past two decades. In particular, a considerable quantity of social science research has charted changing education and labour market experiences during this period.
