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Kapitlet undersöker situationen för unga med utländsk bakgrund, specifikt unga med utomeuropeisk bakgrund som har misslyckats i skolan, och deras ansträngningar att etablera sig på arbetsmarknaden. Mot bakgrunden av att en fullbordad gymnasieutbildning kan ses som en nödvändig förutsättning för att ta sig in på den svenska arbetsmarknaden undersöks varför elever med migrationsbakgrund är överrepresenterade bland de som inte har behörighet att söka till gymnasieskolans nationella program. Studien bygger på ungas berättelser om skoltiden, deras beskrivningar av varför de inte lyckats slutföra sina studier och om deras planer för framtiden. Studien landar i att faktorer som engagemang från lärare och kvalitet på skolor samt stödjande nätverk, inkluderat föräldrar, får större betydelse för skolframgång för unga med migrationsbakgrund än för elever födda i Sverige. En annan aspekt som studien aktualiserar är ungas boendeplats för betydelsen för skolframgång eller skolmisslyckande. Koncentration av fattigdom, arbetslöshet och låg utbildningsnivå i bostadsområden ökar risken för klassbaserad och etnisk "ghettofiering", som i sin tur skapar skolsegregation och ökar risken för avhopp, medan en ökad andel av universitetsutbildade i området tydligt ökar andelen som fullföljer gymnasieutbildning. I de ungas beskrivningar av sina försök att etablera sig på arbetsmarknaden efter skolmisslyckandet framkommer vikten av flexibelt institutionellt stöd i form av vuxenutbildning, riktade arbetsmarknadsprojekt och anställningsstöd. De ungas erfarenheter av svårigheter att få ett arbete och/eller av arbeten i vad som riskerar bli karriärmässiga återvändsgränder ger dem motivation till förändring och att återvända till utbildning, både till yrkesutbildningar och behörighetsgivande studier för högre studier. Genomgående är ett erkännande av de unga som individer och att inte ses som "de andra" avgörande för både skolframgång och etablering på arbetsmarknaden.

This study aims to deepen knowledge of young people with a migration background in Sweden, particularly those with non-European backgrounds, and their transitions from school to work. The focus is on young people with uncompleted upper secondary education (USE), drawing on their life stories, and exploring their perceptions and experiences around school failure, entering the labour market, and/or not being in education, employment or training (NEET). Theoretically the study analyses individuals’ career decisions from an agency-structure perspective, drawing on careership theory, in particular the notions of pragmatic-rational choices, routines, turning-points and horizons of action (Hodkinson & Sparkes 1997), combined with theories on ‘otherness’ (Hall 1990; 1999, Anthias 2002, Balibar 2004, Trondman 2007), and the notion of socio-geographic space (Bourdieu 1986a; Bourdieu 1999, Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1996). Methodologically, the thesis is based on narrative research, and the empirical material comprise life stories of twenty young people (men and women) about their lives, school experiences and time after leaving school. The careers of the young people were developed in fields where they had subordinate positions, based on their family’s mostly limited social, economic and cultural capital, their own short education and limited experience, and the otherness they encoun­tered. Against this background, their educational and labour market career choices are under­stood as pragmatic-rational, enabled and limited by the resulting horizons of action. However, the collected nar­ra­tives suggest that their horizons of action developed from the time they left school when they made different pragmatic-rational choices that changed their posi­tions. Nevertheless, career choices were often made within a bounded agency and reduced op­por­tunities as a consequence of school failure and their own scarce resources. The learning and interaction taking place within the routine periods are both crucial for understanding processes that result in school failure and the subsequent extend­ed period of establishment in working and adult life, and change of horizons of action and habitus. The narratives of the young people showed that school failures and dropout are com­plex and extended processes that are related to education and family, as well as access to power and capital. They also encountered difference-making through the predominant images and discourses of 'immigration' as a social problem and by being located in a specific socio-geo­graphic space that limited their possibilities for action. The family was highly significant and, in most cases, represented security and continuity. The family’s present situation and future was crucial to the young adults, which affected their choices. Hence, their own horizon of action also included the family’s opportunities and horizon of action. The study indicates that there is sometimes reason to speak of a collective horizon of action rather than just an individual one. Institutional and informal support together with young people’s agency may enable positive career development in spite of a lack of resources provided to the young, particularly if schools and other institu­tions would provide more professional and timely support. The overall conclusion is that it would not have taken much investment of resources and effort to have prevented school failure for a large proportion of the twenty young adults in this study. That is the good news. Osäkra övergångar. Unga utan fullständig gymnasieutbildning: vägarna och åtgärderna i longitudinellt perspektiv

This study aims to deepen knowledge of young people with a migration background in Sweden, particularly those with non-European backgrounds, and their transitions from school to work. The focus is on young people with uncompleted upper secondary education (USE), drawing on their life stories, and exploring their perceptions and experiences around school failure, entering the labour market, and/or not being in education, employment or training (NEET). Theoretically the study analyses individuals’ career decisions from an agency-structure perspective, drawing on careership theory, in particular the notions of pragmatic-rational choices, routines, turning-points and horizons of action (Hodkinson & Sparkes 1997), combined with theories on ‘otherness’ (Hall 1990; 1999, Anthias 2002, Balibar 2004, Trondman 2007), and the notion of socio-geographic space (Bourdieu 1986a; Bourdieu 1999, Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1996). Methodologically, the thesis is based on narrative research, and the empirical material comprise life stories of twenty young people (men and women) about their lives, school experiences and time after leaving school. The careers of the young people were developed in fields where they had subordinate positions, based on their family’s mostly limited social, economic and cultural capital, their own short education and limited experience, and the otherness they encoun­tered. Against this background, their educational and labour market career choices are under­stood as pragmatic-rational, enabled and limited by the resulting horizons of action. However, the collected nar­ra­tives suggest that their horizons of action developed from the time they left school when they made different pragmatic-rational choices that changed their posi­tions. Nevertheless, career choices were often made within a bounded agency and reduced op­por­tunities as a consequence of school failure and their own scarce resources. The learning and interaction taking place within the routine periods are both crucial for understanding processes that result in school failure and the subsequent extend­ed period of establishment in working and adult life, and change of horizons of action and habitus. The narratives of the young people showed that school failures and dropout are com­plex and extended processes that are related to education and family, as well as access to power and capital. They also encountered difference-making through the predominant images and discourses of 'immigration' as a social problem and by being located in a specific socio-geo­graphic space that limited their possibilities for action. The family was highly significant and, in most cases, represented security and continuity. The family’s present situation and future was crucial to the young adults, which affected their choices. Hence, their own horizon of action also included the family’s opportunities and horizon of action. The study indicates that there is sometimes reason to speak of a collective horizon of action rather than just an individual one. Institutional and informal support together with young people’s agency may enable positive career development in spite of a lack of resources provided to the young, particularly if schools and other institu­tions would provide more professional and timely support. The overall conclusion is that it would not have taken much investment of resources and effort to have prevented school failure for a large proportion of the twenty young adults in this study. That is the good news. Osäkra övergångar. Unga utan fullständig gymnasieutbildning: vägarna och åtgärderna i longitudinellt perspektiv

Var fjärde ung svensk (20-24 år) har saknar hel gymnasieutbildning. Projektet Osäkra övergångar handlar om karriärer i och efter ungdomsskolan för denna grupp unga och om lokala strategier och åtgärder för att förebygga skolmisslyckanden och underlätta övergångar till arbete och fortsatt utbildning. Det bygger på intervjuer med 100 unga vuxna och 45 kommunföreträdare i 20 kommuner, på enkäter och databasmaterial. Några slutsatser: Skolmisslyckandet är oftast en långvarig process där många faktorer bidrar. Skolan brister i att tidigt upptäcka och ge stöd för den unges inlärning, och att hantera mobbning och skolk, även om enskilda vuxna kan ha stöttat. På kommunnivå ses specialpedagogik och vägledning som prioriterade insatser, men man vet föga om deras omfattning och kvalitet. Lokala åtgärder för att underlätta ungas etablering uppvisar alltför stora skillnader. Särskilt i mindre kommuner är styrningen svag och resurserna små, även om ungdomsrelaterade problem kan vara betydande

Undersökningens resultat visar att det finns betydande kostnadsbesparingar att göra vid införandet av en ny metod för askåterföring. Den nya metoden medför betydligt mindre transporter vilket leder till ett reducerat utsläpp av koldioxid och andra ämnen som har en negativ miljöpåverkan. I den nya metoden utnyttjas i viss utsträckning timmerbilarnas lediga kapacitet för transport av aska ut till spridningsområdet vilket då ökar chansen till högre lönsamhet för åkerinäringen.