THE REGIONAL FACTOR IN THE FURTHER EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT OF MALE SCHOOL-LEAVERS.

The note draws attention to certain aspects in which adolescent life-histories vary from region to region. In general the likelihood of recruitment to part-time rather than full-time study is greatest in English regions which are subject to economic decline. This appears to mirror the relative availability to school-leavers of conventional apprenticeship. Scotland, Wales and South-East England show important differences from this pattern due to the extreme lack of industrial infra-structure and the influence of vestigial 'national' culture. In late adolescence the broad effect seems to be a loss of talent to London and the South-East. It is suggested that any attempt to account theoretically for regional decline should give special attention to the educational and economic constraints on adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]