Women are underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. Whilst this is a worldwide phenomenon, there are differences in how this manifests in different countries. In order to understand this more deeply in a particular context, this study investigates the employment intentions of university STEM…

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to examine the provision of education and training programmes for young people in Scotland for work and lifelong learning within the context of the skills ecosystem approach adopted by the Scottish Government. Design/methodology/approach: The research drew upon findings from a large EU-funded multi-country project…

Over the past decade, adult education and Vocational Education and Training (VET) in the UK context have been strongly affected by the implications of unstable political, social and economic situations, specifically in relation to social and economic inclusion of vulnerable young adults. This paper argues, that the development of policy transfer…

This open access book explores different landscapes of Lifelong Learning policies (LLP), producing case-based examinations of their institutional, discursive, and relational dimensions. Across Europe, young people develop their life courses amidst diverse living conditions and are confronted with a variety of institutional and structural…

Classrooms are important spaces for young people with variations in sex characteristics and their classmates. Sex education can promote agency and well-being by helping young people make sense of their embodiment and form rewarding social relationships and by changing societal understandings about variations in sex characteristics. Realising this…

In the following article, we share our findings from the comparative analyses of 54 lifelong learning policy measures implemented in nine European countries, with a particular focus on their orientations, objectives, and solutions devised. Informed by the theoretical framework of Interpretive Policy Analysis (IPA), we have further reasoned on the…

We present new evidence on the pandemic's effects on youth, for the first time focusing on perceived effects on the learning of job skills, as well as on education. The context is post-Brexit Britain. We find that 47% of young people in a representative sample perceive a loss of learning of job skills, while a sizeable minority (17%) judge that…

The development of educational psychology services for young people and young adults after they reach school leaving age has been subject to very little research. Services internationally have largely been marked by the absence rather than the presence of any initiatives of this kind. Nevertheless, it was over 60 years ago that an international…

This study investigated the comorbid conditions in a whole country population of children/young people aged 0-24 years with and without autism. Data were drawn from Scotland's Census 2011. We calculated the percentage with autism, their extent of comorbid conditions, odds ratio (with 95% confidence intervals) of autism predicting comorbidities,…

This article shows how the Scottish Government's (SG) political management of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has reinforced the economic goals of lifelong learning (LLL) under the skills for work agenda. Youth unemployment has been prioritized as the main social problem to be addressed, and most of the limited public resources for LLL have been…

A longitudinal study was conducted to understand post-school transition practice for young people with additional support needs (ASN) before and after the implementation of key legislation, the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, amended in 2009. Primary data were collected from one local authority in Scotland. Twelve…

Background: The sexual health needs of younger adults with intellectual disability (ID) are not currently being met by mainstream sexual health services. Little research has been conducted into improving these services' accessibility. Method: Thirty-four people with ID aged 16-35, who attended ID services in Lothian, Scotland, completed a…

A wealth of research suggests that youth whose parents use corporal punishment are more likely to engage in antisocial behavior during childhood and adolescence. Questions remain, however, about: (a) whether this relationship extends reliably to samples outside the US and Canada; (b) whether corporal punishment is associated with antisocial…

This article explores aspects of the experience of higher education students in a Scottish college within the context of widespread contemporary concern about youth unemployment. Analysis of published data reveals a marked shift in the demographic profile of higher education students in colleges in favour of young people. An unseen consequence of…

Objective: To examine cultural barriers and participant solutions regarding acceptance and uptake of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine from the perspective of Black African, White-Caribbean, Arab, Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani young people. Methods: In total, 40 young people from minority ethnic communities in Scotland took part in a…