The Stories of Transition Project examines the educational and occupational pathways that high school students take after graduation. The transition from high school into further education and employment is, by all accounts, an anxiety-ridden and bewildering process for many young people and their parents. From the time they start kindergarten to the day they graduate from high school, their path forward is relatively clear. After they complete high school though, they abruptly reach the edge of the roadmap. While some make relatively smooth transitions from school to post-secondary education and into satisfying work, others flounder. They change their post-secondary program multiple times or drop out altogether. Many who graduate from training programs have no idea what they want to do and spend years careening from one job to another and back to school in an attempt to find satisfying work.

It is not uncommon to find young people who, despite having done everything “right,” are still languishing in debt and underemployment. They come out of university or college no clearer about what they want than when they started. They can’t find a good job despite having invested substantial time and money in post-secondary education and training. And they are left to wonder what they did wrong.

In order to learn more about the decade after high school, from 2007 to 2008 we interviewed one hundred young people in four different Canadian sites: Prince Edward Island, Halifax, Guelph, and Calgary. Our sample included youth between the ages of 23 and 30 who had taken a variety of educational and occupational pathways after graduating from high school.


Goals

To help young people and those who guide them, whether parents or career professionals, to understand the challenges facing high school graduates, the multiplicity of possible pathways they may follow when continuing their education and finding employment, as well as how to help the graduates to make a successful transition after completing high school.


Method

The young adults selected for inclusion in the study participated in a one-on-one interview lasting 60 to 90 minutes, which focused on what they had been doing since graduating from high school. Specifically, they were asked to reflect on what influenced the pathways they took and what supports and constraints they encountered as they made their way into post-secondary education and/or directly into the workforce. As well, they were asked to share any advice they might have for how parents and professionals could best help young people. The interviews were audio taped, transcribed, and analyzed for both common and unique themes. Follow-up interviews were conducted with those who were willing to be contacted again.

The data was analyzed using qualitative research methods associated with what is termed “grounded theory.” This approach emphasizes that explanations about what people are doing should emerge from the data. Using these methods, we proceeded from the case-by-case study of individuals to a theory that explained commonalities and differences among the study’s participants.


To read a summary of the research findings, please click here.