Methodology
Approaching the study of the trajectories from secondary education into employment in accordance with the aims posed in this research demands a plural methodology which fits each of the phases.
The very title of the research (Trajectories from secondary education into employment: a biographical perspective) is the reflection of our conception of the methodological approach we consider to be the most appropriate to find out about and explain the trajectories taken by young people. The biographical perspective is undoubtedly the only one to provide us with a profound understanding of the reality under study, as it is the very biographical cosntruction of the different factors and decision-making processes that leads to one or the other trajectory. For this reason, the research we present is based on biographical itineraries. The first part of the field study is conducted with qualitative type methodology: in-depth interviews. However, the results produced from qualitative methods cannot be generalised, despite their great social value due to their  contextualised nature and depth of analysis. In order to determine their degree of generalisation, the project includes a second phase in which information is obtained from a questionnaire which is given to a representative subject sample. The results derived from both approaches will also enable us to define guidelines so as to improve the programmes and services aimed at supporting young people in the different transitions between education and employment, mainly emphasising an improvement of the second chance education system.
Real sample
Territorial scope: Palma de Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain)
Qualitative Phase
This sample was divided into different subgroups depending on the qualifications the young people had when conducting the research. The real sample was made up of 42 participants, 19 male and 23 female distributed in the following way:
Level of Education |
Female |
Male |
Total |
Without School Leaving Certificate |
3 |
6 |
9 |
Compulsory Education Graduates |
6 |
3 |
9 |
Baccalaureate |
4 |
3 |
7 |
Intermediate Level Vocational Training |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Higher Level Vocational Training |
2 |
2 |
4 |
University Degree |
7 |
3 |
10 |
Quantitative phase
The sampling procedure in this phase was randomly stratified according to two strata: gender and level of vulnerability of the neighbourhood. That is, a random sample of the population census was taken, and this was distributed by proportional allocation depending on gender (male or female) and the 4 levels of vulnerability which the different neighbourhoods of Palma have been classified in (high, low, very high and very low). The final sample is made up of 580 people, distributed in the following way:
Level of
vulnerability |
Female |
Male |
Total |
High |
81 |
80 |
161 |
Low |
96 |
99 |
195 |
Very High |
66 |
48 |
114 |
Very Low |
63 |
47 |
110 |
Total |
306 |
274 |
580 |
Phases
1st Phase (January to December 2010)
The first phase includes two activities:
·Draw up a state of affairs on the issues of “Trajectories from secondary education into employment” and “Second chance education”.
· Qualitative study of trajectories, through the biographical analysis of 42 respondents.
2nd Phase (January to December 2011)
The second phase includes three activities:
· Study trajectories using a questionnaire (quantitative part of the study).
· Creation of the project Website.
· Creation of information-dissemination resources and materials in order to improve policies on second chance education.
3rd Phase (January to December 2012)
The third phase includes four activities:
· Produce the research report.
· Produce a report on contributions to be made in order to improve programmes, services and policies.
· Process cases based on personal biographies so as to analyse Policies.
· Produce an International Seminar to disseminate research results.
· Website maintenance.
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