Review of the Curriculum and Qualification Needs of Young People Who Are At Risk of Disengagement
10 August 2012
Research summary | Teacher guide
This review considers curriculum-related approaches to engaging young people in learning and curricula and qualifications used to engage young people and to facilitate their progression in education, employment or training. It explores what the best available research tells us about the curriculum and qualification needs of young people at risk of temporary disconnection from learning.
This review forms one of a suite of four literature reviews that have been completed under the From Education to Employment theme. They collectively identify strategies for assisting young people at risk of becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training) to make effective transitions into learning or employment post-16. All four reviews build upon a large body of research on the reasons why young people are NEET, and on recent NFER research, which presented a 'segmentation' analysis identifying three discrete sub-categories of NEET young people aged 16-17. The From Education to Employment theme within The NFER Research Programme has a particular interest in young people in two of these categories, those that are ‘open to learning’ or ‘undecided’ NEET, as there is the potential to make a substantial difference to these groups if they can be effectively identified and supported.