A Southern European Portrait of Learning Outcomes
Perspectives of Educators and Young Learners
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.6559Keywords:
Social construction of learning, Interactions between educators and learners, Educational aspirations and place, Comparative analysis of career guidanceAbstract
This article draws on interviews with educators, employment services officers, and young people conducted in three localities of Southern Europe in 2024. It contributes to the comparative literature on education, training, and youth transition regimes through an analysis of interactions between these actors in three local contexts. The fieldwork was conducted in Castelló (Spain), Pesaro- Urbino (Italy), and the rural areas and tourist resorts in the district of Thessaloniki (Greece). Across the three local contexts, educators and employment service officers expressed concerns about declining local economic opportunities and identified shortcomings in career guidance and training provision. At the same time, young people reported strong attachments to their localities while expressing pessimism about their prospects for developing long-term life plans in areas where opportunities are perceived to be more limited than in major urban centres. By comparing experiences across three Southern European contexts, the article highlights both common challenges and contextual differences in education and training policies targeting disadvantaged youth. The findings contribute to debates in comparative education on youth transitions, spatial inequalities, and the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Xavier Rambla, Federico Rossi, Konstantinos Pagkratis
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