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Ordinary Working Lives and the “Missing Middle” of Youth Studies

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Handbook of Children and Youth Studies

Abstract

Youth studies have a tendency to focus on either “spectacular”/problematic or “successful” stories of young people’s transitions to adulthood, creating an overlooked “missing middle” in youth research. Paying heed to this ordinary and unspectacular group allows us to critique accepted theoretical positions and in doing so develop a more holistic picture of the challenges facing young people today. This chapter draws attention to the need to move beyond seeing a positive employment status as an indicator of a successful transition to adulthood. Exploring the relevance of apparently ordinary working lives, issues such as low pay, decreasing employment security, diminishing awareness of and entitlements to effective representation, and a lack of opportunities for upward progression, the outlook for young people even in apparently secure employment is demonstrated to be far from unproblematic.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, G3.10, Gillingham Building, Kent, UK

    Steve Roberts

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  1. Steve Roberts
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Correspondence to Steve Roberts .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Youth Research Centre, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Johanna Wyn

  2. Youth Research Centre, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Helen Cahill

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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

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Roberts, S. (2015). Ordinary Working Lives and the “Missing Middle” of Youth Studies. In: Wyn, J., Cahill, H. (eds) Handbook of Children and Youth Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4451-15-4_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4451-15-4_17

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-4451-14-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-4451-15-4

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