Conference Agenda

Across European education systems, youth transitions through education and from education to the labour market have become a central policy concern. Persistent inequalities, fragmented governance arrangements, skills-labour market mismatches, and the cumulative effects of recent crises have exposed the limits of existing policy instruments designed to support participation, progression and completion, and early labour market integration. This symposium addresses these challenges from a policy studies perspective, drawing on early comparative evidence from the EDU-LAB Horizon Europe project. It examines how education and training policies, governance structures, and public investments shape young people’s transition pathways across diverse European contexts.

Research Question(s)

Primary research question:

What are the main policy-relevant issues affecting young people’s transitions through education and into the labour market across European countries?

Complementary research question:

How do governance arrangements, policy instruments, and public investments interact with social and institutional determinants to shape youth transition outcomes in Europe?

Objectives

The symposium aims to:

1. Present the EDU-LAB policy-oriented conceptual framework for analysing pathways and transitions of youth in education, training and employment.
2. Share initial comparative findings from EDU-LAB Work Packages 1–4 concerning conceptual modeling, policy design, implementation, and effects.
3. Identify and discuss enabling and constraining individual, social and policy mechanisms influencing participation, equity, completion in education and labour market entry.
4. Contribute to education policy debates within Network 23 by linking empirical evidence with governance and policy effectiveness perspectives.

Conceptual and Theoretical Framework

The symposium is anchored in the EDU-LAB project’s policy-focused theoretical framework, which conceptualises youth transitions as governed processes emerging from the interaction of individual agency, institutional arrangements, and policy regimes. Drawing on life-course theory, EDU-LAB understands educational and employment transitions as product of cumulative processes shaped by timing, sequencing, and the long-term effects of policy environments rather than as isolated decision points.

A key analytical lens is intersectionality, which is employed to examine how policy effects are mediated by socio-economic background, gender, migration status, regional context, and educational track. From a policy studies perspective, inequalities in transition outcomes are understood not merely as individual disadvantages but as systemic effects of governance choices, including stratification, permeability, funding models, and access regulations within general education (GE) and professional/vocational education and training (PVET).

The framework further integrates institutional and comparative policy analysis, focusing on how heterogeneous European education and training systems translate shared European objectives—such as participation, equity, and employability—into nationally specific policy instruments. Particular attention is paid to policy effectiveness and efficiency, examining both intended and unintended effects of education and training policies and investments, especially in the context of recent economic, health, and geopolitical crises.

Conceptually, EDU-LAB operates across four interrelated policy levels:

1. Individual-level policy effects, shaping aspirations, choices, and perceived opportunities.
2. Institutional policy implementation, including admission regimes, support measures, and education-labour market linkages.
3. System-level governance and financing arrangements, influencing stratification, permeability, and resource allocation.
4. Macro-policy contexts, including European coordination frameworks and crisis-response policies.

Methodologically, this framework is operationalised through a comparative mixed-methods policy analysis, combining secondary quantitative indicators, systematic policy and document analysis, literature reviews, expert exploratory interviews, and participatory qualitative research with young people and stakeholders. The symposium presents early findings from: (a) analyses of data and evidence gaps relevant to policy monitoring (WP1); (b) assessments of policy effectiveness and unintended effects (WP2); (c) cross-national expert perspectives on governance and transition mechanisms (WP3); and (d) initial qualitative evidence on how policies are experienced and negotiated by young people (WP4), following focus group discussions.

Building on research in the Horizon project “European Youth in Education and Transition to the Labour Market – EDU-LAB”, the paper analyses and overviews core components in modelling pathways of youth in GE and PVET and to the labour market which shall serve as building blocks for structural models: intersectional determinants; transitions; dataset gaps. Based on literature reviews, CEDEFOP charts and the author’s own analyses, 80 intersectional determinants and 32 transition types were identified. This paper demonstrates which available datasets can provide relevant information about which determinants and transitions, insights that are especially useful for secondary data analysis of the aforementioned pathways. To this end, 20 identified, available datasets with a cross-national focus (e.g., ESJS; EU-LFS; EUROSTUDENT; VET in Europe) were examined to determine the extent to which they cover the proposed determinants and transitions. Some core results and possible recommendations that might be of interest for education policy action are as follows: For the 20 datasets investigated, there are no serious deficiencies detectable regarding their methodological reliability (e.g., rigorous sampling, inclusion of background questionnaires for contextual data, quality monitoring). The datasets have restricted profiles with respect to seven types of secondary analysis: all 20 datasets offer regression analysis and cross-country comparison, 11 datasets offer progression studies, seven datasets offer cross-sectional studies, four datasets offer trend analysis, four datasets offer policy evaluation, while no dataset offers longitudinal progression studies. Therefore, each dataset could be expanded to include three or four types of secondary analysis. As 65% of datasets investigated are not downloadable and 65% do not offer access to microdata for research, the accessibility of certain datasets could be improved. Several datasets investigated do not sufficiently cover various Access determinants relevant for contemporary E&T and the modern world of labour. For example, 60% of datasets do not cover the determinant “Language literacy tests”; 95%, among them PISA, EUROSTUDENT, VET-in-Europe, NEPS and others, do not cover the determinant “Digitalisation and AI literacy tests”. Several datasets investigated do not sufficiently cover various Progression and Completion determinants. For example, 65% of datasets do not cover the determinant “Country’s low level of prosperity in terms of E&T and work”; 90% do not cover the determinant “War”. Further, the coverage by datasets of transitions to, within and from the world of labour is generally better than the datasets’ coverage of transitions within E&T systems. Keywords: dataset gaps; intersectional determinants; modelling pathways and transitions; youth transitions

CEDEFOP (2025). Vocational Education and Training in Europe. VET in Europe database – detailed VET system descriptions. Athens: European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training. https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/vet-in-europe/systems (11 November 2025) Katsantonis, I. (2025). Tracking adolescent students’ educational pathways to university through school engagement, parental expectations, and student aspirations. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 40(4), 21 pp. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-024-00917-3 Leiber, T. (2025). Set of data and information gaps about educational pathways and transitions and intersectional determinants. Deliverable 2.1. European youth in education and in transition to the labour market – EDU-LAB. Horizon Europe project. https://www.edu-lab-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/D1.1-Pathways.pdf (27 January 2026) Milmeister P., Rastoder M., & Houssemand, C. (2022). Mechanisms of participation in vocational education and training in Europe. Frontiers in Psychology, 13:842307. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.842307 OECD (2025b) Education at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators. Paris: OECD Publishing.a https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en Roberts, K. (2025). Europe’s education-to-work transition regimes in the twenty-first century. Advances in Applied Sociology, 15, pp. 1–17. https://doi.org/10.4236/aasoci.2025.151001 Varsik, S. (2025) Transitions through education and into the labour market: Exploring educational outcomes and equity gaps using international surveys. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 324, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/18be3c52-en

The paper examines the rapid expansion of higher education (HE) in Europe since the last decades of the 20th century, which is also fostered by European politics, striving, inter alia, for more social equality by allowing larger parts of the population to obtain HE. The article analyses the recent development of tertiary education rates across Europe and conducts an international comparative analysis regarding the relation of graduate rates and the demand for graduates in the labour markets. This analysis is done within the theoretical frameworks of a hypothetical dynamic balance (labour market equilibria) between the shares of highly educated workers on the labour markets and related qualification structure of labour forces in respective countries and five generic EHEA regions. The study operates with statistical data from UNESCO and ILO databases for a sample of 44 countries of the EHEA, as well as the USA as a reference country. The results of the empirical study show the general prevalence of the demand for graduate workers over the supply of tertiary graduates for most European countries, except for several post-Soviet countries. The authors conclude that ‘universal HE’ – when the enrolment into higher education reaches the formal threshold of 50% of the relevant age, as suggested by Marginson (2016) – should be understood as the preferred development only under certain conditions. These conditions are, inter alia, as follows: (a) sufficient demand for graduates on the labour markets and (b) preservation of the overall quality of professional education and training. It should be also remarked that in some countries, the HE enrolment has risen even up to 75%, as is the case, for instance, in the USA, Russia and some OECD countries in the southern and northern regions of the European Education Area. The outcomes of the above described exploratory model will be exemplified for the seven countries, where the EDU-LAB consortium implements special qualitative and quantitative case-studies of the pathways and transitions of youth in GE and PVET and to the labour market. Keywords: higher education, labour market, demand, supply, universal HE.

Chvorostov, A. and N. Waechter (2025). "Rapid expansion of tertiary education and regional labour market equilibria in the EHEA and its major European regions: graduates and their tentative jobs (observation of trends 1970s to 2010s)." Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship 14(1): 140. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13731-025-00607-4 Chvorostov, A. and N. Waechter (2020). "National and Regional Balances of Qualifications and Occupations in the EHEA." Sociological Studies 2022(3): 78-90. (doi 10.31857/S013216250008805-8) Marginson, S. (2016). "High Participation Systems of Higher Education." The Journal of Higher Education 87(2): 243-271.

The European youth in education and in transition to the labour market – EDU-LAB project examines transitions from education to the labour market. Transitions may occur after the completion of secondary or tertiary education or already during studies. In Finland, a relatively high share of young people participate simultaneously in formal education and paid work, with dual participation more common among women than men (Eurostat, 2025). This paper analyses this phenomenon from a youth transitions perspective, focusing on the policy determinants of early transitions and young people’s lived experiences of balancing studies and work. The paper presents preliminary findings from two Finnish case studies conducted within the EDU-LAB project, each involving approximately 50 participants from secondary and tertiary education and diverse life situations. The study employs a qualitative and participatory research design, including 14 focus groups and 11 series of participatory workshops. The focus groups explored perceived benefits and harms of combining studies and work, while the workshops provided collaborative spaces to identify barriers to educational completion and labour market transitions and to co-create solutions. Although effective transition to work has been a central objective of Finnish youth policies and educational reforms (Williams et al. 2025), the findings indicate that economic pressure is the primary driver of dual participation. Many young people report being unable to study full-time due to insufficient study financial aid to cover basic living costs and a desire to avoid student loans in the context of insecure future employment. Dual participation is associated with both positive and negative outcomes. Positive outcomes include increased income and work experience, which young people view as important for labour market entry in a competitive employment context, even when the work is not directly related to their field of study. Negative outcomes include delayed study progress, creating a risk of recovery of the study grant and the need to increase working hours, potentially threatening educational completion. Many participants, particularly women, also reported exhaustion and deteriorating mental health resulting from sustained pressure to balance studies, work, and social life. These findings suggest that, despite seemingly effective transitions at the aggregate level, many young people experience heightened economic strain and reduced well-being during their studies. The paper argues that Finnish education policy should place greater emphasis on supporting students’ economic security and well-being, in line with the European Youth Strategy (EU, 2025), rather than prioritising accelerated graduation and early labour market entry.

EU (2025). EU Youth Strategy. European Union. Retrieved from https://youth.europa.eu/strategy_en (25.1.2026). Eurostat (2025). Participation of young people in education and the labour market. Eurostat. European Union. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Participation_of_young_people_in_education_and_the_labour_market#Differences_between_men_and_women (25.1.2026). Williams, J. Dixon, A. Guo, X., Thompson M. & Wong, M. (2025). Set of data and information gaps on how intended or non-intended effects have been achieved and why certain effects have not been achieved. A review of policies, practice and investment in GE and PVET. Deliverable 2.1. European youth in education and in transition to the labour market – EDU-LAB. Retrieved from https://www.edu-lab-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/D2.1-Policies.pdf (25.1.2026).

The literature on educational effectiveness research emphasizes that students’ educational performance results not only from the quality of teacher and school performance, but often from the interaction of other non-malleable individual, family, and institutional factors, with the family playing a key role through socio-economic capital and investments in education. Namely, there are factors influencing academic achievement that educators and institutions should not be held accountable for because they are not amenable to education policy ((Ballou et al., 2004; Martineau, 2006; Thomas, 1998). However, in contexts characterized by prolonged transition and pronounced regional inequalities, such as Kosovo, there is a lack of empirical studies that link student performance—operationalized according to international assessment frameworks—with parental characteristics and investments. This study addresses this gap by analyzing the impact of socio-economic determinants and parental investments on children’s educational performance in Kosovo. The study employs a quantitative methodology and follows a microeconomic approach, involving parents or legal guardians of students enrolled in pre-university education (ISCED 0–3) across Kosovo’s seven regions. The sampling frame is based on official student enrollment data from EMIS 2024/25, with a sample of 720 parents selected through a stratified design by region and level of education. Socio-economic determinants are operationalized through a composite index of family socio-economic status, while family support is operationalized through dimensions of parental financial and non-financial investments in the educational process. Children’s educational performance is operationalized using the PISA conceptual framework and outcomes in three functional domains—reading, mathematics, and science—with the aim of constructing (a) an engagement index and (b) a parental impact index on students’ educational performance. Data analysis is conducted in several phases. In the initial phase, instrument reliability and the factor structure of the variables, as well as the degree of fit of the measurement model, are examined using appropriate types of factor analysis. Following confirmation of the measurement models, descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and regression models are applied to test the impact of each dimension of family support on indicators of educational progress, in line with the research questions. This study contributes to the micro-level operationalization of educational performance based on PISA and provides empirical evidence on the role of the family in a context marked by significant regional inequalities. The findings enrich the international literature on the economics of education and offer evidence-based policy implications for education in Kosovo. Key words: Parents, investments, socio-economic determinants, educational performance, PISA.

OECD (2023), PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/53f23881-en. Lenny Lenkeit & Daniel H. Caro (2014) Performance status and change– measuring education system effectiveness with data from PISA 2000–2009, Educational Research and Evaluation: An International Journal on Theory and Practice, 20:2, 146-174, DOI: 10.1080/13803611.2014.891462 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13803611.2014.891462 Kamens, D. H., & McNeely, C. L. (2010). Globalization and the growth of international educational testing and national assessment. Comparative Education Review, 54,5–25. Martineau, J. A. (2006). Distorting value added: The use of longitudinal, vertically scaled student achievement data for growth-based, value-added accountability. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 31,35–62. Ballou, D., Sanders, W., & Wright, P. (2004). Controlling for student background in value-added assessment of teachers. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 29, 37–65. Baker, D. P., Goesling, B., & LeTendre, G. K. (2002). Socioeconomic status, school quality, and national economic development: A cross-national analysis of the “Heyneman-Loxley Effect” on mathematics and science achievement. Comparative Education Review, 46, 291–312. Thomas, S. (1998). Value-added measures of school effectiveness in the United Kingdom. Prospects, 18, 91–108.