Life Plans and Career Perspectives of Adolescents with Learning Difficulties in the Transition from School to Vocational Training – Mentoring as a Potential Addition to Professional, Social Pedagogy Assistance

Beyond the need for and necessity of economic independence, gainful employment and belonging to a professional group are central points of identification that play an essential role in the area of societal participation and social inclusion. When it comes to the educational and professional paths of adolescents after the end of compulsory schooling with special educational needs, a high number of early training drop-outs can be observed, which is accompanied by exclusion in further (vocational) training. Political decision-makers are trying to support young people in overcoming this problem through numerous counseling and care services as well as so-called “post-maturing” and qualification offers.

In this teaching/research project, young people with learning difficulties are actively involved in the research process. Students assist them as mentors in the methodological research approach “Photovoice” in order to ensure participation. Through this participatory research and the accompanying mentoring, we explore the situation, life plans, needs, and expectations of young people with regard to their vocational training and sound out their options for action. Together with the adolescents, we develop strategies that allow them to realize these life plans. Through the derived life world-oriented insights, we want to work out new findings and perspectives for youth employment assistance. To this end, we examine the following questions:

•    What do adolescents with learning difficulties need in order to be able to develop life plans and professional perspectives?
•    Which challenges do adolescents run into when searching for a job or trying to enter the labor market, and what requirements does the labor market (in the form of trainers, superiors, etc.) place for them?
•    How can mentoring support these young people and help them to successfully realize their (vocational) training plans?
•    How can mentoring offers (in the field of youth employment assistance) be designed, and mentoring processes initiated and accompanied?

On another level, the project team wants to get together with representatives of youth employment assistance providers and the labor market to discuss how it can be made easier for adolescents with learning difficulties to orientate themselves, thus ultimately deriving possible courses of action and recommendations for designing conceptual frameworks for youth employment assistance.