Youth transitions in Britain on the threshold of a ‘New Europe‘

This paper considers the social construction of the youth phase and discusses the fact that, on the whole, transitions to adulthood in Britain are completed biographically sooner than in comparable continental European countries. Education and training arrangements and participation rates are important distinguishing features. Central aspects of the timing and shaping of youth transitions in Britain are placed in European Community contrast; young Britons’ prospects in ‘Maastricht‐Europe’ are considered and education policy implications are drawn.