Resilient Survivors: Work and Unemployment Among High School Drop‐Outs

Abstract

High‐School drop‐outs are viewed problematically in North American society. Investigations of their out of school experiences have not, however, figured prominently in the research agenda on drop‐outs. Responding to this gap in the literature, we present a case study of Canadian drop‐outs that focuses upon the psychological and social effects of early school leaving. The findings indicate that while dropping out of school does result in stress, our respondents have been neither psychologically destroyed by their experiences nor politicalized by them. This pattern is then explained in terms of the resources and networks available to them, as well as their continuing attachment to conventional beliefs about school, work and unemployment. Finally, we compare our findings with those from other recent studies of marginal young people.