The shift in public attitudes and government policy on retention rates has led to a preoccupation with post-compulsory education at a national level. Consequently those who do not continue with their education now find themselves in a policy vacuum. The policy is framed in terms of ‘pathways’, but the experience of these early school leavers is one of ‘uncharted territory’. This article reports on the findings of a recent longitudinal study of early school leavers and its implications for policy formation. It draws attention to misleading assumptions and expectations written into the policy frameworks, which point to disjunctures between policy goal-setting and the actual outcomes for the client groups subject to those policies.
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