Title: Raising of the participation age in the UK: the dichotomy between full participation and institutional accountability

Authors: Steve Lambert; Uvanney Maylor; Annika Coughlin

Addresses: Faculty of Education and Children's Services, University of Chester, Parkgate Road, Chester, CH1 4BJ, UK ' Faculty of Education and Sport, University of Bedfordshire, Polhill Avenue, Bedford, MK41 9EA, UK ' Centre for Longitudinal Studies, Institute of Education, University of London, Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL, UK

Abstract: At a time of mass youth unemployment in the UK, the introduction of the Raising of the Participation Age (RPA) policy advocates the benefits of a prolonged period of education for all young people. As part of the policy, accountability was placed on schools for its implementation, with government imposed destination measures being used as an indicator of the policy's success. This paper argues that RPA will have little impact on young people who are Not in Education, Employment and/or Training (NEET) and that the accountability for the policy's implementation is at best problematic and at worse fundamentally flawed.

Keywords: Raising of the Participation Age; RPA policy; NEET; further education; local authorities; schools; UK; United Kingdom; full participation; institutional accountability; youth unemployment; young people; government policy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2015.070127

International Journal of Management in Education, 2015 Vol.9 No.3, pp.359 - 377

Published online: 27 Jun 2015 *

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