What do you want to do when you leave school? Selves, ‘social factors’ and school sites in a longitudinal perspective

The 12 to 18 Project is a qualitative, longitudinal study (begun in 1993) of students at four schools as they proceed through each year of secondary schooling (or alternative). This paper will discuss patterns, differences and apparent influences on how the students talk about and make decisions about their future pathways at different stages of their adolescence and in different school settings.