How does "poor" middle years experience impact on youth outcomes?

Description and objectives of the research

The middle years – when children become adolescents (around 9-14 years) – can be a turbulent period in young people’s lives. As young people go through the significant physiological, neurological, psychological and social development of these years, their experiences can have a critical impact on their outcomes in later life.

While public policies and practices focus a great deal on earlier or later developmental periods, the middle years have been somewhat overlooked. This has begun to change in recent years. However, there is still no national plan which covers this critical period in young people’s lives as they make the transition towards independent adulthood.

Policy development in this area is hampered by a lack of empirical evidence. This project will contribute to filling that evidence gap. It will examine how experiences during the middle years, when young people move from primary to secondary school and from childhood to adolescence, impact on young people’s outcomes at around the age of 18-20 years.

Progress

This project commenced in September 2011 with the final report submitted to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations in June 2012.