Purpose

Next Steps is helping researchers, government, teachers and others understand what life is like for your generation. Next Steps was set up to study young people’s experiences of secondary school and their transitions from compulsory schooling to further education, training or the labour market.

But your lives changed after you left school, and as a result, the study had to change too. Today, Next Steps is focused on understanding what your adult lives are like, both now and in the future. Where will you live? Will you have a family? Will you change careers? What will you do when you retire?

By following you into adulthood, researchers are able to understand:

  • how our experiences as teenagers affect how we turn out later on
  • how health, wealth, family, education and employment are linked
  • how health, family, education and employment are linked
  • how these aspects of life vary for different people and across generations

Why is the study so important?

The information you have provided has informed government policy on a wide range of issues, and ultimately helped bring about changes in schools, colleges and services for all young people. Read more about what we’ve learned.



WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED ABOUT EDUCATION?

Next Steps has helped shed light on the factors that influence young people’s performance at school.

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED ABOUT EMPLOYMENT?

Next Steps has contributed to our understanding of young people’s experiences of the labour market.

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED ABOUT FAMILIES?

Support from our families makes a big difference to our lives. Next Steps has shown just how important it is.