STABILITY AND CHANGE IN THE MEANING OF WO RKING - A LONGITUDINAL RESEARCH ON THE TRANSITION BETWEEN SCHOOL AND WORK

Stability and change in the meaning of working. A longitudinal researc h on the transition between school and work. The topic of work entry b y young people is addressed by presenting a conceptual frame of refere nce based on theories of adult socialization (Dion, 1985) and which pr oposes a dynamic interaction between the active subject and the social context (Doise and Palmonari, 1984). A longitudinal study is describe d which analyses the degree of stability/change in certain aspects of the meaning of work (centrality of work in the future, the importance of different work aspects) during the phase of school/work transition. The research was conducted on 113 subjects (57 males; 56 females), be tween 18 and 21 years old when first observed at the end of secondary school. 30 months later 80 of the subjects were in steady employment, 33 were university students, and were again observed. The results show that, alongside the substantial stability of the measures considered signs of change in the meaning of work can be identified. These change s seem to be in relationship with: the degree of difficulties in findi ng work, the qualities of the work organization that young people have joined, the influence of work on certain domains of extra-work life.