module specification

Sociological Perspectives on Youth Transitions invites you to explore how young people’s transitions into adulthood are shaped by social factors. You will examine youth transitions as complex, diverse, non‑linear and dynamic processes, rather than as fixed or universal pathways. The module encourages you to develop an open‑minded and critical understanding of life courses, paying close attention to the social contexts in which young people live their lives.

Throughout the module, you will engage closely with key sociological theories and literature on youth, identity, and inequality. You will develop the tools needed to critically analyse research on young people’s experiences, while reflecting on how structures such as class, gender, ethnicity, and other forms of inequality influence transitions to adulthood. In doing so, you will be encouraged to approach sociological, youth research with compassion, inclusion, and a commitment to social justice, in line with the University’s Education for Social Justice Framework.

This module is designed for students in Youth Studies and Sociology, and is also highly relevant if you are interested in sociology of the life course, as well as professional roles such as youth/family support/community development worker, youth justice officer, social researcher or related professions.

You will learn to understand young people and the challenges they face by situating their experiences within wider social structures, equipping you with valuable analytical, critical and applied skills for both academic and professional contexts.

The module aims to:

1. enable you to understand youth transitions into adulthood as socially shaped, complex and non‑linear processes, informed by sociological perspectives on inequality, structure and agency;
2. develop your ability to critically engage with sociological theories and research on youth, identity and life courses, and to apply these perspectives to contemporary social contexts;
3. support you in analysing how social, economic, cultural and political structures shape young people’s experiences, opportunities and challenges across diverse life domains;
4. encourage you to approach the study of youth with compassion, inclusion and a commitment to social justice, drawing on anti‑discriminatory and anti‑oppressive frameworks;
5. foster reflexive thinking by enabling you to critically examine your own assumptions, values and positionality in relation to young people’s lives and transitions;
6. equip you with conceptual and analytical tools relevant to academic study and applied fields, including youth work and related professions, by situating young people’s lived experiences within wider structures of inequality.

None

Available for Study Abroad? YES

1. Introducing Youth Transitions: Sociological Perspectives

You will explore sociological understandings of youth and transitions to adulthood, challenging linear and universal assumptions about growing up.

Indicative readings:

• Furlong, A. (2016) Routledge Handbook of Youth and Young Adulthood. 2nd edn. London: Routledge. Available at: https://www.vlebooks.com/Vleweb/Product/Index/65817.
• Threadgold, S. (2020) Youth, Class and Everyday Struggles. Abingdon: Routledge.
• France, A., Coffey, J., Roberts, S. and Waite, C. (2020) Youth Sociology. Available at: http://catalogue.londonmet.ac.uk/record=b2341579~S1.
• British Sociological Association (2020) Youth Transitions: Past, Present and Future - Virtual Workshop (talks by Prof Tracy Shildrick, Dr Kim Allen, Dr Adam Formby). Available at: https://youtu.be/w-7vlq5De5o?si=mw2_ME5KdsuF3SwO.

2. Structure, Agency and Inequality

You will examine the relationship between structure and agency in shaping young people’s lives, with attention to class, gender, ethnicity and global inequalities.

Indicative readings:

• Archer, L., DeWitt, J. and Wong, B. (2014) ‘Spheres of influence’, Journal of Education Policy, 29(1), pp. 58–85.
• Bessant, J., Pickard, S., & Watts, R. (2020). Translating Bourdieu into youth studies. Journal of Youth Studies, 23(1), 76–92. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2019.1702633 [open access: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340129088_Translating_Bourdieu_into_youth_studies].
• Evans, K. (2019) ‘Taking control of their lives?’, Sociology, 53(2), pp. 200–217.

3. Youth, Identity and Culture

You will critically explore how young people construct identities and participate in youth cultures as creators and consumers.

Indicative readings:

• Bennett, A. (2017) Youth Culture and Social Identity. London: Palgrave.
• Cieslik, M. and Simpson, D. (2013) Key Concepts in Youth Studies. Available at: https://0-search-credoreference-com.emu.londonmet.ac.uk/content/title/sageukys?tab=contents.
• Pilkington, H. (2019) Loud and Proud. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

4. Decolonising Youth Studies

You will engage with critiques of Eurocentric knowledge and explore decolonial and Global South perspectives on youth.

Indicative readings:

• Connell, R. (2007) Southern Theory. Cambridge: Polity.
• Alldred, P. and Fox, N. (2019) ‘Youth, sexuality and ethics’, Sociological Research Online, 24(1), pp. 68–83.
• Meghji, A. (2021) Decolonizing Sociology. Available at: http://catalogue.londonmet.ac.uk/record=b2357345~S1.
• White, J. (2020) Terraformed: Young Black Lives in the Inner City.

5. Social Justice, Policy and Practice

You will apply sociological perspectives to youth policy, youth work and social justice–oriented practice in the UK.

Indicative readings:

• Davies, B. (2019) Austerity, Youth and Inequality. London: Palgrave.
• Davis, J. (2022) Adultification bias within child protection and safeguarding. Available at: https://hmiprobation.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/document/adultification-bias-within-child-protection-and-safeguarding.
• Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. (2018) Youth Work Practice. London: Palgrave.

Learning and teaching on this module are designed to be student‑centred, interactive and inclusive, supporting you to develop critical, reflexive and applied sociological understanding of youth transitions. Sessions are structured around a combination of lectures, seminars and blended learning activities, enabling you to engage actively with key theories, concepts and empirical research.

Lectures introduce core sociological perspectives on youth, inequality and life‑course transitions, drawing on contemporary British and international scholarship. These inputs are dialogic rather than transmission‑based and frequently incorporate Mentimeter activities (such as live polling, word clouds and short reflective prompts) to gauge understanding, surface assumptions and stimulate discussion in a low‑stakes, inclusive way. This allows you to reflect on your own perspectives while engaging with those of your peers.

Seminars provide opportunities for small‑group discussion, collaborative tasks and critical debate, focused on set readings, case studies and contemporary youth issues. You will be encouraged to analyse sociological texts, apply theory to real‑world contexts and explore the implications of inequality, marginalisation and social justice for young people’s lives.

Reflective learning is embedded throughout the module via short reflective writing activities, guided discussion and formative tasks that prompt you to consider your values, positionality and assumptions in relation to youth and adulthood. Blended learning materials, including online readings, recorded lectures (via Panopto), discussion boards (via Weblearn or Microsoft Teams) and independent activities, support flexible engagement and deeper learning beyond the classroom.

Together, these approaches aim to create a supportive learning environment that values diverse experiences, promotes critical enquiry, and prepares you for both academic and applied work with and on behalf of young people.

On successful completion of this module, you will be able to:

1. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key sociological concepts, theories and debates relating to youth transitions into adulthood and the diversity of young people’s life courses;
2. critically analyse sociological research and literature on youth, identity and inequality, using appropriate theoretical and conceptual frameworks;
3. apply sociological perspectives to contemporary issues affecting young people and a range of communities, with particular attention to inequality, marginalisation and barriers to participation;
4. reflect critically on your own values, assumptions and positionality in relation to young people’s lives, transitions and social contexts;
5. demonstrate an informed and ethically grounded approach to the study of youth, drawing on principles of social justice, compassion, inclusion and anti‑oppressive practice, relevant to both academic study and applied fields such as youth work or policy making.

The reading list for this module can be found here.