Exploring the transitions and well-being of young people who leave school before completing secondary education in South Africa

In South Africa, young people who have not completed their matric year, or the equivalent thereof, are more likely to struggle to find work, and remain unemployed for longer periods of time, or, if they do find work, are less likely to access stable, higher income jobs (Ingle and Mlatsheni, 2017; Mlatsheni and Ranchhod, 2017; Branson and Kahn, 2016; Salisbury, 2016; Van der Berg and Van Broekhuizen, 2012). Internationally, a growing body of research indicates additional negative outcomes for youth who do not complete secondary education, ranging from higher levels of poverty, to ill health (including mental health), substance abuse, delinquency, incarceration, and prolonged dependence on social assistance (Bjerk, 2012; De Witte et al. 2013; Kimberly and Knight 2011; Lund, et al., 2018). These outcomes create an obvious concern for the loss of human potential for the individual. They also lead to questions about countries' high rates of investment in educational systems and the effectiveness of those systems, and are at the basis of concerns about the larger societal and economic costs of incomplete education.