The meaning of the past in the future visions of marginalized unemployed youth

Authors

• Johanna Oljemark Helsingin yliopisto

Abstract

This article examines how a group of youth not tied to any educational system thinks about the past, the present and the future. The focus is on how the past is present in the life of young people and how it influences their future visions. The article focuses on marginalized young people between the ages of 17 and 22 who are unemployed and have a work placement position which the community has organized for them. The data was collected by individual interviews and analyzed by qualitative research methods. The data shows that young people have bright individual future visions and belief in positive development of society even though they have challenging backgrounds. The results are compared to other research on historical consciousness, youth and history.