This open access book constitutes a transnational and multidisciplinary inquiry of the most pressing challenges faced by young people Not in Employment, nor in Education or Training (NEET) in rural areas across Europe. . Rural NEETs are one of the most invisible segments of the youth population, in spite of the fact that the percentage of NEETs is higher in the countryside, compared to those in suburban and urban areas across the EU and many of the Southern and Eastern European countries. This book identifies and analyses different factors that may contribute to or hamper youth social development and social inclusion. Among them are main individual features of rural NEETs, the quality and characteristics of rural NEETs' informal social networks and support, the singularities of formal and non-formal education in rural areas and how they shape the transition from school to work, the role of employment services in providing adequate institutional support, the importance of policy package designor the role of new paradigms of rural development to uphold vulnerable young people in the European countryside . The contributions offered in this book provide a new model of analysis and comprehension of rural NEETs' personal development and social inclusion. This book therefore establishes the state of the art regarding available knowledge on rural NEETs, and represents an inspirational resource for new research agendas on the subject of vulnerable rural youth in Europe. This book also forms the policy design in areas such as education, employment, and social welfare in rural areas.
Francisco Simões is an associate researcher and a full member of the Centre for Social Research and Intervention (CIS) – ISCTE, Lisbon, Portugal. He has a doctoral degree in psychology from the University of Coimbra, Portugal. He was the Chair of COST Action Rural NEET Youth Network, funded by the European Commission, through the COST Association (2019-20243). He was also the principal Investigator of the project Tr@ck-IN - Public employment services tracking effectiveness in supporting rural NEETs, funded by the Youth Employment Fund (EEA & Norway Grants) (2021-2024). He is a member of the Coordination Group of the EU Rural Pact. He has worked extensively as a consultant for local, regional and national authorities in Portugal in the implementation of educational and training programs for vulnerable young people, including NEETs. His research is focused on the psychosocial analysis of school-to-work transition outcomes in terms of social inclusion, well-being, and access to education and decent jobs for vulnerable young people such as those Not in Employment, nor in Education or Training (NEET). interests are focused on the psychosocial development of adolescents and young adults in rural areas, especially those Not in Employment, nor in Education or Training (NEET). He has published more than 50 national and international scientific works, on topics such as: young people’s social development and well-being; school attainment; school-to-work transition; youth mobilities between rural and urban areas; young adults perceptions about farming; or youth mentoring.
Emre Erdoğan is the Head of the Department of International Relations at Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey. With a doctoral degree in political science from Boğaziçi University, he has served as researcher and senior consultant in various projects in academia and civil society. His research focuses on political participation, foreign policy and public opinion, child and youth well-being, methodology and statistics. He extensively studies and publishes about youth in Turkey, integration of Syrian refugee youth in Turkey, othering, polarization and populism. He is the author of several books and articles on these topics. He is serving as the scientific director of Turkuazlab (www.turkuazlab.org) and as the general coordinator of İstanbul Bilgi University publications.
