There are both factual and policy questions embedded in this debate. The key issues for education research are factual. All of these questions deserve further study. To date, these questions have been debated largely in the absence of convincing evidence, one way or the other. Transition to Adulthood Outside school, the most prevalent experiences that young people encounter pertain to the transition to adulthood.
Adolescence is the stage that lies between childhood and adulthood.
Increasingly, the traditional order of these various events has become jumbled. It is easy to imagine how such experiences might interfere with high school completion, but the research base for examining these possibilities remains thin. The results of one major survey found that working more than 20 hours per week while in high school increased the likelihood of dropping out. The survey also found that working less than 20 hours per week had some beneficial effects on school completion and other academic activities, such as time spent on homework. Other research found that increased time spent on nonacademic activities outside of school increased a student's likelihood of dropping out of school.