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Using representative survey data from the municipality of Oslo, capital of Norway, this article examines expectations about the future among 14–16-year-olds in relatively poor families. Despite Norway's universalistic welfare policies and a period of growing economic prosperity prior to the 2006 survey, the article reveals that adolescents in poor families are more likely than other adolescents to anticipate unemployment and less often expect to own a home. Poor adolescents are also less likely to expect future happiness. A considerable portion of poor adolescents have a immigrant background, but the analyses show a non-trivial negative effect of living in a poor family even when controlling for this variable. In addition, the analyses investigate the role of selected mediating factors, namely, low academic achievement, self-perceived unpopularity among peers and attending a school with a relatively high share of poor adolescents. Low academic achievement and perceived unpopularity explain some of the relationship between poverty and low expectations, whereas school milieu has less effect.

Ny GIV is a three-year effort by the government to increase the completion rate in secondary education. This report is about the Transition Project (Overgangsprosjektet) in Ny GIV. The aim of the Transition Project is to increase students' prerequisite for the implementation of secondary education by providing the weakest performing students intensive training in basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills. The target group for intensive training is the 10 per cent with the lowest grades after the first period of tenth grade. In addition to intensive training the transition project include training and motivational activities during the summer holidays between tenth grade and upper secondary education. The aim of the survey was to provide a broad description of how students, teachers and school management experienced the intensive training, how the training had been implemented in schools, and to create a register of students who participated in the program. It has also been a goal to do a first analysis of the Ny GIV-students school achievements – before and after intensive training. The data collected consisted of three main parts: 1) questionnaires to students, teachers and school administrators who participated in the project, 2) collection of registered information about the Ny GIV-students to a student register and 3) a short questionnaire to county coordinators in the Transition Project on the implementation of summer activities organized by Ny GIV. The report's main findings: The project was well received on the participating schools. In advance, the vast majority of students, teachers and school administrators believed the intensive training would raise achievements in basic skills for participating students. Also after having completed the training most of the respondents expected that the training had effect on school achievements and motivation. At the same time, few students reported negative consequences and stigmatization due to their participation in Ny GIV. Even though the project was well received and most teachers expected positive effects, a large majority also wanted the intensive training to start at an earlier date. The target group for intensive training is the 10 per cent with the lowest grades after the first period of tenth grade The analysis shows that only 40 percent of Ny GIV-students had a grade level equivalent to the grade level to the 10 percent weakest among most students (at schools that did not participate in Ny GIV). Hence, the recruitment of students to Ny GIV has been broader than the original intention. This indicates that some of the students that were actually among the 10 percent weakest did not participated in the intensive training, while some of the students in the "second-weakest group" was included. Reasons for this are likely complex, but may in part be due to the fact that participation in the project was voluntary and that schools and counties in many cases based the selection of students on subjective assessments. Students who participated in Ny GIV had an average improvement in the last period of tenth grade of 0.10 grade points in eight subjects. This is a slightly lower rate of improvement than that of students (with similar grades) at schools that did not participate in Ny GIV. Still, it is difficult to draw any definite conclusions on the effects. First, the results are more nuanced when looking at individual subjects. Ny GIV-students had a higher average improvement in mathematics. In the subjects norwegian written and spoken, written english and science there were not significant differences between the Ny GIV-students and students at other schools, while the results showed a lower rate of improvement in RLE, social studies and English spoken among Ny GIV-students. Secondly, we may not have been able to control sufficiently for any bias in the selection of schools or students into the project. The results in this the report must therefore be considered a first step in the evaluation of Ny GIV. A more comprehensive research-based evaluation of the Transition Project in Ny GIV will start in 2012. This next evaluation will provide better possibilities to go into many of the questions that we have treated more superficially in this report. ; Ny GIV er en satsing fra regjeringen for å øke gjennomføringsgraden i videregående opplæring. Rapporten handler om intensivopplæringen i regning, lesing og skriving som tilbys elever med svake skoleprestasjoner på ungdomstrinnet. Formålet har vært å gi en bred beskrivelse av erfaringer med intensivopplæringen, organiseringen på skolene, samt å etablere et register over deltagende elever. Det er gjennomført spørreundersøkelser blant elever, lærere og skoleledere, og det er innhentet karakter og fraværsinformasjon om deltakende elever. Kartleggingen viser at Ny GIV ble godt mottatt av elever, lærere og skoleledere. Rekrutteringen til Ny GIV var imidlertid noe bredere enn intensjonen (de 10 prosentene med dårligst karakterer). Videre økte karakterene samlet sett mer blant elever på skoler som ikke deltok i Ny GIV, i løpet av tiltaksperioden, mens Ny GIV-elevene gikk relativt mer fram i matematikk.

Ny GIV is a three-year effort by the government to increase the completion rate in secondary education. This report is about the Transition Project (Overgangsprosjektet) in Ny GIV. The aim of the Transition Project is to increase students' prerequisite for the implementation of secondary education by providing the weakest performing students intensive training in basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills. The target group for intensive training is the 10 per cent with the lowest grades after the first period of tenth grade. In addition to intensive training the transition project include training and motivational activities during the summer holidays between tenth grade and upper secondary education. The aim of the survey was to provide a broad description of how students, teachers and school management experienced the intensive training, how the training had been implemented in schools, and to create a register of students who participated in the program. It has also been a goal to do a first analysis of the Ny GIV-students school achievements – before and after intensive training. The data collected consisted of three main parts: 1) questionnaires to students, teachers and school administrators who participated in the project, 2) collection of registered information about the Ny GIV-students to a student register and 3) a short questionnaire to county coordinators in the Transition Project on the implementation of summer activities organized by Ny GIV. The report's main findings: The project was well received on the participating schools. In advance, the vast majority of students, teachers and school administrators believed the intensive training would raise achievements in basic skills for participating students. Also after having completed the training most of the respondents expected that the training had effect on school achievements and motivation. At the same time, few students reported negative consequences and stigmatization due to their participation in Ny GIV. Even though the project was well received and most teachers expected positive effects, a large majority also wanted the intensive training to start at an earlier date. The target group for intensive training is the 10 per cent with the lowest grades after the first period of tenth grade The analysis shows that only 40 percent of Ny GIV-students had a grade level equivalent to the grade level to the 10 percent weakest among most students (at schools that did not participate in Ny GIV). Hence, the recruitment of students to Ny GIV has been broader than the original intention. This indicates that some of the students that were actually among the 10 percent weakest did not participated in the intensive training, while some of the students in the "second-weakest group" was included. Reasons for this are likely complex, but may in part be due to the fact that participation in the project was voluntary and that schools and counties in many cases based the selection of students on subjective assessments. Students who participated in Ny GIV had an average improvement in the last period of tenth grade of 0.10 grade points in eight subjects. This is a slightly lower rate of improvement than that of students (with similar grades) at schools that did not participate in Ny GIV. Still, it is difficult to draw any definite conclusions on the effects. First, the results are more nuanced when looking at individual subjects. Ny GIV-students had a higher average improvement in mathematics. In the subjects norwegian written and spoken, written english and science there were not significant differences between the Ny GIV-students and students at other schools, while the results showed a lower rate of improvement in RLE, social studies and English spoken among Ny GIV-students. Secondly, we may not have been able to control sufficiently for any bias in the selection of schools or students into the project. The results in this the report must therefore be considered a first step in the evaluation of Ny GIV. A more comprehensive research-based evaluation of the Transition Project in Ny GIV will start in 2012. This next evaluation will provide better possibilities to go into many of the questions that we have treated more superficially in this report. ; Ny GIV er en satsing fra regjeringen for å øke gjennomføringsgraden i videregående opplæring. Rapporten handler om intensivopplæringen i regning, lesing og skriving som tilbys elever med svake skoleprestasjoner på ungdomstrinnet. Formålet har vært å gi en bred beskrivelse av erfaringer med intensivopplæringen, organiseringen på skolene, samt å etablere et register over deltagende elever. Det er gjennomført spørreundersøkelser blant elever, lærere og skoleledere, og det er innhentet karakter og fraværsinformasjon om deltakende elever. Kartleggingen viser at Ny GIV ble godt mottatt av elever, lærere og skoleledere. Rekrutteringen til Ny GIV var imidlertid noe bredere enn intensjonen (de 10 prosentene med dårligst karakterer). Videre økte karakterene samlet sett mer blant elever på skoler som ikke deltok i Ny GIV, i løpet av tiltaksperioden, mens Ny GIV-elevene gikk relativt mer fram i matematikk.

One of the major goals in Norwegian education policy is to improve the completion rate in upper secondary education. In 2011 the Government initiated a large-scale three-year effort – Ny GIV. The overarching goal is to increase the proportion of young people who successfully complete secondary education to 75 percent by 2015 (from 69 percent in 2010). The effort comprises three major sub-projects: 1) "Statistikkprosjektet", aiming at the development of a common database and statistical indicators to assess the extent to which the overarching objectives are obtained, 2) "Overgangsprosjektet", targeting young people at the end of lower secondary school who are at risk of not attending or completing upper secondary education and 3) "Oppfølgingsprosjektet" targeting young people aged 15-21 years who are neither in of education or employment. NOVA has been commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Research to evaluate the latter project, Oppfølgingsprosjektet, during the school years 2012/13 and 2013/14. The overall objective of the evaluation project is to examine the extent to which the project contributes to achieving the main goal in Ny GIV. The work in the counties will be assessed on the basis of the national and common priorities, which are: 1) Testing of training models that combine work experience with learning objectives in upper secondary school, 2) Strengthening of cooperation between the actors (the counties, NAV, schools etc) responsible for the follow-up of young people neither in employment or education, and 3) Skills training for employees working in the counties or the Norwegian welfare and labour service (NAV). This is the first report of the evaluation project and includes data from the school year 2012/13. The report gives an overview of new and previously implemented measures directed at the target group for Oppfølgingsprosjektet. The report also provides answers to how employees in the counties and NAV and school leaders experience both the effort of and the cooperation between relevant actors in the field. In addition, the report provides a picture of how young people are experiencing the measures they participate in and how a continuing education implemented within the framework of Oppfølgingsprosjektet work. The results from this report will later be updated for the school year 2013/14 and by the end of 2014, we will provide an overall assessment of how Oppfølgingsprosjektet has worked. The preliminary findings from this first part of the evaluation are as follows: - There is an extensive range of measures directed at youth who are neither in education or employment. In line with the overall goal of Oppfølgingsprosjektet, a large number of the initiated measures aim at raising young people's formal qualifications. About 30 percent of all measures combine educational learning objectives and work practices. It is still to early to conclude whether the extent of such combined measures has increased during the period of Oppfølgingsprosjektet. - By far, most of the measures are organized in collaboration between several actors. Actors involved in such cooperation usually are Oppfølgingstjenesten, administered by the counties, and NAV. The staffs of the two agencies are largely satisfied with how the partnership works - both in terms of planning actions and the guidance and supervision of youth. - So far, Oppfølgingsprosjektet has probably had its greatest impact at the cooperational level, affecting how and to which extent the major agencies involved in the different efforts to prevent young people dropping out of upper secondary school collaborate. This point is fairly unanimous in the assessment of employees in both the follow-up services, OT and NAV, and also appears in the evaluation of the training for employees working in the counties or NAV. ; I 2011 igangsatte Regjeringen Ny GIV, et treårig prosjekt for å øke gjennomføringen i videregående opplæring. Oppfølgingsprosjektet er ett av satsingsområdene, der målet er å styrke innsatsen overfor ungdom som er i ferd med å slutte, eller har sluttet, i videregående. Dette skal dels skje gjennom å prøve ut opplæringsmodeller som kombinerer arbeidspraksis med læreplanmål i videregående, dels gjennom et styrket samarbeid mellom de ulike aktørene som har ansvar for målgruppa. Det er også et mål å utvikle kompetansen til de ansatte. Denne underveisrapporten er basert på en kartlegging av igangsatte tiltak overfor målgruppa for Oppfølgingsprosjektet. Kartleggingen omfatter også hvordan skoleledere og ansatte i Oppfølgingstjenesten og NAV opplever samarbeidsrelasjonene og innsatsen som er rettet mot målgruppa. I tillegg gir rapporten et bilde av hvordan ungdom opplever tiltakene de deltar i, og hvordan videreutdanningstilbudet som er igangsatt innenfor rammene av Ny GIV, fungerer.

This report gives a comprehensive and updated presentation of the impact socioeconomic resources have on the living conditions of Norwegian youth. It aims to describe a broad spectrum of social inequalities between Norwegian youth, based on new data from a national survey - Ungdata. The report covers many aspects of their lives; their relationships with parents and friends, how they spend their leisure time, their expectations and general well-being, as well as issues such as sexuality and sexual offences. Our results are consistent with other studies, which generally show that Norwegian youth are doing quite well, and lead active and meaningful lives. However, one major finding is that there are systematic social inequalities in living conditions and quality of life in almost all of the areas covered in this report. The report shows that adolescents with relatively few socioeconomic resources at home, in general have more complicated relationships with their parents and friends. In addition, these youths enjoy school less, have more health issues, are bullied more, are more pessimistic, they participate less in organized activities, and spend more of their spare time in front of screens than youth who grow up in higher socioeconomic groups. The report uses data from Ungdata – a survey conducted in 183 Norwegian municipalities in 2014–2015. The data stems from responses from 118,000 young people, aged 13-19 (from lower and upper secondary school). The response rate is high, ranging from 81 percent in the lower to 65 percent in upper secondary school. The study is representative for Norwegian youth attending school. In this report, we use a measure of the parents' socioeconomic status, as reported by the respondents. This measure captures the socioeconomic resources the teenagers have access to via their families. The measure was constructed using information about the parents' educational background, amount of books at home and access to various types of material goods and benefits. On this basis, we divided the respondents into five socioeconomic groups. In this report, youth from the different socioeconomic tiers are analyzed and compared. The report also illustrates gender inequalities and variations between youth in different stages of adolescence. Vulnerable families and different parenting styles The report shows that most teenagers are pleased with their parents and have a healthy, open and trusting relationship with them. The vast majority of parents know what their children do in their spare time. Not only do most parents know their children's friends, but they also know the friends' parents. Concurrently the analysis also demonstrates that there are clear socioeconomic differences in the relationships the young have with their parents. More frequently, youth from families in the lower social tiers have a more confrontational relationship with their parents and are more often dissatisfied with them. They argue more often with their parents and report that their parents know less about how they spend their spare time. They also report less emotional parental support. The socioeconomic inequalities are not dramatic, and regardless of their background, most young feel that their parents are positive, supporting and involved. Yet the results suggest that parents in the higher socioeconomic strata more often practice what research usually describes as "authoritative parenting". Authoritative parents are described as being sensitive to the needs of the young, open to input, but also as having firm boundaries, high demands and to communicate their expectations clearly. Research has shown that this type of parenting often is positively associated with the youngsters' social, emotional and cognitive development. The report also shows that youth from lower social tiers to a larger extent use grownups, other than their parents, when they need help with personal problems. Friendships, bullying and social background Peer relationships are a topic in various sections of the report. In general, most youth are satisfied with their friends. Still as much as ten percent reply that they are not sure if they have close friends they can trust. Youth from the lower social strata lack, more than others, confidential friends and they are not as pleased with their friends. It seems as if these teenagers have a weaker standing among their peers than youth in general. Regarding bullying, the report shows a higher prevalence of bullying, being either the bully or the victim, among youth in the lower social strata, regardless of whether the bullying is "face to face" or digital. Youth from lower social strata are both more often victims of bullying, and they participate more often actively in conflicts. Social differences related to school The report confirms findings from other studies, which show that most youth are comfortable at school: they feel that the teachers care and they are socially well adjusted. Although most are comfortable, a minority is unhappy and dread going to school. The percentage who do not feel well at school is approximately twice as large amongst young in the lower socioeconomic strata, compared with those in the highest strata. When teenagers from lower socioeconomic strata report that they are less comfortable at school, it might refer to both the social and educational environment. Youth from families in the lower social strata do less often feel that they fit in socially at school – among peers. However, they report to the same extent as youth from higher socioeconomic strata, that the teachers care about them. The report also shows quite clear patterns in parents' involvement with school, based on their socioeconomic background. Youth from families with higher socioeconomic status more often experience parental help with their schoolwork, and that their parents talk more about school, in addition to being more interested in and praising them for their schoolwork. Analyses of time spent doing homework during weekends indicate that youth from higher socioeconomic strata invest more time in obtaining good grades than youth from families with lower social-economic standing. Still, the differences in time spent on schoolwork outside school is less than one might expect from previous research, which indicates relatively large difference in grades between youth from different social backgrounds. The report shows that already in their teens, youth with different socioeconomic backgrounds, differ in their expectations about what they can achieve in life. Most Norwegian teenagers are optimistic about their future. The higher the family's socioeconomic strata the more optimistic the young are in their perception of their opportunities in the future, be it getting a higher education, happiness, owning a home or employment. Leisure - different arenas different experiences The report illustrates some clear, but opposing social patterns in the young's leisure time habits. Youth from higher social strata more often than others participate in organized activities in their spare time, while youth from lower socioeconomic strata have the most screen time. When young people from different social strata participate in different types of leisure activities, it also implies that they learn different things and acquire different experiences. Organized leisure activities offer meeting places for youth and give them opportunity to develop skills. Often grownups are present to set the terms for the activities, and additionally they contribute help and support. Organizations can also be an arena where young people can develop their identity and gain an understanding of democracy. When youth from lower socioeconomic strata participate less in such activities, they have less access to this type of learning and socializing activities. While youth from families with high socioeconomic status spend more time on organized activities away from home, the opposite is the case with screen activities. The socioeconomic differences are largest between the heavy users – those who spend more than four hours a day in front of a screen – and the social gradient is largest among the girls. The largest difference is found in the girls' gaming activities (computer games and smaller games on cellphones / tablets), watching TV, movies or series, in additions to using social media. Girls from homes with lower socioeconomic status use these more extensively. The survey shows that most parents, regardless socioeconomic status, are relatively open-minded and have a liberal attitude towards their youngsters' online activities. Only a minority reported having rules for usage and few say they hide their online activities from their parents. Youth in families with lower socioeconomic status experience less frequently that their parents know what they are up to online, and they more rarely experience their parents as good role models for use of social media. Social differences in health and wellbeing Regarding health, the report shows that social background matters. Compared with young from the higher social tiers, youth from lower strata in general are less pleased with themselves and their looks, and fewer report that they are satisfied with their own health. Youth from lower social strata more frequently experience physical ailments in their daily life and use painkillers more extensively. There are also social differences in mental health; especially girls from the lower strata more often suffer from anxiety and depressive symptoms. As in most other areas we have studied, there are gradients in the social health differences. The extent of the difficulties decrease gradually as the socioeconomic resources in the family increase. A consistent finding is that social inequalities in health are more evident among girls than among boys; the girls stand out as having most ailments. An example is that headaches and other physical pains bother significantly more girls than boys. The extent of mental health problems is two to three times as high amongst girls as boys. Girls are also far less satisfied with their appearance and self-image than boys are. Regarding the use of health services, the report generally shows rather small socioeconomic differences. Meanwhile, some differences go in slightly different directions for boys and girls. Visits to youth health, school health and psychologist / psychiatrist are, however, more common among youth in families with low socioeconomic status, particularly for girls. Both boys and girls state that physical health issues are the most common reason to seek school health services. Many also seek out school health services to get help or answers to questions about sexual health, mental health, well-being and friendship, and family issues. Overall, we do not find systematic patterns in the reasons youth with different socioeconomic backgrounds report. The exception is that young people from families with low socioeconomic status more frequently than others turn to school health services because of family problems. Few systematic differences in sexual experiences Adolescence is a time in life when many people have their first sexual experiences. The proportion who have ever had sex with anyone increases tenfold from the beginning of middle school to the end of high school, from seven to 73 percent. The increase is largest from mid-teens upward. The report concludes that there are no socioeconomic differences in terms of how many boys have made their sexual debut. However, we see a tendency that relatively more girls from families with lower socioeconomic status have made their sexual debut, compared to girls from the higher strata. The analyses also show that few of the sexually active young have experienced involuntary pregnancy. Simultaneously about 40 percent of the boys and one in four girls state that they did not use contraception the last time they had sex with someone. The analyses of social inequalities does not provide grounds to conclude that youth from lower social strata have unprotected sex more often than others. However, the analyses of sexual experiences are based on a smaller sample than other topics in this report. Therefore, we cannot be quite as sure, as elsewhere in the report, that these data are representative of most youth in Norway. Quite a few youngsters report exposure to various types of sexual offenses, this applies more to girls than to boys. Exchanging sex for material goods however is not prevalent. The boys report such actions somewhat more frequently, but the analyses only show minor differences in the adolescents' socioeconomic background. Nor, when it comes to sexual harassment, is there a clear pattern to suggest that young people from lower social strata are more susceptible. In some areas, these data nevertheless suggest that there are social patterns according to families' socioeconomic status. For example, we see a tendency that some types of sexual offenses – such as being exposed to rumors of a sexual nature and physical harassment - are more prevalent among girls from families with lower socioeconomic status. ; Har ungdommenes sosioøkonomiske bakgrunn betydning for det livet de lever til daglig? Basert på nye tall fra Ungdata gir rapporten en bred beskrivelse av sosiale forskjeller blant gutter og jenter i Norge. Rapporten tar for seg ungdoms forhold til foreldre og venner, trivsel og innsats i skolen, framtidsplaner, deltakelse i organiserte fritidsaktiviteter, digital fritid, helse og trivsel, samt seksualitet og seksuelle krenkelser. Hovedfunnet er at selv om norske ungdommer har det bra på mange av disse områdene, er det systematiske mønstre i hvem som ikke har det så bra: desto flere sosioøkonomiske ressurser ungdommene har hjemme, desto høyere er ungdommenes livskvalitet.

Background: Effective infection control is crucial for combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated whether adolescents in Oslo reported compliance with the Norwegian infection control rules during the pandemic and whether compliance with the rules was associated with sociodemographic characteristics, trust in the authorities and acceptance of the infection control rules. Material and method: Students in lower and upper secondary schools completed an electronic questionnaire (N = 12 686, 37 % response rate) during a period with strict infection control measures in force. We used self-reporting of compliance with the infection control rules, sociodemographic characteristics, trust in the authorities and people in general, and acceptance of the infection control rules. We used logistic regression analysis. Results: The majority reported that they always or to a large extent complied with the rules for hand washing (n = 9 915, 84 %), refrained from shaking hands/hugging (n = 8 730, 74 %) and avoided large groups (n = 8 565, 73 %). Fewer reported to maintain physical distance (n = 5 859, 50 %). The level of trust in the government (n = 8 742, 80 %) and health authorities (n = 9 962, 92 %) was high. The highest compliance with the rules was among girls, adolescents from immigrant backgrounds, those with a high level of trust in the authorities and people in general, and those who showed acceptance of the infection control rules. Interpretation: A large proportion reported to comply with the infection control rules. Adolescents from immigrant backgrounds and those who were living in the outer eastern suburbs of Oslo also more frequently reported to comply with the rules. Trust and acceptance of the rules were also important factors. ; Work on this study was supported by project funding from the Research Council of Norway, (project nos. 288083 and 301010). ; publishedVersion

BACKGROUND Effective infection control is crucial for combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated whether adolescents in Oslo reported compliance with the Norwegian infection control rules during the pandemic and whether compliance with the rules was associated with sociodemographic characteristics, trust in the authorities and acceptance of the infection control rules. MATERIAL AND METHOD Students in lower and upper secondary schools completed an electronic questionnaire (N = 12 686, 37 % response rate) during a period with strict infection control measures in force. We used self-reporting of compliance with the infection control rules, sociodemographic characteristics, trust in the authorities and people in general, and acceptance of the infection control rules. We used logistic regression analysis. RESULTS The majority reported that they always or to a large extent complied with the rules for hand washing (n = 9 915, 84 %), refrained from shaking hands/hugging (n = 8 730, 74 %) and avoided large groups (n = 8 565, 73 %). Fewer reported to maintain physical distance (n = 5 859, 50 %). The level of trust in the government (n = 8 742, 80 %) and health authorities (n = 9 962, 92 %) was high. The highest compliance with the rules was among girls, adolescents from immigrant backgrounds, those with a high level of trust in the authorities and people in general, and those who showed acceptance of the infection control rules. INTERPRETATION A large proportion reported to comply with the infection control rules. Adolescents from immigrant backgrounds and those who were living in the outer eastern suburbs of Oslo also more frequently reported to comply with the rules. Trust and acceptance of the rules were also important factors.