The substantial redefinition of youth and education policy in Australia over the past decade has been associated with an increased emphasis on university entrance and the adoption of a sequential model of pathways between the two worlds of study and work. Because these new policy settings have been in operation for sufficient time now to warrant examination of their effectiveness in terms of participant outcomes, this article examines them in the light of research findings from a major longitudinal study of young Australians who left school in 1991. Definite signs of incompatibility between policy and outcomes are identified with regard to non‐university study pathways, uncertain career prospects, and the assumed linear sequence between study and work. The analysis articulates a theoretical concern about the inappropriateness of the policy settings and leads into a re‐examination of the data with reference to a typology of ‘life patterns’ more compatible with young people's experience than the prevailing imagery of pathways. This shift of focus also opens up the possibility of combining research findings from the two ‐‐ often separate ‐‐ fields of education and youth studies in a way that would do justice to the increasing complexity of the educational and life choices confronting the post‐1970 generation. © 1998 Taylor & Francis Ltd.
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