From NEET to EET: Is there a role for the Educational Psychologist?

Abstract

The ‘NEET’ population has recently become a national focus for concern. The term refers to young people, aged 16 to 19, who are ‘not in education, employment or training’. The nature of the NEET population is recognised as very diverse, and the size is estimated as between 13.2 per cent to 14.5 per cent of all 16- to 19-year-olds. Routes into the population can be explained through psychological theories such as developmental contextualism, the focal model and resiliency theory. Several interventions and preventative strategies are already in place, with varying degrees of success. It is proposed that EPs can play an important role in reducing the NEET population through application of their five core functions.