This project aimed to develop a more comprehensive conceptual framework of school-to-work transitions in different national contexts and apply this framework to the empirical analysis of transition processes across European countries. It drew on these two data sources: European Community Labor Force Survey and integrated databases on national school leavers' surveys in France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Scotland, and Sweden. Three broad types of national systems were identified: countries with extensive vocational training systems at upper secondary level, linked to occupational labor markets (Germany, the Netherlands); countries with more general education systems with weaker institutionalized linkages to the labor market (Ireland); and Southern European (SE) countries with less vocational specialization and lower overall attainment than the other groups. In "vocational" systems, young people tended to make a smoother transition into the labor market, while those in SE countries found it more difficult to achieve a stable employment position. Educational level was highly predictive of transition outcomes, which varied by gender, social class, and national origin. Early educational failure had serious negative consequences for young people across all systems. Sixty-three references are listed. A separate annex contains these 17 working papers: "Education and Unemployment" (Brauns, et al.); "Position of Young People and New Entrants in European Labor Markets" (Couppie, Mansuy); "New Entrants and Experienced Workers on European Labor Markets" (Couppie, Mansuy);"European Perspectives on Labor Market Entry" (Gangl); "Education and Labor Market Entry Across Europe over the Last Decade" (Gangl); "Changing Labor Markets and Early Career Outcomes" (Gangl); "Transition from School to Work in Southern Europe" (Iannelli); "Educational Attainment of Young People in the European Union (EU)" (Mueller, Wolbers); "Integration of Young People into the Labor Market Within the EU" (van der Velden, Wolbers); "Learning and Working" (Wolbers); "Transition Process" (Grelet, et al.); "Route to Skills" (Hartkamp, Rutjes); "Apprenticeship in Ireland, the Netherlands, and Scotland" (Hartkamp, Rutjes); "School Effects on Youth Transitions in Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands" (Iannelli, Soro-Bonmati); "Young Immigrants on the Labor Market in France and Sweden" (Mansuy, Schroeder); "Relative Labor Market Disadvantage Among the Least Qualified in Ireland, the Netherlands, and Scotland, 1979-97" (McCoy); and "Gender Differentiation in Education and Early Labor Market Transitions" (Smyth). (YLB)