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FrancoAngeli Journals

Articles

No. 2 (2025)

The focus group: A tool for reflecting on the NEET phenomenon

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3280/erpoa2-2025oa20494
Submitted
giugno 30, 2025
Published
2026-10-23

Abstract

NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) are young people aged between 15 and 29 who are neither working, studying, nor engaged in any form of training. These are young individuals who, despite having completed a cycle of studies, have not managed to integrate into the workforce. Some have dropped out of educational paths, deciding not to engage in any activity, while others, due to temporary circumstances, are unable to study or work. Many studies have been conducted on young people belonging to stigmatized groups, but few experiences have utilized qualitative tools aimed at triggering reflective processes specifically regarding the NEET phenomenon. This article focuses on the use of focus group as a valuable tool for gathering information, which, on one hand, allows for an in-depth exploration of the phenomenon under investigation, and on the other hand, establishes both verbal and non-verbal interactions among a group of expert participants. The research question guiding this article is: what connection can be established between reflexivity and focus groups to understand actions related to the world of work and the NEET phenomenon?

For this reason, using a focus group could be an extremely useful qualitative technique to provide direct knowledge of social phenomena and serve as an authoritative source of meanings derived from the personal experiences of social actors. This information can, in turn, complement other investigative approaches and guide future research. Therefore, the focus group methodological framework, inspired by Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, could represent a useful reference for exploring and analyzing such a complex and multifaceted topic.

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