I'm Not a Child, Not an Adult, Something of Both": Longitudinal Exploration of Reaching Adulthood As They Youth Themselves Define It. Russian Case.

Engaging with the date encompassing 3 waves of interviews with 24 members of youth from across Russia (coming from different regions, family and urban/rural background), we investigate, how young women and man make their transition into adulthood as they understand it, and the role education plays in this transition. First wave of interviews was conducted in 2013, when our participants were 17-18 years old. Part of them continued on to high school secondary education with a view of higher education in sight, and the other part have just started studying in vocational educational institutions, upon finishing secondary school the previous year. We elucidated cultural structures they utilize in order to navigate their social and educational landscape in order to make a decision to leave or stay at school, what they imagine adulthood to be and how do they understand their own current “adulthood status”. Two years later we’ve interviewed them when both groups were students of either vocational colleges or universities. They have encountered new experiences and negotiated new identities, aspirations and life plans upon becoming students. Again, we talked about their image od adulthood and their perception of themselves. Finally, the 3^rd wave of interviews we take into account was conducted in 2017, when our informants were either finishing studies, entering the labour market, or employed. Together with them, we reflected upon their educational experiences, choices and struggles.

In the paper we will demonstrate will demonstrate how the idea of education is closely associated with the idea of adulthood, and, therefore, how some educational choices become meaningless when examined based on certain imaginaries of adulthood. We will show how idea of adulthood transforms and inform educational and career decision-making in a different way at different stages of their biographies.