The purpose of this study has been to investigate the aggravating factors that pupils experienced during their time in Compulsory School and how the school responded to the students' difficulties. The empirical material is based on the stories of five students at the Introductory Programme (IM). Complementary to the students' experiences, an IM teacher, who previously worked in Compulsory School, was interviewed to get a more objective perspective. The study is qualitative and the material has been thematized and contextualized with the state of knowledge and then analyzed with the chosen theory, Sense of Coherence (SOC). In the results it appears that the students experienced discontinuity, lack of follow-up and insufficient demands, resulting in a lost sense of belonging to and feeling coherence in school.

Title: “Aggravating Factors in Compulsory School” – A qualitative study of former Compulsory School students' experiences