Abstract
The growth of widespread social unrest in many developing countries has led to an increased interest in the phenomena of educated unemployment. Various national and international organisations have proposed analyses of the causes of educated unemployment and have drawn attention to the malfunctions operating in and between the economies, educational systems and cultures of developing countries. This research aims to demonstrate, for Sri Lanka, the interconnections between the economic, occupational, educational and cultural systems as they determine educated unemployment. An attempt is made to disentangle the facts of educated unemployment from the myths that surround it and to show how it varies between different social classes, geographical areas and ability groups. Various linkages are traced between white-collar job premiums, job admission practices, secondary school curricula, certificate examinations and selection for higher education. Attention is also devoted to the failure of reform programmes. The lack of knowledge of such linkages, it is claimed, constitutes a recurrent cause of the failure of many reforms because new structures are soon overwhelmed by unperceived pressures. On the basis of an analysis of structural features and patterns of occupational socialisation, a programme of remedial measures is outlined. The thesis is based upon documentary research and replies to a questionnaire administered to 600 pupils in Sri Lanka schools.