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This paper aims to relate questions about the quality of social and vocational integration schemes to the dimension of education in vocational education and training (VET), on the background of several years of research experience in a series of European Union (EU) projects focusing on so-called reintegration programs, that is, programs designed to support the school-to-VET transition for young persons with learning difficulties. The question of the social integration of a growing number of young people who are finding difficult the established transition routes from school to vocational training or work is of overall concern in the EU member states. The approaches to face this challenge are widespread, with a variety of programs intended to: bridge the gap between general school and vocational education and work; support young people with troubled learning experiences and social disadvantage; help young people to re-engage in learning and training; and provide extra opportunities where the mainstream is not broad enough. As well, the projects aimed to identify good educational practice. A follow up project aimed to gain empirical evidence of the value of situated learning in learning communities centred on making support with transition from school to VET more successful from the individual's as well as from society's perspective and to produce quality indicators for these type of programs which could be applied transnationally. Based on the project's findings, Collaboration, reflexivity, inclusiveness and situated pedagogy (CRIS) was recommended as a framework for multi-level and transcultural assessment of the quality of reintegration policies and practices.