Article Green Open Access 2014

Longitudinal effects of social background on educational and occupational pathways within early and strong school tracking

SR
Samuel, Robin
 MB
Max Bergman, Manfred Max
 HS
Hupka-Brunner, Sandra
Longitudinal and Life Course Studies
Journal · Vol. 5 · Issue 1 · pp. 1-18
Abstract

Transitions from education to work are subject to person-related factors and institutional opportunity structures. Life course research increasingly focuses on longitudinal effects of social background on educational and occupational pathways within early and strong school tracking. In this context, Switzerland is a paradoxical case because its education system exhibits elements that should both reinforce and weaken social background effects. We draw on data from a PISA 2000 school-leaver cohort. Employing sequence analysis, optimal matching and longitudinal latent class analysis, we find that persistence tendencies are more pronounced in the academic stratum, compared to vocational and precarious strata. Conversely, the education system and labour market allow for a good integration of weak academic performers. Overall, we show that social background and performance determine selection into tracks, after which effects of opportunity structures take over.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Transition pathways Labour market entry tracking Social Background

Index Keywords

Author Affiliations
Department of Social Sciences, Universität Basel, Basel, BS, Switzerland
Center on Poverty and Inequality, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States, Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, Department of Social Sciences, Universität Basel, Basel, BS, Switzerland
Department of Social Sciences, Universität Basel, Basel, BS, Switzerland, Department of Science and Technology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa
Funding & Acknowledgements
No funding information
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