Nontraditional pathways into higher education and inequalities in the labor market: The German Case

• In Event: 3429 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 17. International Topics in Education and Inequality: Europe

Abstract

In Germany, inequalities in the labor market are strongly tied to social origin by way of educational degrees: Children from higher social origins moreoften choose a traditional pathway that leads to a formal university entrance exam and with it to the highest returns in the labor market. The following paper focusses on the status attainment of nontraditional alumni in Germany, who first completed their vocational training and then entered higher education with an occupational qualification but without holding a university entrance certificate. By this pathway, inequalities can be lessened if nontraditionals attain the same status as traditionals.

Estimated random-effect models on data of 155 nontraditionals and 1,881 traditionals of the National Education Panel Study (NEPS) show, that over 15 years after graduating, nontraditionals attain a lower occupational status (SES) in comparison to traditionals. Referring on social reproduction and social position theory, these results are explained for nontraditionals of lower social origins by a desire for status maintenance of the SES attained before their studies and for nontraditionals of higher social origins by a failed reproducation of parental status. Both motives lead to a lower SES attainment than that of the traditionals who successfully reproducte the parental SES by their graduate degree. The findings show that although alternative route to an educational degree lessen educational inequalities, inequalities do not disappear but manifest in the labor market.

Author

• Jessica Ordemann, DIPF