Access, Coping and Relevance of Education at Local Level: A Case Study. A life course approach to the analysis of young people’s educational trajectories

Education is a prominent social institution in advanced societies, with primary responsibility for socializing the young to become productive adults. The movement of individuals through the education system is thus a central object of study in sociology, both as a phenomenon to be explained and as a determinant of subsequent outcomes throughout the life course. In this chapter, I examine the study of educational trajectories, including the transitions that punctuate these trajectories, and the well-traveled pathways that shape them. I begin by explaining why educational trajectories have only recently become a central analytic concept in the sociology of education, and discussing the linkages between educational pathways and educational trajectories. Drawing on the sociology of the life course’s concern with age, aging, and historical time, I then examine the conceptualization and measurement of educational trajectories, and the analytic models that are used to describe them. Next, I summarize some recent research on educational trajectories in Great Britain and the United States. I conclude by charting some future directions for research on educational pathways and trajectories.

The life course in general, and the educational trajectories of young people in particular, comprise a high degree of complexity as they take place in iterative, recursive and interactive negotiation processes in which numerous actors, institutions and discourses are involved. In this paper, an attempt is made to combine two conceptual discussions—Life Course and Governance—bringing them to bear on the examination of how Lifelong Learning (LLL) policies have been used to govern young people’s life courses. The paper synthesizes different discussions of the complex relations among governance, discourses and structures of opportunity that impact the governing of the life course and particularly educational trajectories. It suggests that the combination of life course research and a governance perspective enables analyzing the governance of educational trajectories along discursive, institutional and relational dimensions of opportunity structures. Considering these various dimensions, the paper argues, allows us to attend to the social interactions, decision-making processes and processing mechanisms that precede and/or underlie educational processes and thus favor or complicate them. The contribution also critically discusses the implications of a governance perspective on life courses and closes with a discussion of the multidimensional and multilevel challenge of governing life course by means of LLL policies.

This book discusses how the ways that young people’s educational trajectories into and beyond lower secondary education are regulated can influence their future lives. It draws on the results of empirical studies in eight European countries: Finland, France, Germany Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia and UK (England and Northern Ireland), carried out under the EU-funded GOETE project. The book explores the different ways that educational trajectories are—actively or passively— negotiated, and organized in the individual countries, and the ways that these shape educational opportunities and life chances. Its central aims are to elaborate the different ways in which educational trajectories are governed in the eight countries, and to compare the differences between those approaches and their outcomes in the eight countries. It focuses on the relationships between the different (national and local) forms and outcomes of interactions between collective and individual actors, structures, institutions, mechanisms, and discourses exert influence on education policy and practice at various levels—inter- and transnational, nation-state, regional, local or school levels.

The educational expansion of the last decades has broadened access to higher education. Especially girls caught up with boys in their educational attainments (DiPrete and Buchmann 2013). Whether educational inequalities by social origin decreased is less clear. Moreover, there is evidence that this trend might be gender specific: Becker and Muller (2011) show that the effects of social origin on educational outcomes remained strong for boys but less so for girls. At the same time, improved education for women has not translated into equal work opportunities for men and women (Blau and Kahn 2016). So far, in research on educational transitions and/or labour market inequalities, effects of social origin and gender have rarely been studied jointly (for an exception see Rivera and Tilcsik 2016). The aim of our research is to fill this gap and better understand the mechanisms that lead to differences in occupational outcomes at the intersection of social origin and gender by considering different pathways from compulsory education into the labour market. Theoretically, we combine two lines of argumentation: First, we draw on the literature on primary and secondary effects of origin (Bourdieu and Passeron 1971; Boudon 1974; Breen and Goldthorpe 1997). Second, we assume that the horizontal gender segregation by field of study, vocational education and training (VET), and occupation (Barone and Schizzerotto 2011; Charles and Bradley 2009; Gabay-Egozi et al. 2014) can translate into vertical stratification (for Switzerland see for example: Imdorf and Hupka-Brunner 2015; Hupka-Brunner et al. 2011; Zimmermann 2012). Furthermore, we pursue a life-course perspective to identify cumulative advantages or disadvantages over the educational trajectory (Sackmann 2007, Chapter 6). In order to investigate this empirically, we use data from the TREE (Transitions from Education to Employment) panel study that follows a large sample of Swiss PISA 2000 participants in their transition from education to their labour market position at age 30 (nine data collection waves, 2001–2014). In a first step, we employ sequence analysis to identify relevant clusters of sequences of education and job episodes of the respondents. Then, we conduct regression analysis to determine how these types of educational pathways influence job outcomes depending on social origin and gender. Classifying the pathways using sequence analysis allows us to reduce the complexity of individual life courses without sacrificing the strength of panel data. Preliminary results show, first, that educational pathways differ by social origin and gender. The higher the social status of the parents, the more likely it is that children pass through one of the academic pathways. Similarly, women more often to run through an academic track, whereas men more frequently complete vocational training. Second, these different trajectories lead to unequal occupational status. Net of the educational trajectory also a significant effect of social origin remains. Finally, gender effects on job outcomes are specific to educational trajectories, indicating that they result from horizontal segregation.

Young adulthood is a dynamic and demographically dense stage in the life course. This poses a challenge for research on the socioeconomic consequences of parenthood timing, which most often focuses on women. We chart the dynamics of delayed parenthood and its implications for educational and labor market trajectories for young adult women and men using a novel longitudinal analysis approach, the parametric g-formula. This method allows the estimation of both population-averaged effects (among all women and men) and average treatment effects (among mothers and fathers). Based on high-quality data from Finnish registers, we find that later parenthood exacerbates the educational advantage of women in comparison to men and attenuates the income advantage of men in comparison to women across young adult ages. Gender differences in the consequences of delayed parenthood on labor market trajectories are largely not explained by changes in educational trajectories. Moreover, at the time of entering parenthood, delayed parenthood improves the incomes of fathers more than those of mothers, thereby exacerbating existing gender differences. The results provide population-level evidence on how the delay of parenthood has contributed to the strengthening of women's educational position relative to that of men. Further, the findings on greater increases in fathers' than mothers' incomes at the time of entering parenthood, as followed by postponement, may help explain why progress in achieving gender equality in the division of paid and unpaid work in families has been slow.

Life Course Investments at the Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

NEPS-ADIAB is a large-scale data product from Germany that provides a unique source for the empirical analysis of life course research questions. It is jointly administered by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) and the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories. NEPS-ADIAB includes survey data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) and administrative data from the IAB, combined at the individual level using a record linkage procedure. While the NEPS data cover issues such as educational trajectories and decisions, competencies and skills, learning environments, attitudes, etc., the administrative data consist of detailed employment histories dating back to 1975, plus extensive information on establishments. The linkage of both data collections results in a considerable research potential. NEPS-ADIAB is particularly suitable for analyses of the nexus between educational and employment careers, short- and long-term returns to education, transitions from school to vocational training and working life, adult education and lifelong learning, as well as discontinuities in professional careers due to parenthood or unemployment. Contextual characteristics about establishments as well as geographic indicators can additionally be taken into account. The regularly updated and expanded NEPS-ADIAB data are accessible to the entire scientific community free of charge via on-site and remote access.

According to an interactionist perspective, educational trajectories are neither structurally determined nor are they the result of individual (rational) choice. Instead, they emerge from complex negotiation processes between young people and intervening others, particularly teachers and parents, and imply different levels of action and meaning-making. This introduction first presents the overall approach of the European project, Governance of Educational Trajectories in Europe, that analyzes educational trajectories from a life course and governance perspective. Second, it introduces the key concepts cross-cutting the articles in this issue such as transitions, gate-keepers vs. significant others, cooling out, and decision-making before presenting a summary outline of them.

The article presents the results of a sociological analysis of changes in the educational behaviour of various groups of the Russian population. This analysis is significant because education is one of those social domains that are associated with the accumulation and application of human capital. The latter is relevant not only to the stage of modern socioeconomic development but also to the current geopolitical situation. Theoretical and methodological approaches to studying the social behaviour of various population groups in these areas are multidimensional. In this article, the primary focus of research is on educational and professional trajectories and strategies. The author defines these concepts, emphasising the non-synonymous nature of trajectories and strategies. The objective of the article is to clarify the dynamics of educational trajectories of different generations. The length, content, and variability of educational trajectories in an intergenerational context are being analysed. The empirical basis is formed by the combined RLMS HSE database for individuals from 1994 to 2021, that identifies six generations of Russians according to the classification proposed by V.V. Radaev. An exploratory analysis of the 30th wave of the survey allowed us to identify four generations for further comparative analysis: the "stagnation" generation, the "reform" generation, the millennial generation, and the zoomer generation – 25%, 19.8%, 24.1%, and 24.6% of the total number of respondents in 2021, respectively. A substantive analysis of the educational and professional trajectories of 16,465 respondents was conducted. A typology of their educational trajectories is proposed: direct, multi-component, shortest, absent, and extended. An increase in the proportion of those choosing multi-component trajectories among representatives of the millennial and zoomer generations is demonstrated. The conditions for implementing the chosen educational and professional strategy are examined, as well as the combination of factors associated with the choice of a direct or multi-component educational trajectory. It was found that, while the median lengths of educational trajectories for different Russian generations, expressed in years of schooling, are similar, their variability and fullness are not homogeneous. On the one hand, the increasing number of young people among millennials and zoomers choosing multi-component trajectories for vocational education is associated with the development of vocational education. On the other hand, from the perspective of practical recommendations and social management in education and the labour market, it is a priority to note the relative flexibility of the Russian vocational education system, that allows for the reduction of inequality in educational opportunities.

Amblyopia is a neurodevelopmental condition resulting in reduced vision for which whole population child vision screening is undertaken. Cross-sectional studies have established an association between amblyopia and lower academic self-concept, slower reading speed. No difference has been found in educational performance in adolescence whilst there are mixed associations with educational attainment in adults. Educational trajectories and intentions have not been studied previously. We analyse if those treated for amblyopia have different educational performance and trajectories for core subjects during statutory schooling, or subsequent higher education (university) intentions than their peers without eye conditions. Data from the Millennium Cohort Study of children born in the United Kingdom in 2000-01 and followed-up to age 17 years (n = 9989). Using a validated approach drawing on parental self-report on eye conditions and treatment coded by clinical reviewers, participants were grouped into mutually exclusive categories: no eye conditions, strabismus alone, refractive amblyopia, strabismic/mixed (refractive plus strabismic) amblyopia. The outcomes were levels and trajectories of passing English, Maths, Science at ages 7-16 years, passing national exams at age 16, and intentions at ages 14-17 to pursue higher (university) education. Adjusted analyses showed that amblyopia status was not associated with performance in English, Maths, and Science at any key stage, attainment in national exams, or intending to go to university. Similarly, the age-related trajectories of performance in core subjects and higher education intentions did not differ between the groups. There were no significant differences in main reason for having or not having university intentions. We found no associations between a history of amblyopia and either adverse performance or age-related attainment trajectories in core subjects during key stages of statutory schooling as well as the absence of an association with intentions for higher education. These results should be reassuring to affected children and young people, and their families, teachers and physicians.

In this contribution, we present an overview and discussion of the key policies, trends and issues in UK education. The focus in the initial sections is more on the school system of early and compulsory education. Later sections focus also on post-compulsory and higher education, and links to the world of work. There are four home countries in the UK – England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales – with increasingly divergent education systems. Where possible and relevant we distinguish these systems, especially at the start of the chapter. However, it is not possible within space constraints to provide detailed discussion of the distinctive legislative framework in each home country and for the purpose of this chapter we have focused primarily on England, which is the most populous of the home countries. 1. Historical and societal context 1.1 Cornerstones of the present structure In the UK, Acts of Parliament relating to education are increasingly regular, with perhaps increasingly diminishing impact. Looking back over the past 70 years or more, however, two such Acts and a further ongoing process perhaps stand out in their legacy of impact on the present structure of schooling. These are the increasing devolution of policy in the four constituent parts of the UK, the 1944 Education Act, and the 1988 Education Reform Act. By 1900 free elementary education was (near) universal in the UK. In 1944, secondary provision was less homogeneous and the vast majority of children left formal education at or before the age of 14. The Education Act tried to change that, but it also did much more. It was part of a total reform of the welfare state and included wider measures such as free transport to school, free medical examinations for all children at school, and free milk at break times. Local authorities, via their schools, were required to attend to the spiritual, moral, mental and physical development of their charges. This meant, in addition to the provision of milk and hot meals, the inclusion in schools of physical and religious education and a daily act of ‘collective worship’. Local authorities had to ensure the provision of ‘appropriate’ education for all children up to the age of 15, which meant a rapid growth in the size and number of schools. The Act did not specify what type of secondary schools should be provided, but the government at the time made clear that they expected at least three types of schools. Technical schools were, as their name implies, intended to provide a largely non-academic, craft and trade preparation education. Very few of these emerged or lasted and so the system actually became mostly bipartite. Grammar schools were intended for the most academically able (regardless of social origin). Admission was via an examination at the end of primary education - the 11+ - designed to pass around 10% to 15% of each cohort. In fact, considerable variation ensued. Adjustment was made for the sexes, so that girls did not ‘swamp’ the grammar schools. In rural areas some ‘grammar’ schools took 40% to 50% of the cohort because there were not enough local pupils to maintain the five or more schools needed for a 20:80 split, or schools simply adapted to different tracks for pupils deemed of different abilities. ‘Secondary-modern’ schools were intended for the bulk of pupils, who were not considered likely to continue in education past the age o f 15 and so were given a mixed academic, general and vocational curriculum.

What happens during adolescence emerges from early in life and sets the stage for later in life. This linking function of adolescence within the life course is grounded in social, psychological, and biological development and is fundamental to the intergenerational transmission of societal inequalities. This article explores this life course phenomenon by focusing on how the social ups and downs of secondary school shape adolescents' educational trajectories, translating their backgrounds into their futures through the interplay of their personal agency with the constraints imposed by the stratified institutions they navigate. Illustrative examples include gender differences in risky behavior, racialized experiences of school discipline, immigrant youths' family relations, LGBTQ students' school safety, STEM education, adverse childhood experiences, and mindset interventions.

There has been an international movement towards inclusion and consequently an increasing number of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) attend mainstream schools. In recent years there has been a growth in cross-sectional research that seeks to understand the experiences of students with ASD in mainstream schools. This research indicates that students often experience bullying, a lack of understanding from teachers and peers and frequent suspensions and exclusions. To date there has been little research to explore the participation of students with ASD in mainstream school over time. There is a need to understand participation in mainstream school as a process over time that changes in response to the complex interplay of the individual and their environment. This will inform the development of strategies to better facilitate their participation across primary and secondary school. This thesis aims to develop an understanding of participation in mainstream school over time from the perspective of students with ASD and their parents. The study uses a qualitative methodology and is underpinned by Life Course Theory, which recognises the dynamic interaction of individual and contextual factors and processes on life experiences. To investigate perspectives and experiences of participation in mainstream school semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight students with ASD aged 12-15 years and 11 parents. Parents were interviewed on two occasions and students were interviewed once, generating a total of 26 interviews. Retrospective interviews with parents were conducted to elicit their perspectives about their children’s educational participation across primary and secondary school and their experiences of supporting their children’s participation over time. Student interviews captured a snapshot of their perspectives on their current participation in mainstream schools. Thematic analysis of the interview data was undertaken and concepts from Life Course Theory were applied to the data to enable a deeper understanding of the themes of participation in mainstream school across the schooling years. The findings of the study indicate that the majority of parents perceived that their children had restricted participation in mainstream schools and their educational trajectories were characterised by disruption. A minority had relatively stable academic participation trajectories, but still had difficulties with social participation. Furthermore, students experienced academic mismatch and standing out in mainstream schools. Parents universally experienced a perpetual battle to support their children’s participation in mainstream schools over time. Parents and students actively tried to influence their participation but most perceived they had little control over their participation in mainstream schools. This indicated that the school environment had a significant and constraining 2 influence on their participation. This thesis makes a contribution to knowledge about the participation of students with ASD in mainstream school by incorporating the perspective of students with ASD and their parents and more so, by considering participation across schooling years as a whole. It also makes a contribution to methodological knowledge about doing inclusive research with young people with ASD. A number of policy and practice recommendations are made, including the need for mainstream schools to accept greater responsibility for accommodating each individual student with ASD, and to encourage more meaningful involvement of parents and students in educational planning in order to improve their participation.

Over the past two decades, young people have faced increasing social and economic instability. Before the world had fully recovered from the tremendous effects of the global financial crisis of 2007-08, it was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the effects of such crises being felt unevenly, what are the implications of these challenging times for the educational and professional aspirations of young people in vulnerable situations? To investigate, this paper draws on the lived experiences of young people (15-24 years old) in Portugal, ranging from early leavers from education and training to students currently enrolled both in mainstream schools and other educational institutions. The qualitative data used are drawn from two distinct research projects. By combining these two data sets, we have expanded our understanding of the impact of these crises on young people’s aspirations and educational trajectories. The findings indicate that, within the framework of successive economic, political and social crises, pre-existing situations of social vulnerability tend to intensify and may lead to disengagement from school, and even dropping out. Often, the need to help support their families leads many young people to enter a competitive and highly precarious labour market. This article renders visible the impact that structural and systemic factors – intrinsically linked to issues of inequality and social injustice – can have on the educational aspirations and trajectories of young people in a society in which ‘being in crisis’ has somehow become the new norm.

The paper includes a comparative analysis in terms of lifelong learning in countries like France, Germany, Finland and Romania. The objectives: Update on the definition of each star on lifelong learning concept; Comparison strategies associated with lifelong learning for the countries analyzed; Tracking the contribution of different levels of educational system in terms of lifelong learning. The research was based on studying scientific literature from the country and abroad and it was based on questionnaires distributed. The results of investigation showed that success is related to the projects in terms of institutions, local projects and the project of the entire state that must ensure quality education. After implementing the research, conclusions are that the exchange of information between countries is needed, exchange of experience should head the true value, strategic cooperation should increase and innovation in lifelong learning through study visits for Education and training professional.