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.
Highlights
Transitions from education to work and employment depend on person-related factors and institutional opportunity structures
We examine the effects of social background on educational and occupational pathways in Switzerland with a particular focus on tracking and transitions
As reading skills affect entire educational trajectories and indicate general learning abilities (Heinz et al, 2009; Stalder et al, 2008) we describe pathways based on reading skills as measured by PISA (OECD/PISA, 2001)
Summary
Transitions from education to work and employment depend on person-related factors and institutional opportunity structures. Bauer and Riphahn (2006) found that strong tracking at the secondary level I increases the effect of social background on educational and occupational achievement. We examine the effects of social background on educational and occupational pathways in Switzerland with a particular focus on tracking and transitions.
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