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With the increasing availability of high-quality longitudinal data on students in higher education, scholars' interest in how students proceed through higher education has risen. So far, the research field is diverse in theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. Thus, based on 27 studies published in (higher) education research journals during the past two decades, this literature review provides an overview of the theoretical concepts, methodologies and main empirical findings in the study of students' trajectories in higher education. The results depict a US dominated research field. Most theoretical frameworks are based on student's decision-making. Across different country contexts and research designs-ranging from descriptions of student trajectories to studies predicting who engages in which types of trajectories to sequential trajectory reconstruction-we found that historically disadvantaged groups in higher education such as students from low social origin follow less linear and less smooth higher education trajectories. However, while the field of comparative education is growing steadily and may significantly contribute to explaining the link between the realization of students' opportunities and the way how higher education is designed and implemented both on the national and local level, there were no cross-country comparison studies on higher education trajectories., Author(s): Christina Haas [sup.1], Andreas Hadjar [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.16008.3f, 0000 0001 2295 9843, Institute of Education and Society, University of Luxembourg, , Avenue de l'Université, L-4365, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg [...]

What is the role of students' language background in school success within the multilingual and highly stratified education system in Luxembourg? Considering achievement differences in terms of the primary effects of social and ethnic origin, we assume that students of a disadvantaged social origin (e.g. working class), with an immigrant background, who speak languages at home other than Luxembourg's official languages show lower school achievements and are placed into lower school tracks. Analyses are based on the data of Luxembourgish primary (grades 4/5) and secondary students (grades 7/8) from two consecutive survey waves in 2016/2017 (for the international project SASAL – School Alienation in Switzerland and Luxembourg). The results indicate language background has only marginal effects, but social and immigrant origin has stronger effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting out from the frequent empirical finding that immigrants exhibit higher educational aspirations than non-immigrants, we analyse the role of immigrants' value of education, i.e. the subjective belief that education is beneficial for one's life, in idealistic and realistic educational aspirations in four distinct institutional settings, comparing Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and England. While the first part of the analyses relates to how immigrants differ from non-immigrants in the value they assign to education, the second part centres on country differences considering immigrant integration policies and education systems as crucial factors. A third part relates to the links between the value of education and educational aspirations to gain some insight into how the value of education may contribute to educational decisions. Analyses are based on longitudinal data of the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries (CILS4EU). While results show that immigrants assign a higher value to education, the value of education does play a minor role in idealistic and realistic educational aspirations. The results of the country comparison are rather ambivalent, including very weak support for the argument that immigrants strive for education to a higher extent in countries with less favourable conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many primary school students encounter the educational system positively from the outset. However, over the school years, students develop negative attitudes towards school, which peaks during secondary education. According to the literature, we conceptualise this process as school alienation: a decreasing sense of belonging in terms of learning, teachers and classmates at school. Purpose: This article critically examines the research on school alienation, with a focus on primary and secondary education. In this overview, we consider definitions, general conceptual approaches and specific concepts of school alienation, as well as methodological issues, including operationalisations of school alienation. Based on our identification of the strengths and shortcomings of previous theoretical and empirical approaches, we propose a definition and model of school alienation that may guide future research efforts. We argue that future research on school alienation needs to focus on the processes by which school alienation manifests itself; moreover, it must take into account how school alienation can differ with regard to various domains in school (i.e. alienation from learning, from teachers, from classmates). Overall, we argue that instead of an emphasis on general alienation from school, a more specific approach to school alienation is required. Sources of evidence: We used scientific research search engines to identify the body of literature that explicitly studies the phenomenon of school alienation. Firstly, we identified different types of school/student alienation definitions and concepts. Then, we selected papers addressing school alienation as a crucial issue, as well as papers investigating this issue in relation to an outcome, such as violent student behaviour and drop-out, for review. Further, we related our review to comparable concepts, such as disengagement, to show similarities and/or differences. Main argument: The findings of our overview point to a lack of a clear definition of school alienation, a lack of systematic concepts and a diversity of operationalisations based on manifold theoretical approaches. Thus, we propose a contemporary concept of school alienation by bridging different concepts: particularly, the concepts of alienation and disengagement. Our approach specifies core domains to which school alienation is linked: academic learning, teachers and classmates. Furthermore, in regard to each domain, cognitive and affective aspects can be identified, while behavioural aspects are conceptualised as consequences of school alienation. Conclusions: The need for studies aimed at a more profound understanding of the process of school alienation during different stages of educational pathways (such as primary and secondary education) seems to be evident. Panel data are necessary to reconstruct student trajectories in order to take individual changes into account. Different levels of analysis (individual student level/micro, school or classroom levels/meso, societal level/macro), as well as interaction between these levels, need to be studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Horizontal gender inequalities appear to be rather stable, with girls more often choosing ‘female’ service professions, and boys choosing career paths related to science, technology, engineering or Mathematics. Purpose:Non-egalitarian patriarchal gender-role orientations and gender associations (perceived femininity) of the school subjects German Language Arts and Mathematics are theorised – triangulating different theoretical backgrounds – and empirically analysed as a major predictor of gender-typical vocational aspirations, considering interest in these school subjects as a mediating factor. Furthermore, we focus on a patriarchal relation of father’s and mother’s workforce participation as a root of gender-role orientations, and teacher gender in regard to its impact on gendered images of subjects. Sample:Empirical analyses are based on survey data from eighth-graders (around the ages of 14 and 15 at the time of data gathering) in the Swiss canton of Bern. The sample only encompasses children from two-parent families, as patriarchality in terms of differences in workforce participation between father and mother is taken into account. Design and methods:The research issues are analysed employing structural equation models. The statistical package Mplus allows for an analysis of the two dependent dichotomous variables ‘gender-typical vocational aspiration’ and ‘gender-atypical vocational aspiration’. The hierarchic structure of the sample (school class clusters) is taken into account. Results:Findings reveal different patterns for boys and girls; for boys, gender-typical (male) vocational aspiration could be explained to a small extent via gender-role orientations, interest in Mathematics and gender associations of school subjects; for girls, the factors under consideration could be empirically linked to ‘atypical vocational aspiration’. Teacher gender only has an impact among girls: if girls are taught by a female Mathematics teacher, they perceive the subject as a bit more female and show a higher interest in this subject. Their likelihood of having a gender-atypical vocational aspiration is a bit higher than among girls with a male Mathematics teacher who perceive the subject as a bit less female and, thus, show somewhat lower interest in this subject. Conclusions:There are still links – although weak – between gender stereotypes and vocational aspirations. Gender-role orientations are rooted in the family. A sensitisation towards gender stereotypes and their impact on aspirations and career would appear to be meaningful in broadening the vocational perspectives of men and women. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Copyright of Journal for Sociology of Education & Socialization / Zeitschrift für Soziologie der Erziehung & Sozialisation is the property of Julius Beltz GmbH & Co. KG Beltz Juventa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper focuses on the research question 'Who does not vote and why?' regarding national elections in 24 European countries. We analyse determinants of non-voting both on the individual and the societal level employing a multilevel design. On the micro level, the sociological determinants under consideration are education, cohort and gender. Regarding psychological or motivational factors, we include in the analyses political efficacy, political interest, political trust and satisfaction with politics. On the macro level, we analyse characteristics of the electoral system, including opportunities for 'direct democracy', maturity of democracy, disproportionality factor, and if the participation in elections is compulsory. The data source of the analyses is the European Social Survey 2006. A first main finding is the fact that the probability of non-voting is higher among people with a low level of education and among younger cohorts. The motivational factors have similar impacts on non-voting across all analysed societies. Lack of political efficacy, lack of political interest, lack of political trust and dissatisfaction with politicians and the political system increase the probability of non-voting. Regarding macro influences, countries with compulsory voting and 'old democracies' turn out to have a lower rate of non-voting, although these effects vanish when simultaneously modelled with the social psychological micro level indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to take a look at the 1968 generation in West Germany about 40 years after the 1968 events. Whether there was a 1968 generation in the narrow sense of the word will be explored. While comparing the 1968 generation with earlier and later cohorts, political interest, political activity and (postmaterialist) values will be analysed. Education will be theorised as a main mechanism that distinguishes the 1968 generation from earlier generations. Quantitative analyses will be performed employing a temporal perspective and including age, period and cohort effects - so that socialisation as well as individual change over the life cycle and macro influences can be taken into account. The results show a strong influence of education on political interest, political activity and postmaterialism. Therefore, what is called the '1968 generation' only applies to the more highly educated people of this generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Swiss Journal of Sociology / Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Soziologie is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)