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SoSe 14: The transition to higher education - dimensions and mechanisms of inequality in European comparison

Claudia Finger/Philip Wotschack

Kommentar

Higher education is usually associated with advantageous working and living conditions. Yet, the decision for or against tertiary education is still highly selective in most Western countries. The seminar wants to shed light on the different conditions and mechanisms that shape the transition to higher education from a comparative (mainly European) perspective. We will thereby focus on classical inequality dimensions such as social background or gender. Moreover, we will look at institutional and individual conditions that may lead to a higher transition probability of typically disadvantaged individuals or groups. Thus, also atypical educational careers ("against the odds") will receive our attention. In the first part of the seminar, the focus is on sociological theories that deal with educational inequalities, while the second part covers empirical studies that examine the relationship between gender, social background characteristics, and education. Here, examples from different countries will be discussed. Literatur Shavit, Y., R. Arum and A. Gamoran with G. Menahem, (eds.) 2007. Stratification in Higher Education: A Comparative Study. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. Schließen