(2019):
Occupational aspirations and ethnic inequalities at the transition from school to vocational training in Germany.
[27th Annual Workshop Transitions in Youth, Maastricht, 01/10/2019 - 04/10/2019].
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Social Networks and the Transition from Education to Work
Project Directors
Prof. Dr. Irena Kogan,
Dr. Tobias Roth
Project Staff
Markus Weißmann
DFG-funded
2015 – 2020
Research question/goal:
The objective of the project was to contribute to a better understanding of the role of social networks in the transition from the education system to the labour market in Germany. We focussed on the transition from lower secondary general education to vocational education and training (VET), which represents the first labour market transition for many young adults.
The project predominantly relied on panel data from Starting Cohort 4 of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). One research paper used class network panel data from the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Survey in Four European Countries (CILS4EU).
Our findings suggest that students’ educational expectations at the end of lower secondary education are substantively influenced by significant others. Furthermore, we find that students heavily rely on information and support from social contacts during their transition to VET, with parents playing a key role. While we do not find ethnic differences in general motivation to provide support, immigrant parents seem to be less able to provide specific instrumental support, presumably due to a lack of resources that are specific to the receiving country. Additionally, we find that the probability of children to obtain a VET position is higher the more native contacts and the more social contacts their parents have in the lower labour market segments. The composition of parents’ social networks was found to have no effect on the quality of apprenticeships.
Our results confirm the importance of social contacts at different stages in the transition to VET in Germany. They can influence educational expectations, provide information and support during the career orientation and application phase, and contribute to the success of applications. In this context, the social status and ethnic background of social contacts are decisive in determining their usefulness.
Publications
Presentations
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(2017): On the way from school to work: investigating ethnic inequalities in the transition to vocational training in Germany. [ECSR 2017 Conference "Institutions, Inequality and Social Dynamics", Bocconi University, Milano, 30/08/2017 - 01/09/2017]. More
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(2015): Interpersonal Influences on Educational Aspirations: New Evidence for Germany. [GIF Workshop “Globalization, mobility, immigration and inequality in a comparative perspective”, Berlin, 30/11/2015 - 01/12/2015]. More