@dutaDifferentDegreesCareer

() - A Duta, B Wielgoszewska, C Iannelli

Journal:
Link:: https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S1040260820300599?token=EC521A8C56F25AD2DBC11399D052A0CE7E02102ACED7EAEE8FC39BF7FF93A55C929FADE21E4F13894B72D8D2383FD9CF&originRegion=eu-west-1&originCreation=20221116043322
DOI:: 10.1016/j.alcr.2020.100376
Links::
Tags:: #paper #Transition #school-to-work #LabourMarket
Cite Key:: [@dutaDifferentDegreesCareer]

Abstract

Most research on social inequalities in higher education (HE) graduates’ labour market outcomes has analysed outcomes at one or two points in time, thus providing only snapshots of graduates’ occupational destinations. This study contributes to the existing literature by examining the education and labour market trajectories of degree holders across their life course and how these trajectories vary by social class of origin. We analyse data from the 1970 British Cohort Study and employ sequence analysis, followed by cluster analysis, to identify HE graduates’ typical trajectories. We assess the degree of social inequalities in the chance of following more or less advantaged pathways from age 16 up to the age of 42 and the extent to which these inequalities are explained by differences in higher education experiences. The results show that graduates from lower social classes of origin have more diverse and less stable trajectories, are less likely to enter top-level jobs in their 20s and more likely to enter and remain in lower social classes than their more socially advantaged counterparts. The age at which people graduate from HE emerges to be a key factor in explaining some of these patterns. Interestingly, HE factors - such as class of degree, fields of study and type of university attended - only partially explain social class differences. Our research provides new insights into the dynamic nature of inequalities among graduates showing that not only does the final destination matter but also the timing and sequencing of trajectories are important.

Notes

“This study contributes to the existing literature by examining the education and labour market trajectories of degree holders across their life course and how these trajectories vary by social class of origin” (Duta et al., p. 2)

“The results show that graduates from lower social classes of origin have more diverse and less stable trajectories, are less likely to enter top-level jobs in their 20s and more likely to enter and remain in lower social classes than their more socially advantaged counterparts. The age at which people graduate from HE emerges to be a key factor in explaining some of these patterns” (Duta et al., p. 2)

“The main assumption behind this approach is that, during their lives, individuals go through a series of interdependent social statuses which span various life domains (e.g. education, employment, family, health) and understanding each status requires a holistic and dynamic approach. The impact of different life transitions also depends on the timing in which the transition or event occurs (Elder 1998)” (Duta et al., p. 6)

“One key theoretical explanation connecting the life course perspective to social stratification is the cumulative advantage (CA) theory. This theory describes the process of reproduction of inequalities by analysing how the initial advantage of certain social groups over others leads to a multiplication of rewards across the life course (DiPrete and Eirich 2006; Mayer 2009).” (Duta et al., p. 6)

“Finally, in common with the Rational Choice theories, the life course perspective recognises the role of human agency (Elder 1998). Individuals and their families make choices on which course of action to follow within the constraints and opportunities available to them.” (Duta et al., p. 7)

“The UK HE system is characterised by high participation rates, high differentiation of institutions and low standardisation of entry requirements. Higher education participation rose ten-fold between the beginning of the 1960s and 2017/18 (from 5% to 50%; Mayhew, Deer and Dua 2004 and DfE 2019). At the time the cohort members of the 1970 British Cohort Study left upper secondary school (around 1988), this rate was 17% (Mayhew et al. 2004). The most rapid expansion occurred in the 1990s when, in only one decade, the rate doubled and reached 34% (in 1997-98). Therefore, most graduates in our cohort entered the labour market in early 1990s and faced substantially lower competition compared to their peers who graduated later, during the period of intense higher education expansion” (Duta et al., p. 10)

“This expansion was accompanied by an important change in the history of the British HE system, the upgrading of the polytechnics to university status. Until 1992 the HE system in the UK was a binary system composed of universities and polytechnics (and central institutions in Scotland), two distinctive institutional types, the first with a strong focus on academic education and research, the second more teaching-oriented, offering technical and professional education (Carpentier 2018; Croxford and Raffe 2013). The shift from a binary system to a formally unified system in reality hides important informal status differences between HE institutions linked to the date when institutions were founded or became universities (Croxford and Raffe 2013). Thus, the HE sector is de facto a diversified system (Arum, Gamoran and Shavit 2007)” (Duta et al., p. 10)

“n the UK (but also in other countries) the most prestigious universities mainly gather students from the most advantaged social classes while less advantaged groups disproportionately enter lower-status institutions (Arum, Gamoran and Shavit 2007; Boliver 2011; Iannelli, Gamoran and Paterson 2011).” (Duta et al., p. 11)

“Education is loosely connected to the labour market in the UK (Hannan et al. 1996; Gangl 2003).” (Duta et al., p. 11)

“Thus, a HE qualification provides a weak signal in the UK on potential employees’ specific skills and knowledge required for the job and this creates room for the influence of non-credentialist factors on job allocation, among them class of origin.” (Duta et al., p. 11)

“We used Multiple Imputation by Chained Equations (20 chains of multiple imputation) through the MICE package in STATA. The multiple imputation models were based on all the key variables used in our analysis. Also, given that cognition has been suggested to be one of the strongest predictors of missingness (Mostafa et al. 2020), we included cognitive ability at age 10 as an auxiliary variable.” (Duta et al., p. 12)

“We used sequence analysis followed by cluster analysis to derive the typology of HE graduates’ education and employment trajectories. This method is a useful technique to address questions about processes (Aisenbrey and Fasang 2010) and it uses ordered sequences, rather than data points, as an input (Abbott and Tsay 2000). This better reflects the definition of career as an unfolding sequence of any person’s education and occupation experiences over time.” (Duta et al., p. 14)

“The findings showed a diversity of sequences followed by graduates, with some pathways more advantaged and smooth (e.g. ‘Direct entry into Lower/Higher managerial and professional occupations’ and ‘Upwardly mobile from Lower to Higher managerial and professional occupations’) than others which involved a considerable amount of time spent in ‘Intermediate’ or ‘Routine and manual occupations’. These patterns confirm that having a HE qualification does not automatically translate into a ‘graduate’ job in the UK and that a lot of career mobility is a very common experience among graduates.” (Duta et al., p. 20)