Abstract

Transition from School to Vocational Education and University: Does Social Class have Different Effects for Men and Women?

In this paper we analyse the question whether social class affects the transition from school to vocational education and university differently for men and for women. The starting point is the fact that the German system of vocational education and training and the occupational system are both dominated by gender aspects. For women, the number of relevant occupations is rather limited, and the occupational preferences for men and women differ a lot. We argue that the social recognition of certain vocations is different for men and women and that this difference not only affects the transition from school to vocational education and training but also the acquirement of certificates at secondary schools, which are of central importance for the admission to vocational education and training. Using data from the BIBB transition survey 2011, we estimate separated regression models for men and women to analyse the influence of social class for different aspects of transition to vocational education and training. The results provide evidence that the influence of social class is gender-related.