From parents to children: the impact of mothers’ and fathers’ educational attainments on those of their sons and daughters in West Germany
British Journal of Sociology of Education, (März 2016)Zusammenfassung
Empirical studies have repeatedly shown that in Germany educational
success still strongly depends on the social origin of individuals. Using
the National Educational Panel Study, we analyse the effects of fathers’
and mothers’ education levels on their sons’ and daughters’ educational
attainments across three successive birth cohorts in West Germany. We
calculate the predicted probabilities of reaching low, medium or high
education levels on the basis of the level of education of the mothers and
the fathers. Our results show: a persistence of the status maintenance model,
with very few exceptions; a growth in the educational level of women via
medium-level education connected to segregation in the labour market; and
finally that the first transition of girls to medium-level education has been
completed, leaving space for daughters to attempt to outnumber sons in
tertiary education, mainly due to the pressure of mothers.