IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cog/socinc/v13y2025a8766.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Inequality at the Transition to Higher Education in Germany: Social Differences by Prior Educational Pathways

Author

Listed:
  • Heiko Quast

    (German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies, Germany)

  • Heike Spangenberg

    (German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies, Germany)

  • Hanna Mentges

    (German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies, Germany)

  • Jessica Ordemann

    (German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies, Germany)

  • Sandra Buchholz

    (German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies, Germany)

Abstract

In this article, we assess the importance of alternative pathways via vocational schools and vocational education and training (VET) for social differences in the transition into higher education in Germany. Drawing on data from the DZHW Panel of School Leavers 2018, we use sequence analysis to identify both classical and alternative pathways to obtaining a higher education entrance certificate. We then apply logistic regressions and decomposition techniques to examine the variation in the probability of studying for each pathway compared to the classical pathway through general upper secondary school. Finally, we investigate the underlying reasons for these social differences. We show that the graduates in our analysis take six distinct and socially selective pathways to a higher education entrance certificate, four of which have strong vocational elements. All pathways differ in their study probability: Graduates of almost all alternative educational pathways are less likely to opt for higher education than graduates of the classical pathway. However, this is not solely due to the different composition of graduates in terms of social origin and school performance. Although graduates from less privileged social backgrounds and with lower school performance are disproportionately represented in the alternative pathways, they also differ in their assessment of the costs, benefits, and probabilities of success of investing in higher education. Finally, differences in study probability can be explained by several theoretical mechanisms, the individual explanatory power of which varies according to the pathways.

Suggested Citation

  • Heiko Quast & Heike Spangenberg & Hanna Mentges & Jessica Ordemann & Sandra Buchholz, 2025. "Inequality at the Transition to Higher Education in Germany: Social Differences by Prior Educational Pathways," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 13.
  • Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:8766
    DOI: 10.17645/si.8766
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/8766
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17645/si.8766?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jennie Brand & Dwight Davis, 2011. "The Impact of College Education on Fertility: Evidence for Heterogeneous Effects," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(3), pages 863-887, August.
    2. Ariga, Kenn & Brunello, Giorgio, 2007. "Does Secondary School Tracking Affect Performance? Evidence from IALS," IZA Discussion Papers 2643, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Ordemann, Jessica & Pfeiffer, Friedhelm, 2022. "The evolution of educational wage differentials for women and men in Germany, from 1996 to 2019," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 56, pages 1-17.
    4. Peter, Frauke & Spiess, C. Katharina & Zambre, Vaishali, 2021. "Informing students about college: Increasing enrollment using a behavioral intervention?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 524-549.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. van Elk, Roel & van der Steeg, Marc & Webbink, Dinand, 2011. "Does the timing of tracking affect higher education completion?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(5), pages 1009-1021, October.
    2. Sönke Hendrik Matthewes, 2020. "Better together? Heterogeneous effects of tracking on student achievement," CEP Discussion Papers dp1706.pdf, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    3. Ludger Woessmann, 2009. "International Evidence on School Tracking: A Review," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 7(01), pages 26-34, April.
    4. Krause-Pilatus, Annabelle & Schüller, Simone, 2014. "Evidence and Persistence of Education Inequality in an Early-Tracking System: The German Case," IZA Discussion Papers 8545, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Gruber, Lloyd & Kosack, Stephen, 2014. "The tertiary tilt: education and inequality in the developing world," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 54202, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Marie‐Louise Leroux & Pierre Pestieau & Gregory Ponthiere, 2024. "The optimal design of assisted reproductive technologies policies," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(7), pages 1454-1479, July.
    7. Égert, Balázs & Botev, Jarmila & Turner, David, 2020. "The contribution of human capital and its policies to per capita income in Europe and the OECD," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    8. Torben M. Andersen & Giuseppe Bertola & John Driffill & Harold James & Hans-Werner Sinn & Jan-Egbert Sturm & Branko Uroševic, 2016. "Chapter 3: Tuning Secondary Education," EEAG Report on the European Economy, CESifo, vol. 0, pages 70-84, February.
    9. Henning Hermes & Philipp Lergetporer & Frauke Peter & Simon Wiederhold, 2021. "Application Barriers and the Socioeconomic Gap in Child Care Enrollment," CESifo Working Paper Series 9282, CESifo.
    10. Daniele Checchi & Luca Flabbi, 2013. "Intergenerational Mobility and Schooling Decisions in Germany and Italy: The Impact of Secondary School Tracks," Rivista di Politica Economica, SIPI Spa, issue 3, pages 7-57, July-Sept.
    11. Wise, Ramsey, 2015. "Does market-oriented education systems improve performance or increase inequality: A configurational comparative method for understanding (un)intended educational outcomes," TranState Working Papers 189, University of Bremen, Collaborative Research Center 597: Transformations of the State.
    12. Erdmann, Melinda & Helbig, Marcel & Jacob, Marita & Pietrzyk, Irena & Schneider, Juliana & Allmendinger, Jutta, 2022. "Soziale Ungleichheit beim Hochschulzugang verringern: Intensive Beratung fördert die Passung zwischen Potenzialen und Bildungsentscheidungen," WZBrief Bildung 45, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    13. Heisig, Jan Paul & Matthewes, Sönke Hendrik, 2022. "No Evidence that Strict Educational Tracking Improves Student Performance through Classroom Homogeneity: A Critical Reanalysis of Esser and Seuring (2020) [Keine Belege für leistungsfördernde Effek," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 51(1), pages 99-111.
    14. Carsten Ochsen, 2011. "Recommendation, class repeating, and children's ability: German school tracking experiences," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(27), pages 4127-4133.
    15. Engzell, Per, 2017. "What Do Books in the Home Proxy For? A Cautionary Tale," Working Paper Series 1/2016, Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research.
    16. Floro Ernesto Caroleo & Francesco Pastore, 2018. "Overeducation at a Glance. Determinants and Wage Effects of the Educational Mismatch Based on AlmaLaurea Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 137(3), pages 999-1032, June.
    17. P. Lovaglio & S. Verzillo, 2016. "Heterogeneous economic returns to higher education: evidence from Italy," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 791-822, March.
    18. Feron, Eva & Schils, Trudie & ter Weel, Bas, 2015. "Does the Teacher Beat the Test? The Additional Value of Teacher Assessment in Predicting Student Ability," IZA Discussion Papers 8768, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    19. Korthals, R.A., 2012. "Selection and tracking in secondary education : a cross country analysis of student performance and educational opportunities," Research Memorandum 049, Maastricht University, Maastricht Research School of Economics of Technology and Organization (METEOR).
    20. Borgna, Camilla, 2017. "Different systems, same inequalities? Post-compulsory education and young adults’ literacy in 18 OECD countries," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 27(4), pages 332-345.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:8766. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: António Vieira or IT Department (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cogitatiopress.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.