National Science Foundation, NSF
Despite the historical trend in all Western societies to increase educational participation irrespective of students’ social origin, the correlation between parents’ education and socio-economic status and the educational outcomes of their offspring remains a rather universal phenomenon. Although comparative studies have consistently found this association in various nations which differ in many ways in their educational systems, little is known about the mechanism behind this effect. Drawing on the assumption that career decision points are the major gateway for social background influences, we assume that similarities, as well as differences in the structure of the correlation between parents’ socioeconomic background and students’ school success, can be explained. Using two longitudinal data sets from the United States (N = 1425) and Germany (N = 1755) covering the school careers from Grade 7 to Grade 10, the analyses supported the hypothesis that (a) achievement information is the best predictor of career relevant decisions in both nations, (b) parents’ background variables are This article is based on an integrative reanalysis project headed by the first two authors. The data collection in the United States was funded by grants from NIMH, NSF, and NICHD to Jacquelynne Eccles and by grants from NSF, the Spencer Foundation, and the W. T. Grant Foundation to Jacquelynne Eccles and Bonnie Barber. The Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, and the Institute for Science Education (IPN) in Kiel funded the data collection in Germany. We thank Susanne Heyn and Judith Tangermann for their coding support.
National Institute of Mental Health, NIMH
Despite the historical trend in all Western societies to increase educational participation irrespective of students’ social origin, the correlation between parents’ education and socio-economic status and the educational outcomes of their offspring remains a rather universal phenomenon. Although comparative studies have consistently found this association in various nations which differ in many ways in their educational systems, little is known about the mechanism behind this effect. Drawing on the assumption that career decision points are the major gateway for social background influences, we assume that similarities, as well as differences in the structure of the correlation between parents’ socioeconomic background and students’ school success, can be explained. Using two longitudinal data sets from the United States (N = 1425) and Germany (N = 1755) covering the school careers from Grade 7 to Grade 10, the analyses supported the hypothesis that (a) achievement information is the best predictor of career relevant decisions in both nations, (b) parents’ background variables are This article is based on an integrative reanalysis project headed by the first two authors. The data collection in the United States was funded by grants from NIMH, NSF, and NICHD to Jacquelynne Eccles and by grants from NSF, the Spencer Foundation, and the W. T. Grant Foundation to Jacquelynne Eccles and Bonnie Barber. The Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, and the Institute for Science Education (IPN) in Kiel funded the data collection in Germany. We thank Susanne Heyn and Judith Tangermann for their coding support.
Spencer Foundation
Despite the historical trend in all Western societies to increase educational participation irrespective of students’ social origin, the correlation between parents’ education and socio-economic status and the educational outcomes of their offspring remains a rather universal phenomenon. Although comparative studies have consistently found this association in various nations which differ in many ways in their educational systems, little is known about the mechanism behind this effect. Drawing on the assumption that career decision points are the major gateway for social background influences, we assume that similarities, as well as differences in the structure of the correlation between parents’ socioeconomic background and students’ school success, can be explained. Using two longitudinal data sets from the United States (N = 1425) and Germany (N = 1755) covering the school careers from Grade 7 to Grade 10, the analyses supported the hypothesis that (a) achievement information is the best predictor of career relevant decisions in both nations, (b) parents’ background variables are This article is based on an integrative reanalysis project headed by the first two authors. The data collection in the United States was funded by grants from NIMH, NSF, and NICHD to Jacquelynne Eccles and by grants from NSF, the Spencer Foundation, and the W. T. Grant Foundation to Jacquelynne Eccles and Bonnie Barber. The Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, and the Institute for Science Education (IPN) in Kiel funded the data collection in Germany. We thank Susanne Heyn and Judith Tangermann for their coding support.
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NICHD
Despite the historical trend in all Western societies to increase educational participation irrespective of students’ social origin, the correlation between parents’ education and socio-economic status and the educational outcomes of their offspring remains a rather universal phenomenon. Although comparative studies have consistently found this association in various nations which differ in many ways in their educational systems, little is known about the mechanism behind this effect. Drawing on the assumption that career decision points are the major gateway for social background influences, we assume that similarities, as well as differences in the structure of the correlation between parents’ socioeconomic background and students’ school success, can be explained. Using two longitudinal data sets from the United States (N = 1425) and Germany (N = 1755) covering the school careers from Grade 7 to Grade 10, the analyses supported the hypothesis that (a) achievement information is the best predictor of career relevant decisions in both nations, (b) parents’ background variables are This article is based on an integrative reanalysis project headed by the first two authors. The data collection in the United States was funded by grants from NIMH, NSF, and NICHD to Jacquelynne Eccles and by grants from NSF, the Spencer Foundation, and the W. T. Grant Foundation to Jacquelynne Eccles and Bonnie Barber. The Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, and the Institute for Science Education (IPN) in Kiel funded the data collection in Germany. We thank Susanne Heyn and Judith Tangermann for their coding support.
