scholarly journals Training Regimes and Skill Formation in France and Germany: An Analysis of Change between 1970 and 2010

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Elbers ◽  
Thijs Bol ◽  
Thomas Albert DiPrete

How do educational systems prepare workers for the labor market? Stratification research has often made a distinction between two ideal-types: “qualificational spaces,” exemplified by Germany with a focus on vocational education, and “organizational spaces,” exemplified by France with a focus on general education. However, most studies that investigated this distinction did so by focusing only on the size of the vocational sector, not on whether graduates with a vocational degree actually link strongly to the labor market. Moreover, they often studied male workers only, ignoring potential gender differences in how school-to-work linkages are established. In this paper, we map the change in education-occupation linkage in France and Germany between 1970 and 2010 using an approach that can distinguish between changes in rates and changes in the structure of school-to-work linkages. Surprisingly, we find that the German vocational system in 1970 was not, on average, substantially more efficient in allocating graduates to specific occupations than the French system. This finding is a major departure from earlier results, and it shows that the differences between 1970's France and Germany, on which the qualificational-organizational distinction is based, are smaller than previously assumed. Partly, this is due to the fact that the female labor force was omitted from earlier analyses. We thus show that ignoring the female workforce has consequences for today's conception of skill formation systems, particularly because a large share of educational expansion is caused by an increase in female enrollment in (higher) education.

Social Forces ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Elbers ◽  
Thijs Bol ◽  
Thomas A DiPrete

Abstract How do educational systems prepare workers for the labor market? Stratification research has often made a distinction between two ideal-types: “qualificational spaces,” exemplified by Germany with a focus on vocational education, and “organizational spaces,” exemplified by France with a focus on general education. However, most studies that investigated this distinction did so by focusing only on the size of the vocational sector, not on whether graduates with a vocational degree actually link strongly to the labor market. Moreover, they often studied male workers only, ignoring potential gender differences in how school-to-work linkages are established. In this paper, we map the change in education–occupation linkage in France and Germany between 1970 and 2010 using an approach that can distinguish between changes in rates and changes in the structure of school-to-work linkages. Surprisingly, we find that the German vocational system in 1970 was not, on average, substantially more efficient in allocating graduates to specific occupations than the French system. This finding is a major departure from earlier results, and it shows that the differences between 1970’s France and Germany, on which the qualificational-organizational distinction is based, are smaller than previously assumed. Partly, this is due to the fact that the female labor force was omitted from earlier analyses. We thus show that ignoring the female workforce has consequences for today’s conception of skill formation systems, particularly because a large share of educational expansion is caused by an increase in female enrollment in (higher) education.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Albert DiPrete ◽  
Joanna Chae

A large literature in both sociology and political science has theorized about the importance of skill formation systems for macroeconomic performance, for the transition from school to work, and for labor market outcomes. However, consensus on how countries fit into these theoretical groupings has been difficult, and empirical evidence that these groupings matter has been elusive. Focusing on labor market outcomes across twenty-one European countries, this paper demonstrates that the strength of linkage between specific educational outcomes and occupational destinations is an important source of these institutional effects. Stronger linkage is generally associated with higher relative earnings and greater chances of employment, though heterogeneity exists both across age and gender groupings and across educational levels. Country-level structure matters because it is related to the local linkage strength of pathways, even as there is considerable heterogeneity within countries in the coherence of pathways from educational outcomes to occupations. Pathway effects clearly matter, particularly in how they shape the consequences of working in an occupation that is well matched to one's educational level and field of study. The strongest evidence for macro-structural effects concerns the impact of macro-structure on the earnings gap between well-matched and not-well matched workers with non-tertiary and with upper tertiary education. The findings suggest that policies to improve labor market outcomes do not require wholesale transformations of a country's skill formation system, but instead can focus on improving pathway coherence one pathway at a time.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thijs Bol ◽  
Christina Ciocca Eller ◽  
Herman Gerbert van de Werfhorst ◽  
Thomas Albert DiPrete

A recurring question in public and scientific debates is whether occupation-specific skills enhance labor market outcomes. Is it beneficial to have an educational degree that is linked to only one or a small set of occupations? To answer this question, we generalize existing models of the effects of (mis)match between education and occupation on labor market outcomes. Specifically, we incorporate the structural effects of linkage strength between school and work, which vary considerably across industrialized countries. In an analysis of France, Germany, and the United States, we find that workers have higher earnings when they are in occupations that match their educational level and field of study, but the size of this earnings boost depends on the clarity and strength of the pathway between their educational credential and the labor market. The earnings premium associated with a good occupational match is larger in countries where the credential has a stronger link to the labor market, but the penalty for a mismatch is also greater in such countries. Moreover, strong linkage reduces unemployment risk. These findings add nuance to often-made arguments that countries with loosely structured educational systems have more flexible labor markets and produce better labor market outcomes for workers. An institutional environment that promotes strong school-to-work pathways appears to be an effective strategy for providing workers with secure, well-paying jobs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thijs Bol ◽  
Christina Ciocca Eller ◽  
Herman G. van de Werfhorst ◽  
Thomas A. DiPrete

A recurring question in public and scientific debates is whether occupation-specific skills enhance labor market outcomes. Is it beneficial to have an educational degree that is linked to only one or a small set of occupations? To answer this question, we generalize existing models of the effects of (mis)match between education and occupation on labor market outcomes. Specifically, we incorporate the structural effects of linkage strength between school and work, which vary considerably across industrialized countries. In an analysis of France, Germany, and the United States, we find that workers have higher earnings when they are in occupations that match their educational level and field of study, but the size of this earnings boost depends on the clarity and strength of the pathway between their educational credential and the labor market. The earnings premium associated with a good occupational match is larger in countries where the credential has a stronger link to the labor market, but the penalty for a mismatch is also greater in such countries. Moreover, strong linkage reduces unemployment risk. These findings add nuance to often-made arguments that countries with loosely structured educational systems have more flexible labor markets and produce better labor market outcomes for workers. An institutional environment that promotes strong school-to-work pathways appears to be an effective strategy for providing workers with secure, well-paying jobs.


ZDM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gert Schubring

AbstractThe aspiration of this paper is to develop a novel approach towards investigating the socio-political history of mathematics teaching in educational systems. Traditionally, historical studies are confined to just one country, the author’s country. Broader approaches address international developments by confronting and comparing global and local aspects—revealing general patterns and more specific ‘local’ structures and characteristics. Yet, already in antiquity and medieval times, the specific characteristic of mathematics teaching, namely to operate at the crossroads of general education and vocational training, proved to be intimately tied to the functioning of the particular political system. In pre-modern times, however, a truly international pattern emerged for the first time: European powers conquered, occupied and colonised overseas regions. Given that educational systems were emerging at the same time within these states, they often transmitted elements of these structures to their colonies. This phenomenon included mathematics, and the history of its teaching is analysed here as a part of coloniality. It is shown that this was not a uniform process, and the differences between the various colonial powers are discussed. The involvement of mathematics in the process of decolonisation is addressed, as well as its role in the tension between continued coloniality and movements of decoloniality. Finally, the general framework provided for studying socio-political processes connected with establishing mathematics teaching within public educational systems is applied, in order to analyse recent coloniality practices effected by international achievement studies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2.13) ◽  
pp. 160
Author(s):  
Evgeniy M. Dorozhkin ◽  
Elena Yu. Scherbina ◽  
Oleg N. Arefiev

The urgency of the problem under investigation is determined by the need to identify and develop the basic theoretical and methodological foundations of the process of self-organization aimed at developing the mechanism of self-development and achieving the desired result (goal) of college educational system in the current socio-economic situation. The purpose of the article is to scientifically substantiate the theoretical and methodological foundations of the process of self-organization of the educational system of college aimed at developing a mechanism for self-development and achieving the desired result in the preparation of highly qualified specialists for professional adaptation and career growth in the labor market. The leading method of research is the analysis and generalization of scientific provisions on this topic. The article substantiates scientific, methodological and technological tools, develops a conceptual model and algorithm for the process of self-organization of college educational system capable of forming a mechanism of self-development, of responding promptly to changes in the current social and economic situation and of achieving the desired result in the preparation of competitive specialists in demand on the labor market. The developed conceptual model, scientific-methodical and technological tools are aimed at solving practical problems of increasing the effectiveness of educational systems, identifying and forecasting the key factors of their self-development in the changing social and economic situation and in the external environment.  


2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (Special Edition) ◽  
pp. 93-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monazza Aslam ◽  
Shenila Rawal

This paper investigates the economic (i.e., labor market) outcomes of “training” for individuals in Pakistan. The labor market benefits of general education have been relatively well explored in the literature and specifically in Pakistan. They point to the benefits of education accruing both from education or skills that promote a person’s entry into more lucrative occupations and from raising earnings within any given occupation. This research delves into another angle by investigating the role, if any, of acquired “training“—technical, vocational, apprenticeship, or on-thejob— and its impact through both channels of effect on economic wellbeing. This is done using data from a unique, purpose-designed survey of more than 1,000 households in Pakistan, collected in 2007. Multinomial logit estimates of occupational attainment show how training determines occupational choice. In addition, we estimate the returns to schooling and to training separately for men and women. The results show that, while training significantly improves women’s chances of entering self-employment and wage work (as well as the more “lucrative” occupations), only wage-working women benefit from improved earnings through the training they have acquired. On the other hand, men who have acquired skills this way benefit through an improved probability of being self-employed and earning higher returns within that occupation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 230-249
Author(s):  
Andrzej Żurawski

Abstract This article explores Bruno Amable’s Diversity of Capitalism approach to analyze educational systems in the European Union (EU28). The main goal is to identify the main clusters of educational systems with regard to their institutional characteristics. Second goal of the analysis is to evaluate the impact of several EU policies and initiatives on the institutional structure of European educational systems. This article identified six clusters in terms of general education and five clusters in terms of higher education systems. The clustering shows, that – with some exceptions (notably the United Kingdom and Ireland) – European education systems have similar structure to other institutional areas, in particular, it confirms the existence of post-communist (in terms of Farkas) or patchwork (in terms of Rapacki et al.) capitalism. The article shows, as well, that subsystem of higher education is much less diverse, what may have a significance for future discussions on the capitalisms in the EU. Results suggests also that there exist significant differences in performance between the clusters, something that may have a crucial importance for an educational policy.


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