OJSS Home

2021 - Volume 5 - Number 1

School-to-University Transition: The Paradox of Motivated but Undecided Students

Michalis Christodoulou * hristodoulou@upatras.gr * ORCID: 0000-0002-4420-7914
University of Patras, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, GREECE

Open Journal for Sociological Studies, 2021, 5(1), 1-16 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.ojss.0501.01001c
Received: 6 January 2021 ▪ Accepted: 18 March 2021 ▪ Published Online: 15 April 2021

LICENCE: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

ARTICLE (Full Text - PDF)

ABSTRACT:
Educational research on university transitions has repeatedly highlighted that inequalities related to cultural origin still persist even though intergenerational upward mobility has been facilitated over the last fifteen years due to the huge enrollment rates documented across countries in the Western world. In contrast to this line of research in which differences between social or cultural groups are investigated, the unit of analysis in this article is a demographically homogeneous group of families in which the parents invest in university studies as the main route for their children’s post-18 pathways. Through a variable-based research design we explore the conditions which affect high-school students’ motives for following university studies. The main finding has to do with the fact that it is how late or early students make their decision that is the factor differentiating the families within this group and affecting the students’ transition to university.

KEY WORDS: motives, university transition, peer-group influence, family influence, decision-making.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
Michalis Christodoulou, University of Patras, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Rio University Campus, Rion Achaias, Patras, GREECE. E-mail: hristodoulou@upatras.gr.

REFERENCES:

Bunn, M., Threadgold, S., & Burke, P. J. (2019). Class in Australian higher education: The university as a site of social reproduction. Journal of Sociology, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/1440783319851188

Brooks, B. (2003). Discussing higher education choices: Differences and difficulties. Research Papers in Education, 18(3), 237-258. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267152032000107310

Byrom, T., Thomson, P., & Gates, P. (2007). ‘My school has been quite pushy about the Oxbridge thing’: Voice and choice of higher education. Improving Schools, 10(1), 29-40. https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480207073718

Byrom, T. (2009). ‘I don’t want to go to a crummy little university’: Social class, higher education choice and the paradox of widening participation. Improving Schools, 12(3), 209-224. https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480209348819

Coertjens, L., Brahm, T., Trautwein, C., & Lindblom-Ylänne, S. (2016). Students’ transition into higher education from an international perspective. Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0092-y

Comi, S. (2003). Intergenerational mobility in Europe: Evidence from ECHP. Paper published by Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics, Italy. http://www.childcentre.unito.it/papers/child18_2004.pdf

Daouli, J., Demoussis, M., & Giannakopoulos, N. (2010). Mothers, fathers and daughters: Intergenerational transmission of education in Greece. Economics of Education Review, 29(1), 83-93.

DeVaus, D. (2002). Surveys in social research, 5th ed. London: Routledge.

Devine, F. (2004). Class practices. How parents help their children get good jobs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Dudal, P., Verhaest, D., & Bracke, P. (2018). Educational inequalities in depression: Do labor markets matter? Society and Mental Health, 8(2) 93-107. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156869317713553

Gale, T., & Parker, S. (2014). Navigating change: A typology of student transition in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 39(5), 734-753. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2012.721351

Gambetta, D. (1987). Were they pushed or did they jump? Individual decision mechanisms in education, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Millman, T., & McNamara, J. (2018). The long and winding road: Experiences of students entering university through transition programs. Student Success, 9(3), 37-49.

Morley, L. (2012). Researching absences and silences in higher education: Data for democratization. Higher Education Research & Development, 31(3), 353-368. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2011.63438

McGhie, V., (2016). Entering university studies: Identifying enabling factors for a successful transition from school to university. Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-016-0100-2

OECD (2020). Education at a glance 2020: OECD indicators. OECD Publication, Paris.

Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research. San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass.

Sianou‐Kyrgiou, E., & Tsiplakides, I. (2011). Similar performance, but different choices: Social class and higher education choice in Greece. Studies in Higher Education, 36(1), 89-102. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070903469606

Sianou-Kyrgiou, E. (2010). Stratification in higher education, choice and social inequalities in Greece. Higher Education Quarterly, 64(1), 22-40, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2273.2009.00427.x

Spruyt, B., & Kuppens, T. (2015). Warm, cold, competent or incompetent? An empirical assessment of public perceptions of the higher and less educated. Current Sociology, 63(7), 1058-1077. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392114554843

Symeonaki, A. M., & Stamatopoulou, A. G. (2014). Exploring the transition to higher education in Greece: Issues of intergenerational educational mobility. Policy Futures in Education, 12(5), 681-695.

Yorke, M., & Thomas, L. (2003). Improving the retention of students from lower socio-economic groups. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 25(1), 63-74.

Pittman, D. L., & Richmond, A. (2008). University belonging, friendship quality, and psychological adjustment during the transition to college. The Journal of Experimental Education, 76(4), 343-362. https://doi.org/10.3200/JEXE.76.4.343-362