Emer Smyth

Do subjective indicators measure welfare? Evidence from 33 European societies

Indicators of subjective well-being have gained only limited acceptance as tools for the social-scientific analysis of human welfare, mainly because they seem insensitive to variations in the socio-economic context. However, this apparent insensitivity has been established by research which has been limited in various ways. Using data on life satisfaction for 33 European societies which goes some way to transcending these limits, this paper identifies linkages between subjective well-being and socio-economic conditions which are both strong and suggestive of important insights about national and cross-national relativities in human welfare. Populations in the rich parts of Europe have high and relatively equal life satisfaction, while those in the poorer parts of Europe have low and unequal life satisfaction. Social inequalities within rich European societies seem to have little effect on life satisfaction but they have significant effects within poor European societies. Inequalities between European societies also have strong effects. These findings suggest that analysis of inequalities and relativities in welfare in purely national terms is insufficient. Greater weight needs to be given to cross-national relativities, since these are much more consistent with what otherwise seem to be puzzling variations in subjective well-being across and within countries.

Gender differentiation and early labour market integration across Europe

ABSTRACT This paper examines gender differentiation in early labour market outcomes across twelve European countries. In spite of the fact that the educational attainment of women has now surpassed that of men in many countries, differences persist in the type of educational courses taken by young women and men. Countries differ in the extent of educational segregation by gender but certain regularities are evident, with health/welfare, education and arts courses dominated by women and engineering courses dominated by men. Gender differences in field of study are found to play an important role in channelling young people towards gender-typical careers. Thus, countries with higher levels of educational segregation by gender are found to have higher levels of occupational segregation by gender. However, gender continues to have a strong direct effect on labour market outcomes in both track-differentiated and general educational systems.

Field of Study and Gender Segregation in European Labour Markets

This article explores the role of field of study in channelling tertiary graduates into gender-appropriate occupations and the extent to which this process varies across countries. Previous research has demonstrated that such cross-country differences can be attributed to the nature of the welfare regime. However, less attention has been devoted to the potential impact of educational institutions and labour market systems. Using the European Union Labour Force Survey 2004 for 17 EU Member States, results of the multilevel analysis reveal that cross-national variation in occupational gender segregation must be seen in the context of institutional variation in education and labour market systems. The representation of women in higher education and the labour force, the gender pay gap and the provision of childcare explain a significant proportion of cross-national variation in occupational segregation by gender.

Buying your way into college? Private tuition and the transition to higher education in Ireland

A number of countries, including Ireland, have experienced a recent growth in the prevalence of ‘shadow education’, that is, paid private tuition outside the schooling system. Previous international studies have indicated that such tuition can enhance academic performance and facilitate access to tertiary education. However, such studies have rarely taken account of important differences between those taking private tuition and other students. This paper explores the characteristics of students taking private tuition and the impact of such tuition on academic outcomes in the Republic of Ireland. Participation in private tuition is disproportionately concentrated among students from middle‐class families, those with higher prior performance and those with greater engagement in the schooling process. When the selective nature of the group taking private tuition is accounted for, private tuition yields no advantages in terms of upper secondary examination performance. It is argued that, rather than representing a rational strategy for the middle classes to secure educational advantage, participation in private tuition must be seen in the context of the competitive examination system in operation.

Mapping gender and social background differences in education and youth transitions across Europe

This paper uses data drawn from the European Union Labour Force Survey 2000 Ad Hoc Module on School to Work Transitions to explore the influence of gender and social background (measured in terms of parental education) on young peoples educational and early labour market outcomes across 12 European countries. Our results show that social background is strongly related to the level of education achieved while gender is found to have a stronger effect on the field of study selected. Countries vary in the extent to which gender and social background affect young peoples outcomes. Gender differentiation in labour market outcomes reflects the nature of the welfare regime, being more pronounced in familial and conservative systems. Social inequality in educational attainment and early labour market outcomes are less marked in Finland and Sweden, reflecting the combination of less differentiated educational systems, mass higher education and social–democratic welfare regimes. In contrast, social inequality is more marked in the Eastern European countries, due partly to their highly differentiated educational systems but more notably to rapid changes taking place in post-communist systems.

Full‐time students? Term‐time employment among higher education students in Ireland

A good deal of research has focused on part‐time employment among full‐time students in higher education. However, little attention has been paid to the way in which these patterns may reflect societally specific processes rather than universal trends. This paper examines ways in which the higher education system itself can influence variation in student employment, using the Republic of Ireland as a case study. The Irish case is interesting because of the presence of rapid economic growth side by side with marked increases in educational participation rates. This paper reports on a national survey of 3900 higher education students. It indicates the way in which employment levels vary according to course requirements and funding arrangements as well as socio‐demographic factors. In addition, the paper places student involvement in part‐time work in the context of their overall workload and its impact on levels of life satisfaction, an area largely neglected in international research. It is argued in this paper that inadequate policy attention to the changing profile of higher education students and appropriate financial support structures for students risks reinforcing inequalities among students.

'There Was Never Really Any Question of Anything Else': Young People's Agency, Institutional Habitus and the Transition to Higher Education

International research into educational decision-making has been extensive, focusing on the way in which young people and their families assess the different options open to them. However, to what extent can we assume that different groups of young people have equal access to the information needed to make such an assessment? And what role, if any, do schools play in this process? Using in-depth qualitative interviews from two schools with very different student intakes, this paper examines the key influences that shape young peoples choices. Decisions about whether to go on to higher education are found to reflect three sets of processes: individual habitus; the institutional habitus of the school, as reflected in the amount and type of guidance provided; and young peoples own agency – namely, the conscious process whereby students seek out information on different options and evaluate these alternatives.

Immigration and school composition in Ireland

In the last decade, Ireland has experienced a rapid increase in immigration on a scale previously unknown in the countrys history. Over this time, Ireland has been transformed to an increasingly heterogeneous country in terms of nationality, language, ethnicity and religious affiliation. These changes have also impacted on the composition of Irish schools. The article draws on data collected for a large-scale study of primary and second level school provision for immigrant students. The findings indicate the absence of the degree of school segregation found in many European countries, mainly due to the geographical dispersal of the immigrant population and the wide variety of national groups represented. However, the interaction between geographical location, parental choice of schools and school admissions criteria means that immigrant students are overrepresented in larger schools, schools located in urban areas and those with a socio-economically disadvantaged intake.

Acting Up or Opting Out? Truancy in Irish Secondary Schools

This paper explores the way in which truancy levels are structured by individual social class and the social mix of the school within the Republic of Ireland, where limited research is available on the relationship between truancy and student outcomes. Drawing on a national survey of young people, truancy levels were found to be higher among working‐class and Traveller students. In addition, truancy is more prevalent in predominantly working‐class schools, perhaps because young people see them as less supportive and more disorderly environments. The empirical analyses are situated within the context of the concepts of individual and institutional habitus as well as resistance theory. Our findings suggest the institutional habitus of the school is a strong factor in influencing truancy levels among young people. While truancy operates as a form of student resistance to the school system, it serves to reproduce social class inequalities since it is associated with more negative educational and labour market outcomes in the longer term.

School effects and subject choice: The uptake of scientific subjects in Ireland

Studies of subject take-up within secondary education have tended to focus on student characteristics and have rarely attempted to take account of the broad variety of ways, formal and informal, in which schools can constrain or facilitate particular subject choices. In contrast, this article explores both the school and student factors shaping the take-up of Biology, Physics, and Chemistry at upper secondary level. The analyses draw on detailed information on almost 4,000 students in 100 secondary schools in the Republic of Ireland. Schools are found to differ in the proportion of students taking science subjects, even controlling for the profile of students. School structures at both lower and upper secondary levels are found to play a role in shaping the choices made by students regarding science.