Helga Krüger

Life Course: Innovations and Challenges for Social Research

Recent developments of life-course theory and research are discussed in a comparative framework. With accelerating social change, the life course has become a topic that centres on the interplay of personal and institutional dynamics through the life span that provides the temporal and social contexts for biographical planning and stock-taking. Modern life-course analysis asks to what extent biographies are losing their structural embeddedness in favour of negotiations among individuals, opportunities, institutions and social networks. First, a historical account about European and North American traditions of life-course research is presented, delineating the cohort/life-event and the life-history approaches. Second, three conceptual frameworks are illuminated that focus on the relationship between social change and human lives: linking mechanisms, structuration and institutional arrangements (with a focus on age and gender). Concerning methodology, longitudinal studies that use quantitative as well as qualitative methods are necessary to understand the interrelationships between social change and biography. Third, innovative themes for research are presented, relating to the issues of agency and institutions, the timing of transitions and linked lives. The article concludes with a call for more cross-cultural life-course research.

Adolescence and Adult Work in the Twenty-First Century.

The transition from school to work is a story that meshes the life histories of youth and the economic and social development of societies. Drawing on reports from diverse regions of the world, this article describes the range of adolescent experiences as they encompass the completion of school and the commencement of adult work. As the 21st century begins, major threats to the preparation of youth for adult work include deficiencies in schools, hazards of the informal work sector, a lack of clear connections between school and work, and the misuse or underutilization of technology. Yet this transition is also a story of optimism, as the significance of youth for economic and social development is increasingly appreciated at the national and international levels. Accordingly, this article considers the broad policy implications of the survey and then details the lines of action that address challenges to the preparation of youth for adult work. Although many regions of the world share common challenges, the integration of youth into the 21st century world of work will depend on how each country formulates a unique response that is sensitive to its demographic profile, social institutions, cultural heritage, and economic conditions.

Pathways from School to Work in Germany and the United States

Ever since Dreebens now classic portrayal, On What is Learned in School (1968), sociologists have recognized that the institution of education has many diverse functions. However, its most clearly recognized and designated purpose is to prepare youths for adulthood, especially to provide the knowledge and skills that equip young people to adequately perform adult occupational roles. According to the modem life course regime, school is primarily preparation for adult work and for labor market positions. Once begun, the occupational career will define ones life chances even after retirement (Kohli, 1985). The linkage between years of education and adult occupational attainment in the United States, as well as in other modem countries, is well demonstrated (see, e.g., Blossfeld, 1987; Bridges, 1996; Di Prete & McManus, 1996; Kerckhoff, 1990, 1995). People who attain more formal education are able to enter occupations of higher prestige and to attain higher incomes throughout their working lives. However, the educational arena is not the only domain in which young people prepare themselves for future work. Economists emphasize that both education and work experience are important for human capital formation (Becker, 1993). Sociologists also recognize that early occupational experience predicts subsequent attainment in the work career. However, in accord with the normative assumptions of the life course, investigators in the United States

Jugendliche vor den Hürden des Arbeitsmarktes

Im folgenden Beitrag diskutieren wir anhand ausgewahlter Ergebnisse unserer qualitativen Langsschnittstudie zum Ubergang von der Schule in die Berufsausbildung die These von der Individualisierung der Jugendbiographie.

Age Norms, Institutional Structures, and the Timing of Markers of Transition to Adulthood

Abstract This chapter compares the timing and sequencing of educational completion and first parenthood for samples of U.S. youth and German women. We garner evidence bearing on two hypotheses. The first is that the timing of transition to parenthood is governed by age norms; the second, that this transition is influenced by the incentives posed by distinct school-to-work transition structures. We conclude that strongly institutionalized school-to-work bridges pose greater incentives for the completion of educational programs in Germany and more clearly regulate the timing of parenthood. The more loose connection between school and work in the United States encourages greater variation in the timing of parenthood, and more first births before schooling is complete.

Genderkompetenz im Kontext von Familie

Die Frauen-und Geschlechterforschung hat ein sehr gespanntes Verhaltnis zur Familienforschung — und, wie ich finde, dieses bisher zu recht. Familie, hart gesprochen, ist der Tod der Chancengleichheit, oder mit den Worten von Honore de Balzac (er lebte von 1799 – 1850, also vor 200 Jahren!): „Ich bin dafur, dass sich eine Frau bildet, dass sie ernsthaft studiert, sogar dass sie schreibt, wenn es ihr Spas macht, aber sie muss dann den Mut haben, ihre Werke zu verbrennen.“ Dieser Mut war ab der Heirat gefragt.