| Carolina Milesi
University of Wisconsiin - Madison
Different paths, different destinations: A life course perspective on educational transitions
FIINAL REPORT:
ÒNon-traditionalÓ educational trajectories are increasingly common among American students. This dissertation assesses the implications of this phenomenon for inequality in educational attainment. A proper analysis of educational trajectories requires consideration of qualitatively different types of destinations within educational transitions, of the timing at which different transitions occur, and of the sequence of events within educational levels. By ignoring these issues, the standard sociological conceptualization of educational attainment --the educational transitions model -- offers an insufficient account of inequality in educational attainment. To examine ÒtraditionalÓ and Ònon-traditionalÓ pathways through post-secondary education, this study relies on extensive data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979-2002. An underutilized application of event history methods, namely multi-state hazard models, is used to analyze the influence that type, timing, and sequence have on post-secondary degree attainment. The inclusion of time-varying covariates allows the proper identification of effects of socioeconomic background (SES) throughout educational trajectories.
The study finds that the ÒtraditionalÓ pathway to earn a bachelor's degree is only fulfilled by about a third of students. This has consequences for attainment because following a Ònon-traditionalÓ pathway reduces students' chances to complete a bachelor's degree. Cognitive skills and high school academic preparation are positively associated with post-secondary enrollment and degree attainment. In contrast, non-cognitive attributes and cumulative health are only associated with post-secondary enrollment.
The pattern of SES effects across educational transitions is consistent with findings of declining SES effects documented in the literature. Findings also reveal that SES effects are stronger in the educational trajectory associated with four-year colleges as compared with the trajectory for two-year colleges. Further analysis that accounts for individual-specific unobserved heterogeneity yields smaller SES effects for transitions associated with college entry (entry in two- or four-year college). Since SES effects remain the same in the transitions associated with degree completion, the overall pattern of decline in SES effects is less pronounced in these results. Further research is needed to investigate what possible unobserved factors may affect the different rates at which students progress through school.
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