The Status of Graduates in Post-Mass Higher Education: Are We Still Just Reproducing Elites? Cover Image

Situace absolventů v podmínkách postmasového vysokoškolského vzdělávání: Stále jen reprodukce elit?
The Status of Graduates in Post-Mass Higher Education: Are We Still Just Reproducing Elites?

Author(s): Jan Kohoutek, Vítězslav Lounek, Michaela Šmídová, Jana Korečková
Subject(s): Higher Education , Applied Sociology, Sociology of Education
Published by: AV ČR - Akademie věd České republiky - Sociologický ústav
Keywords: higher education; graduate; socio-economic status; inequality; elites

Summary/Abstract: The article examines the influence of the social status of university graduates in the Czech Republic on their situation in post-mass higher education. More specifically, it tests the validity of hypotheses concerning the impact of family background, income level, reselection of the field of study, and the extent of saturation of prestigious fields (medicine, law) with individuals from elite backgrounds by applying the socio-economic status (SES) concept and the theory of maximally maintained inequality. The hypotheses are tested on the Graduate 2018 survey dataset. The research results confirm the persistent importance of parents’ education on graduates’ SES. The income security of graduates affects their life satisfaction to a certain degree but has no effect on the reselection of their field of study. The results also show the above-average saturation of medical and legal disciplines by graduates with elite status.

  • Issue Year: 57/2021
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 47-73
  • Page Count: 27
  • Language: Czech