Causes and consequences of higher-education non-completion in Germany

Scholten, Mirte

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URL:	https://madoc.bib.uni-mannheim.de/42178
URN:	urn:nbn:de:bsz:180-madoc-421789
Document Type:	Doctoral dissertation
Year of publication:	2017
Place of publication:	Mannheim
University:	Universität Mannheim
Evaluator:	Kogan, Irena
Date of oral examination:	21 April 2017
Publication language:	English
Institution:	School of Social Sciences > Soziologie, Gesellschaftsvergleich (Kogan 2009-)
Subject:	300 Social sciences, sociology, anthropology
Subject headings (SWD):	Universität , Hochschule , Berufliche Qualifikation , Ausbildung , Arbeitsmarkt , Erfolg , MINT , Studienabbruch , Deutschland
Keywords (English):	Tertiary education , vocational training , Germany , STEM , labour market , returns dropout
Abstract:	The present thesis examines higher-education non-completion in Germany at the individual level, focusing on the following two guiding research questions: 1. How do pre-tertiary educational pathways affect higher-education non-completion in Germany? 2. Are higher-education dropouts worse off in terms of their first labour market outcomes compared to upper-secondary education leavers with additional formal qualifications, such as higher-education or vocational training credentials? Thus this dissertation pays special attention to the impact of prior pathways to higher education, including vocational training and labour market experiences, on higher-education dropout. Furthermore, it compares the importance of formal qualifications and macro-level labour market conditions on the first labour market outcomes of higher-education dropouts vs. other education leavers. For the analyses datasets from the National Education Panel Study (NEPS) are used. The results of this work shows that field-specific pre-tertiary experiences are important factors for explaining higher-education non-completion in Germany. Furthermore, higher-education dropouts can benefit from pre-tertiary vocational qualifications when entering the labour market.