Late Entry in Swedish Tertiary Education: …

 Can the Opportunity of Lifelong Learning Promote Equality Over the Life Course?

an article by Martin Hällsten (The Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) and the Department of Sociology, Stockholm University) published in British Journal of Industrial Relations Volume 49 Issue 3 (September 2011)

Abstract

In this article, I investigate the relation between economic inequality and the decision to take up studies at the tertiary level late in life. Who exactly decides to enrol? Is it advantaged or disadvantaged groups in terms of current earnings rank, occupation, unemployment experience and social origin? Using unique register data of university applications and discrete time hazard regression models, the results show the likelihood of a late entry to be especially high for individuals who are disadvantaged to a moderate extent in terms of current earnings rank and also with some unemployment experience. Class differences in the transition to tertiary education decline with age. This suggests, with a moderate amount of simplification, that lifelong learning tends to promote both intra- and intergenerational equality.

---