LATE ROUTES TO GENERAL EDUCATIONAL QUALIF ICATIONS IN WEST-GERMANY - ANALYSES OF QUANTITATIVE DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL SELECTIVITY

In the (West-)German educational system the so-called ''second educati onal path'' and vocational education are additional routes to the atta inment of general educational qualifications. During recent decades, t he probability of doing so has risen considerably due to the expansion of vocational schools and the introduction of double qualifications. The paper describes the extent and type of these later general educati onal qualifications as well as the impact of social origin and earlier educational experience on the chance of attaining them. The empirical analyses are based on the German Life History Study which comprises s amples of (West-)German birth cohorts from 1939-41, 1949-51, 1954-51, and 1959-61. The probability of obtaining a higher diploma was highest already two or three years after having left the general educational system for the first time with or without a lower-level diploma. The r esults of a multivariate model show an influence of social origin on t he attainment of a later degree especially for people who had obtained only a lower secondary general qualification. Among people with a mid dle level qualification, those who had not completed their chosen cour se of study during the first stay in the general educational system ha d a higher probability of obtaining a higher general educational diplo ma.