Four field-related educational resources and their impact on labor, consumption, and sociopolitical orientation

Citation
Hg. Van De Werfhorst et G. Kraaykamp, Four field-related educational resources and their impact on labor, consumption, and sociopolitical orientation, SOCIOL EDUC, 74(4), 2001, pp. 296-317
Citations number
47
Categorie Soggetti
Education
Journal title
SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION
ISSN journal
00380407 → ACNP
Volume
74
Issue
4
Year of publication
2001
Pages
296 - 317
Database
ISI
SICI code
0038-0407(200110)74:4<296:FFERAT>2.0.ZU;2-1
Abstract
In modern societies, understanding the role of education in social inequali ty requires more than the study of the level of education attained. Attenti on should also be paid to the field of study in which people are educated. The authors propose that fields of study supply four types of resources to students: cultural, economic, communicative, and technical. Drawing on data from a nationally representative Dutch survey, they developed scales that measure the prevalence of these four types of resources across 11 fields of study. These scales are related to a wide range of variables in three doma ins: the labor market, consumption patterns, and sociopolitical orientation s. Controlling for level of education, individuals who obtained many cultur al resources more often participate in highbrow culture and attain a high c ultural occupational status. Individuals who were trained in fields that pr ovide economic resources are more materialistic and conservative in their b ehavior and attain high economic-status jobs. Those whose field of study at tended to communicative qualities are more liberal in their sociopolitical orientation and participate more often in voluntary organizations. Technica lly educated people tend to have low occupational-status jobs and lifestyle preferences directly associated with their technical skills.