Young People's Educational Careers in England and Germany Integrating Survey and Interview Analysis via Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Through a comparative study of young people's educational careers in England and Germany, this book explores the range of influences which shape educational careers such as the individual talents and interests of young people, their social class and background, as well as school and country characteristics. Methodologically, the book develops a mixed methods approach that utilises Charles Ragin's increasingly popular Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to examine cross-case analyses of secondary survey data alongside within-case process-tracing analyses of interview data to establish causal understanding of educational careers. International comparison adds another dimension, exploiting the significant differences between the two countries' school and university systems. The book therefore offers both a contemporary account of young people's educational careers and decision-making as well as a practical contribution to ongoing debates concerning the establishment of causal and explanatory knowledge in the non-experimental social sciences.

Judith Glaesser is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education at Durham University, UK. Her interests include sociology of education, comparative education, policy, research design and research methods, and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). She has held two ESRC grants which have enabled her to explore QCA, its foundations and applications.

1. Introduction

2. Description and Explanation: Methodological Rationale

3. Qualitative Comparative Analysis

4. Overview of the Project

5. Which Young People in Germany are in a Gymnasium at the Age of 17? A Typological Analysis

6. Secondary Schooling Careers in England

7. What Types of Young People are Bound for Higher Education at the Age of 17?

8. Using In-Depth Case Studies to Explore Causal Mechanisms in Detail

9. Summary and Conclusions