17 Higher education and the transition to work

Abstract

Within the conceptual framework of the German National Educational Panel Study, the substudy "Higher Education and the Transition to Work" traces about 16,500 students in higher education on their pathway from enrolment to the labor market. This article gives insights into the main research issues, the study design, and first experiences while focusing on the following stage-specific characteristics: the measurement of subject-specific competencies by competence tests and self-report measures; the assessment of learning environments in a way that allows for a multilayer perspective; the measurement of crucial career decisions including concepts of social and academic integration; a particular emphasis on subgroups of special research interest, such as students in private higher education, teacher training students, and nontraditional students without a school leaving certificate qualifying for higher education; and, finally, the use of online surveys that are particularly adequate for higher education students because of this group's extensive Internet access and high mobility.Zusammenfassung: Im Rahmen des Nationalen Bildungspanels begleitet die Teilstudie "Hochschulstudium und Übergang in den Beruf" etwa 16.500 Studierende auf ihrem Weg von der Einschreibung bis in den Arbeitsmarkt. Dieser Aufsatz gibt einen Einblick in die wichtigsten Forschungsthemen, das Studiendesign und erste Erfahrungen mit der Umsetzung der Teilstudie. Dabei konzentrieren wir uns auf die folgenden etappenspezifischen Charakteristika: die Messung fachspezifischer Kompetenzen durch Tests und Selbsteinschätzungsinstrumente; die Beschreibung von Lernumwelten, welche die Einnahme einer Mehrebenenperspektive erlaubt; die Erhebung zentraler Karriereentscheidungen einschließlich der Konzepte soziale und akademische Integration; die Berücksichtigung von für die Forschung besonders interessanten Teilgruppen wie Studierende an Privathochschulen und in Lehramtsstudiengängen sowie nicht-traditionelle Studierende ohne schulische Hochschulzugangsberechtigung; und schließlich der Einsatz von Onlineerhebungen, die für Studierende aufgrund der weit verbreiteten Internetnutzung und ihrer hohen Mobilität besonders geeignet sind.Schlüsselwörter: Hochschulstudium · Fachspezifische Kompetenzen · Lernumwelten · Studienabbruch · Panelstudie

Individual Characteristics of Teacher Education Students: Re-Examining the Negative Selection Hypothesis

“…We used data from Starting Cohort First-Year Students of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS; Blossfeld et al, 2011). This panel study longitudinally observes a state-wide sample of new entrants to German higher education institutions who enrolled for the first time in winter semester 2010/2011 (Aschinger et al, 2011). Within the randomly drawn sample, teacher education students were oversampled considerably, covering the entire range of teacher training programs.…”

Untitled

“…We used data from Starting Cohort First-Year Students of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS; . This panel study longitudinally observes a state-wide sample of new entrants to German higher education institutions who enrolled for the first time in winter semester 2010/2011 (Aschinger et al, 2011). Within the randomly drawn sample, teacher education students were oversampled considerably, covering the entire range of teacher training programs.…”