Project “Pathways to the Future”
A longitudinal study on the social integration of young people in Vienna
Follow-up projects
The wide range of subjects and methods on which the departmental project focuses provides the basis for further research and doctoral projects, aimed at further investigating specific aspects of the social integration of young people in Vienna.
Based on the longitudinal study Pathways to the Future, which uses a mixed-methods approach, we investigate the professional aspirations of students attending so-called new secondary schools (Neue Mittelschule) in Vienna. More specifically, we examine how these aspirations differ according to the students’ ethnicity, social position and gender, how they can explain different educational pathways and positions in the labour market and how they influence educational and professional careers. In accordance with Bourdieu, it is assumed that, in the educational habitus, differences relating to what is perceived as desirable and worthwhile are group-specific. In addition, the methodological question arises as to how to reach and survey the comparatively vulnerable group of students attending a so-called new secondary school. The study aims at a differentiated understanding and an assessment of social inequality.
Funding
Jubiläumsfonds der Österreichischen Nationalbank (OeNB)
Project lead
Susanne Vogl
Project staff
Franz Astleithner
Raphaela Kogler
Duration
11/2019 - 12/2021
Adolescence as a stage of life has become more diverse, but it is also shaped by insecurities and changing mechanisms of social reproduction. Against this background, this doctoral project explores to what extent adolescents are able to develop resources in their leisure time, which is an important area of socialisation besides family and school, to expand their scope of action. Based on theoretical literature and qualitative interviews, we identified dimensions that enable the assessment of these processes through quantitative standardised surveys. After an extensive pretest phase, the measuring instrument that was developed was used in the quantitative panel of the Pathways to the Future project. The analysis focuses on informal leisure contexts as these are less visible but of central importance for adolescents’ ability to act.
Funding
uni:docs Fellowship Programme for Doctoral Candidates of the University of Vienna
PhD candidate
Barbara Mataloni