Gender and class perspectives on students' choice of higher education institutions and graduates' choice of job location
Short description
University colleges in the less populated regions are expected to attract non-traditional students and thereby contribute to increased educational level and equality. Moreover, there are expectations that tertiary educated will remain in the region of their alma mater and contribute to a revitalisation of the region. Are these visions likely to come through?
About the project
The “Mobility project” investigated to what extent the geographical mobility of tertiary educated people contributed to recreate existing gender and class structures or acted as a factor towards democratisation. We identified which groups of students were movers or stayers in relation to their region of adolescence and region of higher education studies, and thereafter where they decided to establish themselves. Part of the project was also to study to what extent tertiary educated people vitalised regions by starting businesses.
Relying on reproduction theories, it could be expected that students from a privileged family background utilised the possibility to be geographically mobile in order to take part of the “best” education and career development. On the one hand, university colleges in the less populated regions attracted “privileged” students whose own educational merits were poor and thus prevented them from entering a prestigious university in the city regions. On the other hand, university colleges could increase equality by their accessibility, attracting people in the vicinity. The outcome could also be twofold, that is, recreation and vitalisation occurred in parallel, but for different groups of students, in different fields of education, in different regions.
Analysis of register data
To investigate these questions and hypotheses we analysed register data. Register data are information about the individual collected by different institutions, such as school, employer, or landlord. A system of personal identification numbers systematically used in nearly all aspects of people’s lives made it possible to link information, at individual level, from several different sources and to study individual paths over time. We had information of the total population in Sweden born between 1973–1982. The most recent data were from 2011, when these individuals were aged between 29 and 38 years. The extensive information contributed to a good overview and understanding of reasons for mobility.
Human geographers and economists had previously been interested in mobility, particularly in international mobility. However, few studies had focussed on national mobility in relation to higher education. To determine what a “move” was, the project created a detailed definition. Previous definitions did not lend themselves easily, because of systematical errors and because of the reduced individual choices caused by the location of higher education institutions and by the specialisation the individuals had achieved during their studies.
Generally, young women were more mobile than men, however, that was because they studied at higher education to a larger extent. After the decision to study at higher education had been made, the likelihood for mobility was the same for men and women. However, a strong factor for mobility was the choice of educational field, which was strongly linked to gender. Parents’ educational level also influenced their children’s inclination to be mobile. Those whose parents were academically educated were more likely to move, particularly between city regions.
Relational perspective
In addition to previous research we applied a relational perspective, which meant that we took into account the interrelationships of individuals’ characteristics such as age and grades, cultural factors such as gender expectations and structural factors such as the arrangement of the higher education and labour markets. We were particularly interested in the structures that framed individuals’ possibilities for education and work.
Research environment
Project members
Caroline Berggren, Associate Professor, University of Gothenburg – host university
Anders Olofsson, Professor, Mid Sweden University
Aimee Haley, PhD, University of Gothenburg
