Explaining secondary effects of families' social class position : an empirical test of the Breen-Goldthorpe model of educational attainment

This article tests whether the Breen-Goldthorpe model offers an empirically valid prediction of educational decisions and a complete explanation of social class hereon. This is done using data from a panel study with families who decided about the secondary school tracks for their children in Germany. We analyzed firstly whether class differences in the costs, success probabilities and returns from status maintenance, which parents associate with educational options, are created by differences in the families’ objective opportunities and constraints. Consistent with theoretical expectations, we found class effects on the parents’ subjective beliefs and evaluations, which were due to differences in available economic resources and the children’s proven academic ability. We tested secondly the prediction that secondary school choice and class differences herein are the result of cost-benefit considerations. Whereas the subjective beliefs about how likely the children are in the position to complete educational degrees and the motive to maintain the families’ social status proved to be strong predictors for educational decisions, the anticipated costs of educational investments were found to be irrelevant. Inconsistent with predictions, the direct effects of social class on educational decisions were not explained by the theoretically predicted factors.