Methodology for a school- leavers’ survey Irena Kogan MZES, University of Mannheim

Transition from education to working life n A key topic of current sociological research n Need for research in this area for Eastern European countries n Lack of appropriate data n Dynamics of the transition process – need for longitudinal or retrospective data

School leavers‘ survey format: Advantages n Detailed information on educational background and history n Direct link between educational background and labour market experiences n Homogeneity of the school leaver group n Rich data on transition outcomes (labour market integration, further education and training, household formation) n Regular character of surveys

School leavers‘ survey format: Limitations n A single leaver cohort one year after leaving education n Little information about the settling-in within labour market n Repeating the survey might be expensive n Impossible to compare with older age cohorts

Sample for a youth transition survey n Event cohort (school leavers’ survey) Experience of an event, e.g. leaving initial education n Age cohort All relevant events are collected for an observation window (e.g ) in a calendar format

Major requirements to the survey n Sample design n Data collection method n Central concepts and variables

Sample design n Age range: years old n Period of time since leaving education: 5 years (up to 6 years in Ukraine) n Definition of leaving education: 1) completion of education, successful or not 2) interruption of studies for more than 1 year 3) excluding interruptions for special reasons n Education: full-time or part-time, vocational or general

Sample size and frames n Sample size: 1500 (Serbia), 2015 (Ukraine) n Representative sample: a probability sample, i.e. all population members have a known chance of being selected in the sample n A random stratified sample: (1) large regions are selected, (2) sampling points are randomly selected, (3) individuals/households are randomly selected

Data collection method n Self-administered questionnaire per post Pluses – smaller stuff to conduct the survey, little costs; Minuses – high non-response rate n Face-to-face interview Pluses – high response rate, less missing information, clarification, observations n Telephone interview Pluses – less expensive, quicker processing of data, less impact of an interviewer; Minuses – social class biases, non-response

Central concepts and key variables n Individual characteristics: Age, gender, ethnicity, family background (highest level of education obtained by parents, their labour market and occupational status), spouse’s information n Key demographic transitions: Getting married, becoming a parent or geographic mobility (migration) n Contextual variables (location, otherwise not collected)

Central concepts and key variables n Educational measures: level of study/qualification, field of study, completion, mode of study (full-time, apprenticeship) u Types of programs: general and vocational u Field of study educational mismatch u Existence of periods of dual statuses (learning and working) u Return to education u Mark upon graduation, level of accreditation of educational establishment

Central concepts and key variables n Labour market outcomes: labour market status, occupation, earnings, economic branch, size of enterprise, working hours, type of contract, job search, informal sector, reasons for part-time or not permanent employment, methods of job search Leaving education First significant for the first time employment Significant employment First ever employmentSituation at the moment prior to leaving educationof survey (major and secondary job)

Central concepts and key variables n Calendar format: n 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and so on – are coding for various labour market statuses X

Prior to implementation n Intensive monitoring and piloting n Interviewer teaching n Careful pre-testing n Provision of documentation

Implementation: Serbia n Serbia (Belgrade, Vojvodina, Western Serbia, Southern Serbia), without Kosovo n Strata: urban-rural n Field control: 15% of the sample n Field work report: u Carried out : 1504 u Visited : 8593 F There is nobody at home: 273 F In the household there is a not targeted respondent: 6091 F Refusing before getting know is there targeted respondents in the house: 248 F Refusing of targeted respondents (before beginning of the interview): 424 F Refusing of targeted respondents (during the interview): 53

Implementation: Ukraine n 24 Ukrainian oblasts and the Crimea (Chornobyl excluded) n Field work: March 24-May 20, 2007 n Field control: 10% of the sample n Response rate: 75%. Field work report:

Data formalities and availability n Formal definitions, operational decisions n Data documentation n Weighting n Accessible data