Siyka Kovacheva and Gergana Dimitrova Paisii Hilendarski University of Plovdiv Department of Applied and Institutional Sociology Social inequalities in the educational transitions of Bulgarian youth

Research question What social inequalities shape young people’s pathways through the levels of the educational system and from there to the labour market?

Previous studies of youth transitions ECE_Youth: An Evaluation of Programmes to Assist the Young Unemployed in East-Central Europe, ACE Program, EC ( ): four East European countries, survey focusing on young people’s strategies for finding a way out of unemployment Fate: Families and Transitions in Europe, Fifth FP, EC (2001-4): eight European countries, survey with graduates and in-depth interviews with parents Up2Youth: Youth – Actor of Social Change, 6 th FP, EC (2006-9): twelve European countries, secondary data and interviews-in-depth SAHWA: Empowering the young generation: towards a new social contract in South and East Mediterranean countries, 7 th FP, EC ( ), five MENA countries, combined methodology

Theoretical perspective Youth as a social group, embedded in a web of social relations which place the young both in and out of the life domains of education, work, family, politics and leisure ( Jones, 2009; Cote, 2014). Youth transitions as influenced by the interplay of social structures and individual agency (Roberts, 2009; Furlong, 2013). Youth culture as a system of general (social) and specific (youth) values, attitudes and modes of behaviour which lies at the basis of the process of ‘juventization’ of society (Mitev, 1982; Mahler, 1983).

Sources of data for this study 2014 study ‘Portrait of Bulgarian youth’ funded by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation following the model of the German Schell Studies relying on a representative survey with a probability sample of 1030 young people aged and 10 interviews-in-depth with young people stratified by gender, age group, ethnicity and type of settlement focusing on young people’s values and practices in different life domains. Official statistical data about the economic context in the country, young people’s participation in education and employment

The social situation of BG youth Slow economic recovery in , 22% youth unemployment Continuing expansion of education, still only 30% (of those aged 30-34) are with tertiary education and 12% early school leavers Low flexibility of the labour market in terms of part-time work and atypical contracts (although high informal flexibility) Highest share of youth at risk of poverty in the EU, based on Eurostat data and highest score on the Social Exclusion Index, calculated by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions

Trends shaping youth transitions from school to work Rising educational aspirations (in comparison with previous surveys) High satisfaction with the quality of education and school life in general (in comparison with other Balkan countries) More active job search strategies, preference for private sector employment and high (declared) readiness to start their own business Growing individualization in life (educational and work) projects Growing individualization in self-defined values

Educational Aspirations

Current occupational status

Regression models What explains the inequalities in the educational aspirations of young people and then their integration into the labour market? Dependent variables: -educational aspirations (higher education) -occupational status (employed+selfemployed)

Independent variables socio-demographic factors: gender, ethnicity, type of settlement, parents’ education, social strata, household expenditures, financial difficulties educational factors: grades, desired specialty, satisfaction with education, keen to go to school, practical training, private lessons values: being independent, having a career, and beliefs about the ways for success at school and in finding a job

Factors explaining educational aspirations and labour market integration Aspirations for higher education: Living in the capital Wealthy family High household expenditures Having high grades Employment: Being older Bulgarian ethnicity Wealthy social strata High household expenditures Thinking about own business

Conclusion The analysis showed that both educational aspirations and labour market integration of young people in Bulgaria are strongly dependent upon their family background (ethnicity, place of living, and most importantly the financial resources of the family). While in the study we measured a growing individualization of values and life styles (mainly in leisure), still the school-to-work transition was found to be highly influenced by structural factors. Having higher academic success at school has a positive impact on the wish to go to the university but none of the examined school factors increased the likelihood of being in employment. Among the personal values examined in the study, having an entrepreneurial mind raised the chances of finding a job.

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