This project investigates the role of education in the determination of social benefits for young people. In particular, the project will follow the educational trajectories of young people in England and in Germany, focusing on academic and vocational routes (as well as combinations). Young people will also be followed into their transitions into the labour market. Through the identification of psycho-social factors, the project aims at investigating the main mechanisms by which education ultimately produce social benefits for young people. The project is planned in a comparative perspective and will use quantitative research methods applied to large scale longitudinal datasets (the BHPS and SOEP). The data are a subsample of the British Household Panel Survey and the Understanding Society datasets.

The sample consist of 16-21 year olds in England in wave 1 of the BHPS, who were followed through to wave 2 of Understanding Society. Educational trajectories were constructed for their post-compulsory education between the ages of 16 and 25. A range of social outcomes were investigated at 25 and 35 and socio-economic factors included as background controls.