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Horizontal stratification in access to Danish university programmes

Bibliographic Data

ID2301151
AuthorsMartin D Munk (0000-0002-7084-8651, Aalborg University, corresponding author), Jens-Peter Thomsen (SFI-The Danish National Centre for Social Research, Copenhagen, Denmark)
Year2018
Volume61
Issue1
Pages50-78
Publication date2018-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueActa Sociologica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0001-6993 • E-ISSN: 1502-3869
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0001699317694941
OpenAlexW2586841153
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited46

In this paper, we use register data to examine horizontal stratification within university institutions and university fields of study in Denmark, a country that has experienced a reduction of the social class gap in access to higher education. First, we argue that it is important to use a relatively detailed classification of parents' occupations to determine how students are endowed with different forms of capital, even when their parents would typically be characterised as belonging to the same social group. Second, we distinguish among disciplines and among university institutions to explain the dynamics of horizontal stratification in the Danish university system. Using unique and exhaustive register data, including all higher education institutions and the entire 1984 cohort as of the age of 24, we uncover distinct differences in the magnitude and type of horizontal stratification in different fields of study and university institutions. Most importantly, we find distinct patterns of horizontal stratification by field of study and parental occupation that would have remained hidden had we used more aggregated classifications for field of study and social origin

Biology · Danish · Demographic economics · Economics · Geography · Higher education · Horizontal and vertical · Political science · Social mobility · Social science · Social stratification · Sociology · Stratification (seeds · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies · Law · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Policy and Reform Studies

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Unique citing works13
Citations per year1,63
Citation span2018 - 2026 (9)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 13
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