Different class theories suggest competing mechanisms behind stratification and assume primacy of different levels of occupational aggregation. By comparing eight class schemes across 12 outcomes with data from more than 546,000 individuals in 61 countries, we offer the most comprehensive multi-scheme comparison of class stratification. Additionally, we evaluate scheme differences across different analytical settings (pooled data, smaller random samples, selected country comaprisons). We asses scheme performance by average effect strength and model fit. Results suggest that microclasses are the best analytical choice with sufficiently large samples. If parsimony is taken into account and samples are smaller, aggregated class schemes are superior in terms of model fit. Country differences in relative scheme performance are negligible and unsystematic supporting the application of class analysis for cross-national comparative designs. The article concludes with a nuanced guide for empirical class analysis.

ABSTRACT In this article, we propose and test a novel explanation for gender segregation in Higher Education that focuses on the misperceptions of economic returns to fields of study. We frame this explanation within the literature emphasizing the role of gender-stereotypical preferences and occupational plans, and we argue that counselling activities in school can play a crucial role in either reinforcing or countering the weight of these expressive mechanisms relative to more instrumental considerations involving occupational prospects of different fields. In particular, we suggest that the availability of reliable, ready-to-use information on these prospects enhances the probability that students, particularly females, opt for more rewarding fields. To test this argument, we present the results of a field experiment conducted in Italy that confronted high school seniors with detailed information concerning returns to tertiary education and field of study differentials, and we assess how girls and boys reacted to this counselling intervention.

ABSTRACT This article assesses trends over time in the influence of social origins on educational attainment in 26 European countries. We use a cumulative dataset that merges the European Social Survey (waves 2002–2010), the International Social Survey Programme (1999, 2009) and the European Value Study (2008). Our contribution to the literature is threefold. First, we replicate as closely as possible the previous study by Breen et al. [(2009) ‘Nonpersistent in educational attainment: Evidence from eight European countries’, American Journal of Sociology 114: 1475–1521] and extend it to a larger set of countries and to more recent cohorts. Second, we reassess the argument that equalization does not involve Higher Education. Third, we consider whether our conclusions change if we use a more comprehensive measurement of social origins that jointly incorporates indicators of social class, social status and parental education. We detect a generalized reduction of educational inequalities in the post-war decades. When we focus on Higher Education, we still detect evidence of equalization, although to a lower extent. Our analyses do not support the claim that, when using a more comprehensive treatment of social origins, the patterns for different indicators evolve in opposite directions.

ABSTRACT This article examines the role of social origins and education for career mobility in contemporary Italy by means of growth curves models. We find that opportunities for career advancement are rather limited and that risks of downward mobility are virtually negligible. Although this picture displays a noticeable degree of stability over time, a moderate increase of career fluidity across cohorts can be detected. Moreover, social origins and education exert a marked influence on the first occupation, while the subsequent career-adjustment of these initial social inequalities is rather limited. Furthermore, the small influence of origins and education on career opportunities does not display any systematic trend across cohorts.