The increasing educational influence on life chances from 1950 until now

Since the democratization of the educational system in the '50s the level of education became more and more important for the allocation of life chances. Today, the position someone has in society depends more on the assigned status (level of education) than on assigned status as class, gender and race. life chances like working opportunities, health, education... are likely determined by the educational certification. In former research significant differences were found between lower and higher-educated people for their attitudes against society, but also for their position on the labour market and health. Even more important for the new social inequality is the intergenerational effect found for educational opportunities. Children from low-educated families are more likely to end their educational career as low-educated. In the study undertaken the research is focused on the evolution of the impact of education on life chances from 1950 till now.