According to the selection hypothesis as well as the life course hypothesis, as children get older, the influences of social origins decrease progressively at educational branching points. Other approaches discuss the idea that some parental characteristics lose their impact during the...

According to sociological theories on educational choice, risk aversion is the main driving force for class-specific educational decisions. Families from upper social classes have to opt for the academically most demanding, long-lasting courses to avoid an intergenerational status loss. Families...