Longitudinal Research on the School-to-Work Transition and Social Policy

Scientific Conference (2014)

The Meaning and Measurement of Well-Being as an Indicator of Success

in Keller, Anita C; Samuel, Robin; Bergman, Manfred Max (Eds.) et al Psychological, Educational, and Sociological Perspectives on Success and Well-Being in Career Development (2014)

This chapter discusses the conceptualization and measurement of well-being and success, and the relationships between the two. Many scholars in well-being research agree that well-being consists of ... [more ▼]

This chapter discusses the conceptualization and measurement of well-being and success, and the relationships between the two. Many scholars in well-being research agree that well-being consists of satisfaction, positive and negative affect. There are less well established definitions in the area of success. Frequently, success is conceptualized in terms of career success, distinguishing between objective and subjective indicators. These indicators most often include salary, status, and career satisfaction. They are sometimes criticized for being inappropriate in current labor markets and as to their individual meaning. In this chapter, we provide a widening of the understanding of career success. This by incorporating the broader concept of work success in terms of success episodes referring to task performance, pro-social success, appreciation, and feedback [less ▲]

The Gendered Interplay between Success and Well-Being during Transitions

in Educational Research (2014), 56(2), 202--219

Background: Young females have been found to out-perform males in terms of grades and university degrees in many studies. At the same time, young women seem to exhibit lower levels of well-being compared ... [more ▼]

Background: Young females have been found to out-perform males in terms of grades and university degrees in many studies. At the same time, young women seem to exhibit lower levels of well-being compared with men. Interestingly, little work has evaluated the interplay between educational success and well-being. However, antecedents and consequences of educational success will likely affect life chances and further educational and occupational trajectories. Purpose: This paper contributes to this important, but as of yet, underdeveloped topic. The interplay between educational success—conceptualised as successful intergenerational educational mobility—and well-being is analysed as a dynamic, reciprocal, and gendered process. Sample: Panel data from the Transition from Education to Employment Project (TREE) is used to study the gendered interplay between educational success and well-being. TREE focuses on post-compulsory educational and labour market pathways of the PISA 2000 cohort in Switzerland. It is based on a sample of 6343 young people who left compulsory schooling in 2000. Data were collected annually from 2001 to 2007. At the time of the first interview, the age range of the middle fifty percent of the youths was between 16.5 and 17.3 years. Design and methods: As previous research shows, episodes of educational mobility will not be evenly distributed over the observed period (e.g., Mare 1980). Thus, an autoregressive cross-lagged mixture model framework is employed to account for the expected unequal distribution of the variables over time and the multilevel structure of the data (Samuel, Bergman, and Hupka-Brunner 2013). Within this framework, two modelling approaches are combined to test the implied reciprocal relationship between educational success and well-being. In the Latent Transition Analysis part of the model, success is measured as latent classes with fixed outcome categories. In the Autoregressive Structural Equation part of the model, well-being is specified to correlate over time. Models were estimated separately for males and females so as to allow for different error variances. Results: The models reveal that mechanisms of social comparison are gendered and operate differently at various stages of the observed period. Young females seem to be more likely to succeed and to experience positive effects in terms of well-being during successful episodes when compared to males. On the downside, females’ well-being seems to be more strongly affected by failure. Conclusions: This paper shows that well-being is a gendered personal resource during the transition to adulthood. These findings contribute to the literature on gender differences in educational success as they show how gender, as a social process, operates to create different success and well-being outcomes. [less ▲]

Introduction: Psychological, Educational and Sociological Perspectives on Success and Well-Being in Career Development

in Keller, Anita C.; Samuel, Robin; Semmer, Norbert K. (Eds.) et al Psychological, Educational and Sociological Perspectives on Success and Well-Being in Career Development (2014)

How Cognitive and Different Non-cognitive Characteristics Affect Labor Market Outcomes in the UK and Switzerland

Presentation (2013)

Noncognitive Skills and Adult Outcomes

Presentation (2013)

Overworked Managers in Europe: Creativity and Performance Pay

Scientific Conference (2013)

The Interplay between Educational Achievement, Occupational Success, and Well-Being

in Social Indicators Research (2013), 111(1), 75-96

Many studies have examined the effect of life events, education, and income on well-being. Conversely, research concerning well-being as a predictor of life course outcomes is sparse. Diener’s suggestion ... [more ▼]

Many studies have examined the effect of life events, education, and income on well-being. Conversely, research concerning well-being as a predictor of life course outcomes is sparse. Diener’s suggestion “to inquire about the effects of well-being on future behavior and success” has, with some exceptions, not yet come to fruition. This article contributes to this body of research. We conceptualize and analyze the interplay between educational achievement, occupational success, and well-being as a complex process. The relationship between these domains is examined drawing on a structure-agency framework derived from Bourdieu and Social Comparison Theory. Social comparison between adolescents and their parents is suggested to be the mechanism explaining the effects of successful and unsuccessful intergenerational transmission of educational achievement and occupational success on well-being. It is further argued that well-being may serve as an individual resource by fostering educational and occupational outcomes. Panel data from the Transition from Education to Employment (TREE) project, a Swiss PISA 2000 follow-up study, was used. The interplay between well-being and successful and unsuccessful intergenerational transfer of educational attainment was analyzed in an autoregressive cross-lagged mixture model framework. Social comparison was found to be related to well-being, while well-being proved to significantly increase the probability of successful intergenerational transfer of educational attainment. [less ▲]

Bildung – Arbeit – Erwachsenwerden

Book published by Springer VS (2012)

Der Übergang von der Schule ins Erwachsenen- und Erwerbsleben ist eine entscheidende und kritische Lebensphase. Vieles deutet darauf hin, dass diese Transition in modernen Gesellschaften länger ... [more ▼]

Der Übergang von der Schule ins Erwachsenen- und Erwerbsleben ist eine entscheidende und kritische Lebensphase. Vieles deutet darauf hin, dass diese Transition in modernen Gesellschaften länger, anforderungsreicher, ... [less ▲]

The Dynamics of Youth and Young Adults Transitions in Switzerland. Insights from the TREE Panel Survey

Presentation (2012)