Edited by Rolf Becker, Professor of Sociology of Education, University of Bern, Switzerland

• Contents:Part I Introduction1. Key Challenges for the Sociology of Education – Theoretical, Methodological, and Empirical IssuesRolf BeckerPart II Theoretical Foundations 2. A Sociological Perspective on Education as a Lifelong ProcessGwendolin Josephine Blossfeld, Pia Nicoletta Blossfeld and Hans-Peter Blossfeld3. How does Education depend on Social Origin?Robert Erikson4. The Rational Choice Paradigm in Sociology of EducationVolker Stocké5. Multiple Social Contexts of Education: Systematic Commonalities, Differences and InterrelationsSteffen Hillmert6. The Problem of Meritocracy: The Belief in Achievement, Credentials, and JusticeDavid B. Bills7. Measurement of Skills and Achievement – A Critical Assessment of Theoretical and Methodological ConceptsSabine Weinert and Cordula ArteltPart III Methodological Problems8. Longitudinal Data Analysis in the Sociology of Education – Key Concepts and ChallengesThorsten Schneider 9. Experiments in the Sociology of Education: Causal Inference and Estimating Causal Effects in Sociological Research on EducationChristoph Zangger and Rolf BeckerPart IV Modernisation and Educational Expansion10. Educational Expansion and Inequalities: How did Inequalities by Social Origin and Gender decrease in Modern Industrial Societies?Andreas Hadjar11. Gender Segregation in EducationIrene Kriesi and Christian ImdorfPart V Organization of Education and Outcomes12. How do Educational Systems affect Social Inequality of Educational Opportunities? The Role of Tracking in Comparative PerspectiveJan Skopek, Moris Triventi and Sandra Buchholz13. Early Educational Inequality – Growing up in different Learning EnvironmentsBirgit Becker14. The Equalising Effect of Schools and its LimitsAnne Christine Holtmann and Fabrizio Bernardi15. Educational Institutions and Inequalities in Educational OpportunitiesJörg Dollmann16. Vocational Education and Training in Comparative PerspectiveCorinna Kleinert and Marita Jacob17. Vertical and Horizontal Stratification in Higher EducationDavid Reimer and Jens Peter Thomsen18. Still a Safety Net? Revisiting the Role of Vocational Education and Training in School-to-Work Transitions in EuropeIrena Kogan19. The Social Structure of Schools and Classrooms Dominik Becker 20. Teachers – Their Characteristics and their Role in the Education SystemMartin Neugebauer 21. Disability and Inequality in Educational Opportunities in Life Course PerspectiveJustin J.W. Powell and Lisa PfahlPart VI Benefits of education and returns to education22. Returns to Adult Education and Inequality – A Life Course PerspectiveFelix Weiss 23. Socioemotional Skills in Education and Beyond: Recent Evidence and Future Research AvenuesClemens M. Lechner, Silke Anger and Beatrice Rammstedt24. Returns to Education in the Life Course Michael Gebel and Guido Heineck25. Knowledge Capital and Economic GrowthEric A. Hanushek and Ludger WoessmannPart VII Migration, education, and social integration26. Ethnic Inequality in Educational AttainmentBernhard Nauck27. Language Assimilation and the Education of Immigrant StudentsCornelia KristenPart VIII Policy Implications of Research in Sociology of Education28. Large-scale Assessments of Educational SystemsManfred Prenzel and Christine Sälzer29. Simulation of Outcomes of Educational Policies and ProgrammesVolker Müller-Benedict30. Beyond Schools – The Social Embeddedness of Educational InequalityCamilla Borgna, Christian Brzinsky-Fay, Martina Dieckhoff, Anne Christine Holtmann and Heike SolgaIndex

'With bridges to psychology and economics, this Research Handbook presents a rich collection of outstanding studies on the present state of knowledge in core areas of the sociology of education. Leading experts discuss theoretical and methodological advances and challenges and integrate a wealth of research results especially on the generation and consequences of educational inequality.'--Walter Müller, University of Mannheim, Germany'This Research Handbook provides a comprehensive state of the art on the contemporary challenges addressed by sociology of education, based on up-to-date empirical findings as well as diverse theoretical and methodological approaches. The internationally renowned contributors analyse the key interactions between educational processes and social inequalities, and particularly within the life course.'--Jake Murdoch, Université de Bourgogne, France'In this Research Handbook top authors deliver cutting-edge contributions on both the state of the art and open issues in theory, measurement, methods and empirical findings in the sociology of education. It is an invaluable resource for researchers planning new projects, instructors interested in the cumulative state of knowledge and students who want the very best introduction to key problems.'--Karl Ulrich Mayer, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Germany