Research focus areas at the chair of Prof. Buchmann
Research at the chair of Prof. Marlis Buchmann concentrates on three main areas: 1) education, occupations/skills, and labor markets, 2) the life course, and 3) cultural change.
The first focus area centers on basic issues pertaining to changing trends in (advanced) educational opportunities, long and short-term shifts in demand for education, and their significance for individual social mobility. The in part international research projects are based on life course data (Schweizerische Lebensverlaufstudie – Swiss Life Course Survey) and a long-term time series of job advertisements (Schweizerischer Stellenmarkt-Monitor 1950-2005 – Swiss Job Monitor).
The second focus area is concerned with fundamental issues in life course research. The projects in this area mostly adopt an international comparative perspective and involve international cooperation. They examine, for instance, the transition from school education to working life and adulthood in industrialized as well as developing countries. A large-scale longitudinal study focuses on the development of competencies in childhood and youth. Other research is devoted to issues concerning female employment careers and determinants thereof.
The third, historical-sociological focus is directed at basic issues concerning long-term change in the cultural models of the self in the 20th century. In particular, profound transformations and long-term developments in the representation of self are studied drawing on everyday texts. A dataset of personal ads and ads from people seeking a marriage partner in newspapers ranging from 1900-2000 provides an unparalleled empirical basis for this research.
For more information, please visit the web pages at the chair of Prof. Buchmann.