Abstract

The aim of the study was to analyse enrolment patterns, and study efficiency and completion among students in programmes with professional qualifications, using microdata from Statistics Sweden. The programmes were Architecture, Medicine, Nursing, Law, Social work, Psychology and Engineering (year 2001–2002, n=15,918). Using the concepts from Bourdieu’s sociology, data was analysed with Specific Multiple Correspondence Analysis. Different patterns emerged and were constructed as different dimensions of the social space of educational strategies in higher education, patterns of enrolment, efficiency and completion. The students’ relative positions in the social structure were analysed by the type and amount of their cultural capital. The most important factors for differences between coherent intensive and scattered extensive enrolment patterns were programmes, gender, mother’s socioeconomic index, parents’ education, and type of university. Regarding efficiency, the most important factors were programme and type of university. The factors most important for graduation were gender and type of university.

Keywords: higher education, enrolment patterns, dropouts, educational capital, multiple correspondence analysis, professional education, university

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Link to Journal’s homepage and published article: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00313831.2016.1172496