In this book some of the leading stratification scholars in the U.S. present empirical and theoretical essays about the institutional contexts that shape careers. Building on recent advances in theory, data, and analytic technique, the essays in this volume work toward the goal of identifying and assessing the processes by which a birth cohort is distributed in the stratification system, given their positions of origin in that system. Alan Kerckhoff's introduction situates the studies in t...

This book provides evidence of the significance of a society's structure and normative definitions in giving shape to one part of the life course, examining closely a major period of life course transition, the move from adolescence to adulthood in Great Britain.

The transition of British secondary schools from predominantly selective to predominantly comprehensive was meant to transform a highly stratified system into a more equal one. However, this study shows that the new system was in fact highly diverse and retained features of the selective system.