Transitions postscolaires et inégalité sociale à Lima: poursuite éducative et insertion professionnelle des jeunes de la génération Ochentas

Abstract

Since the 1990s, Peru has enjoyed sustained economic and social stability, which is the backdrop for a generation born during one of the worst crises in the country's history. This "Ochentas" generation (1980s) grew up during the neoliberal revival, under which the expansion of private education was dazzling, and employment grew strongly but also more flexible. In addition, the patriarchal family model tends to evolve into new forms, including the erosion of gender roles and parental authority. In this context, where historical social inequalities persist, young people of the generation studied have gone out of college and faced the first decisive choices for their future, choices framed by specific possibilities and meanings depending on the social milieu they are from. The thesis deals with post-school transitions at the level of education (in higher education) and work trajectories in the city of Lima. It offers an in-depth look at the chronological dimension and the social mechanisms that influence it. On the one hand, it examines the social heterogeneity of transitions, in particular the influence of the family context in the pursuit of studies and professional integration, taking into account its educational, socioeconomic, demographic and migratory characteristics. On the other hand, it identifies specificities of the male and female routes at the end of secondary education. Finally, she analyzes the specific influence of access to higher education in the environment of the young person, in the household and the neighborhood of residence. To trace the trajectories and socialization of the Ochentas generation, the work articulates an unprecedented quantitative approach (descriptive and multivariate analyzes) of the 2007 census data with a qualitative approach based on in-depth interviews conducted in 2017. The results show considerable differences in educational and vocational transitions after high school, particularly in terms of inequalities of access to higher education and through the type of study pathways. If several factors are decisive, the parental cultural capital is of first order, which is only marginally studied in the literature concerning the social dynamics in Peru. Similarly, gender relations give shape to these transitions, concerning occupational integration. In addition, the research shows that social segregation in the metropolis, observed at the neighborhood level, is associated with post-school transitions leading to lesser autonomy and independence. Finally, the results obtained show the potential for census data - despite their limitation- compared to survey data.