Parental influence on students’ educational choices in the US and Germany: different ramifications–same effect. J Voc Behav 2002;60:178–198

Despite the historical trend in all Western societies to increase educational participation irrespective of students ’ social origin, the correlation between parents ’ education and socio-economic status and the educational outcomes of their offspring remains a rather universal phenomenon. Although comparative studies have consistently found this association in var-ious nations which differ in many ways in their educational systems, little is known about the mechanism behind this effect. Drawing on the assumption that career decision points are the major gateway for social background influences, we assume that similarities, as well as dif-ferences in the structure of the correlation between parents ’ socioeconomic background and students ’ school success, can be explained. Using two longitudinal data sets from the United States (N = 1425) and Germany (N = 1755) covering the school careers from Grade 7 to Grade 10, the analyses supported the hypothesis that (a) achievement information is the best predictor of career relevant decisions in both nations, (b) parents ’ background variables are This article is based on an integrative reanalysis project headed by the first two authors. The dat