This paper explores the way in which elite students from Germany and Romania understand the role of talent, effort, and structural factors in shaping educational success and failure. The image of a successful student aligns with the requirements of the selection processes, with Romanian students emphasising effort, and German students projecting…

Research on student selection mostly focuses on accepted applicants and the effects of selection procedures. In this sense, most samples seem to be biased, which is well-reflected in the literature. The present study investigates student selection regarding students who had been initially de-selected but finally succeeded in the admission process.…

This article addresses the question of why fields of study differ in early labour market returns. It is argued that the higher the potential training costs of a field of study the more problematic the labour market integration of graduates. This is due to the fact that employers use the occupational specificity and selectivity of a study programme…

This paper seeks to (1) provide an overview, from a macroanalytical perspective, of the characteristics of unequal educational opportunities within an international perspective, (2) set out problems related to social selectivity, in particular within the vocational educational system in Germany and (3) describe examples of the interaction between…

The position of immigrant workers' children in the West German schools is detailed in this article. Inequalities arising from conflicting educational and language policies, economic and cultural factors, and the selective and hierarchical nature of the educational system are described as they affect the immigrant child's chances for academic…

This issue discusses talent development in gifted children and youth. Articles include: (1) "Good and Goodness" (Roman Herzog), which addresses the need to provide gifted youth with financial aid to enable them to attend one of ten higher education institutions sponsoring gifted persons; (2) "It Is Essential To Start at an Early…

This volume, the second in a two-volume work, builds on an international study of the research university in Germany, Britain, France, the United States and Japan, to explore the role and function of the research university and the relationship between teaching, research and graduate study. Part 1 lays the foundation for comparative analysis by…

As part of a study of access and admission to higher education in Germany and the United States, a group of papers on medical admissions in various countries was commissioned. The papers presented in this book reveal wide differences in admissions policies and procedures. Barbara Burn examines some of the major issues in a foreword: representation…