Sophie Hahn analyses downward mobility in educational attainment from a sociological life-course perspective. In order to avoid status loss children of higher-educated parents have to persevere through long educational careers. How large is their risk of intergenerational downward mobility in educational attainment and how does it shape their educational pathways? Does their parents' education still play a role in decisions at late stages of the educational career such as dropping out of and re-entering higher education? Drawing on retrospective longitudinal data of the German National Education Panel Study (NEPS) this book addresses these questions.

Sophie Hahn is research associate at the German Youth Institute. Her research interests lie in the field of education, early childhood education and social inequality.