Dynamics of Overeducation in Europe from a Social Stratification Perspective

Overeducation, the situation in which individuals have more education than their work requires, is a critical issue of sociological research due to its negative association with job satisfaction, well-being, and other social impacts. Building on current research, this project approaches overeducation from a novel sociological lens: as a mechanism of social stratification and the intergenerational transmission of class and status. The project focuses on three research areas: 1) overeducation as a form of status inconsistency; 2) the social selectivity of overeducation; 3) and parental overeducation and its impact on children. In addition, the project will explore new ways to measure overeducation and the propensity to overeducation using a wealth of currently available data sources, such as the Labor Force Survey, PIAAC, EU-SILC, and national household panel studies.