SchoolandTransitions · The influence of schools on the off-time transitions to parenthood and partnership

The influence of schools on the off-time transitions to parenthood and partnership

The School&Transitions project examined how secondary school environments and classmates’ behaviour shape two key early life-course transitions—entry into parenthood and entry into co-resident partnership—as well as later educational outcomes. Although adolescent transitions to parenthood and partnership have long been studied, previous research has focused primarily on individual and family background determinants, while largely overlooking the role of schools as formative social environments. This omission has been driven foremost by data limitations: until recently, there were no population-wide data that made it possible to construct full peer networks or follow entire cohorts across the schooling system and into adulthood. This project addressed these gaps using Dutch administrative microdata, which allowed me to build complete school peer groups and track individuals over time. By combining event-history models, multilevel and cross-classified models, and preregistered quasi-experimental designs, the project aimed to achieve three core objectives: (1) to examine how school contexts and classmates’ behaviour shape the timing of parenthood and partnership; (2) to assess whether schools and peers mitigate or amplify inequalities linked to socioeconomic background, migration background, family structure, and maternal age at first birth; and (3) to analyse how the influence of schools and classmates evolves as adolescents leave secondary school and move into diverse early-adulthood pathways. In addition, a new work package examined how socioeconomic segregation in secondary schools is linked to students’ subsequent educational attainment, particularly in higher academic tracks. Early transitions to parenthood and partnership often constrain educational attainment, reduce labour-market opportunities, and increase the risk of long-term economic vulnerability. These transitions are disproportionately common among young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, thereby reinforcing cumulative disadvantage across generations. Understanding the conditions under which school environments delay or accelerate these transitions is therefore crucial for designing interventions that can reduce inequality and expand opportunities for vulnerable youth. In parallel, the segregation-focused work shows that school composition and peer environments also shape who progresses to higher education, further reinforcing or attenuating these inequalities. The project is deeply rooted in the social sciences and humanities, drawing on theories of socialisation, stratification, peer influence, and life-course development, and applying them to contemporary questions about inequality, education, and family behaviour. By integrating psychological and sociological theories, demographic methods, and administrative microdata, the project offers a robust evidence base for improving youth policy, strengthening educational systems, and ultimately mitigating the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage in both family and educational trajectories.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union