We look into the question whether heterogeneity stemming from research orientation, gender, or disciplinary and cultural differences with their PhD supervisors helps or hampers academics' careers. Based on a sample of 248 academics at two leading European universities of technology, we combine multinomial logit models and sequential logit models…

Three subscales of the "Science Motivation Questionnaire II" (SMQII; motivational components: career motivation, self-efficacy and self-determination), with 4 items each, were applied to a sample of 209 secondary school students to monitor the impact of a 3-hour structured inquiry lesson. Four testing points (before, immediately after, 6…

This article focuses upon the processes whereby individuals reframe their career goals and career direction mid-way through their working lives. Three cases, drawn from Denmark, Germany and Italy, are used to exemplify these processes. The cases are part of a larger study which included the development of a model that could accommodate the…

Scholarly studies of international student mobility programs have increased during the last two decades, particularly following the Bologna Declaration. Nevertheless, a systematic review of international student mobility programs and the outcomes and benefits derived from participation in such programs has not been undertaken. This paper provides…

Career paths, career development and participation in adult learning are to a large extent dependent on learning experiences and labour-market entrance in early life stages. However, within the group of people with relative weak educational and vocational background variance was found in terms of how people perceive their situation and how they…

The presence of a calling and career development are assumed to be closely related. However, the nature of and reason for this relationship have not been thoroughly investigated. We hypothesized the existence of reciprocal effects between calling and three dimensions of career preparation and assessed the change of the presence of a calling,…

Individuals who pass through low-skilled work in their careers can represent this phase as showing strength of character as obstacles are overcome. However, continuing to work in low-skilled employment has so many negative consequences that finding ways to assist those individuals' career development is an important challenge for guidance policy…

The article deals with structural, cultural and habitual concepts, principles and ideals of parenthood in the German academic working context. It focuses on social processes of transformation and reconfiguration of reproduction and profession, which means within work and family spheres and especially within academia in times of neoliberalism,…

Labour force in the art sector is characterised by high qualification, but low income for those people who perform the core contribution in art, i.e. the artists. As artists are typically self-dependent in managing their business, they should have managerial skills besides those skills necessary to perform their artistic core activities. If the…

After an accomplished military career leading up to and during World War II, Truman Smith (1893-1970) was seemingly forgotten. His name was seldom mentioned after the war until his memoirs were published posthumously in 1984. History shows Smith to be an astoundingly successful figure in military intelligence. This article provides a biography on…

This paper considers students' economic motives to attend university. Drawing on selected results from a tri-national survey involving online questionnaires and interviews with students at English, German and Portuguese universities, it examines and compares this particular extrinsic motivational dimension, alongside the influence of the national…

Transversal skills, such as complex problem solving (CPS) are viewed as central twenty-first-century skills. Recent empirical findings have already supported the importance of CPS for early academic advancement. We wanted to determine whether CPS could also contribute to the understanding of career advancement later in life. Towards this end, we…

The number of dual career couples in academia is growing due to the increasing proportion of women with a doctoral degree and the greater propensity of women to choose another academic as their partner. At the same time, international mobility is required for career advancement in academia, creating challenges for dual career couples where both…

This study investigated the extent to which differences in implicit and explicit math--language gender stereotypes, and essentialist beliefs among preservice teachers affect tracking recommendations for math/science versus language-oriented secondary schools. Consistent with expectations, the results suggest that student's gender influences…

In modern academic career systems there are a large number of entry positions, much smaller numbers of intermediate positions, and still fewer full professorships. We examine how this system has developed in Germany, the country where the modern academic system was introduced, tracing the historical development of academic positions since the…