Search results

1 – 2 of 2
Article
Publication date: 5 August 2019

Alfredo Alfageme, Begoña García-Pastor and Salvador Seguí-Cosme

The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors influencing the willingness to benefit from temporary leave (TL), a life-course policy consisting of the entitlement to…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors influencing the willingness to benefit from temporary leave (TL), a life-course policy consisting of the entitlement to temporary paid leaves from work in exchange for delayed retirement.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey has been conducted amongst the occupied workforce of a medium-sized Spanish town, fairly characteristic of European urban environments in terms of its labour-force composition. The factors predisposing to TL are probed by means of a multivariate analysis (binary logistic regression). The analysis is framed in an age-gender perspective.

Findings

The noteworthy favourable predisposition towards TL emerging from the survey, mainly for the purposes of caring for children and parents, studying and preparing for a new job, appears mostly influenced by the educational level and by the fact of having or not children, without clear sex variations.

Originality/value

Notwithstanding the local scope of the survey, its results might orientate future research on TL, which is an emerging policy issue crosscutting several widely recognised social-policy targets within the European Union, such as the extension of working life, lifelong learning and gender equality throughout the life course.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 39 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 9 December 2021

Alfredo Alfageme, Salvador Seguí-Cosme and Yazmín Monteagudo-Cáceres

To uncover age inequalities in participation in higher education (HE) in Spain, the socio-demographic profile of Spanish adult undergraduates is compared to that of the general…

Abstract

Purpose

To uncover age inequalities in participation in higher education (HE) in Spain, the socio-demographic profile of Spanish adult undergraduates is compared to that of the general population of the same age group (25–54). Specific attention is devoted to differentials between face-to-face and distance adult students.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is mainly based on a comparative analysis of quantitative data generated by an online survey conducted by the authors among students over the age of 25 enrolled in Spanish public universities. Concurrent secondary sources have been considered as well.

Findings

Employment and family obligations appear as powerful conditioners of adults' access to HE, their choice of study mode (face-to-face or distance) and their area of study. The possession of previous HE qualifications also appears as an important factor differentiating adult undergraduates from the general population.

Research limitations/implications

The online survey is intended to reveal the main socio-demographic barriers to adult access to HE in Spain, rather than to draw a statistically representative profile of the target universe. The standard methodological recommendations have been followed to control the expected low response rate for the online questionnaire.

Practical implications

The study points to the need to deeply articulate current university-level compensatory mechanisms with macro-level age-sensitive social policies.

Social implications

Life course policies aimed at reducing age educational inequalities are advanced.

Originality/value

The social conditioners of adult participation in HE are addressed through a conceptual framework combining the life-course perspective with the prevalent research approach, centred on the notions of lifelong learning and non-traditional learners' unequal access.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. 15 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Access

Year

Content type

Article (2)
1 – 2 of 2