5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

The study of educational trajectories enables to identify in the students' paths the factors of the educational system and their vital environments that favor or, on the contrary, hinder learning, permanence and completion of educational levels. On the other hand, this approach allows the understanding of subjective decision-making processes and strategies that students develop to face the challenges of schooling. An important aspect of educational trajectories are the transitions between levels, since they represent changes and discontinuities for students, which can be experienced as challenging and difficult, even leading to abandonment. The different national educational systems propose very diverse schemes of admission to higher education, which affect these transitions in different ways. Moreover, in some countries, both national governments and higher education institutions are developing policies to accompany the transitions and trajectories of students at higher education.

This session welcomes qualitative and quantitative research papers that address the different characteristics of higher education admission systems and their consequences in terms of social and educational inequalities. Likewise, we are particularly interested in presentations that discuss policies and strategies developed to influence the transitions between secondary and higher education and the educational trajectories, seeking to accompany students in the challenges they entail.