Laufbahnklassen. Zur empirischen Umsetzung eines dynamisierten Klassenbegriffs mithilfe von Sequenzanalysen

Based on Bourdieu??s notion of trajectory-classes, the article proposes a dynamic concept of social class that accounts for typical patterns of intra-generational mobility. The hypothesis is that social class trajectories cluster into stable as well as upward and downward mobile trajectory-classes. This assumption is tested empirically by applying sequence analysis to individual trajectories of class positions measured by means of the Goldthorpe class scheme. The data are drawn from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study and cover 15 years of individual occupational histories for four different age cohorts of men and women. In addition to a striking stability of class positions, there are also specific patterns of class mobility for men that point to institutional mechanisms of social closure and career paths. Women??s trajectory-classes are shaped by class-specific patterns of labor market (re-)entries and exits. Furthermore, analyzing the process of capital accumulation based on various indicators of economic, cultural and social capital, the trajectory-classes can be interpreted as a result of investment strategies.