One in three children have same level of education as their parents

The level of education of one in every three children is the same as their parents. Boys, whose fathers are farmers or engineers, often follow in their footsteps. The same applies to girls whose mothers have studied economics or law at various levels. 

Education father important

Children resemble their parents and frequently attain the same level of education and opt for the same discipline. The parents of high-educated children, for example, are themselves relatively often high-educated and low-educated children often have low-educated parents. The father’s education level is traditionally important. Currently, women are catching up with respect to education level and their status as a role model is becoming increasingly important.

Educational level parents and son (15-27 yrs) not attending education, 2001/2009

In agriculture, sons often follow in their father’s footsteps

Altogether, some 30 percent of boys opt for an education similar to their father’s. This is even more obvious in the agricultural sector where 40 percent of boys follow in their father’s footsteps. In engineering, the proportion of boys following in their father’s footsteps is also relatively high. The relation between daughters and fathers in this respect is less obvious than between sons and fathers.

Level of education parents and daughter (15-27 yrs) not attending education, 2001/2009

If mothers have studied economics or law, daughters tend to follow

The study a mother has done appears to be less essential for the children’s choice than the father’s study. Approximately 18 percent of all daughters and close to 9 percent of sons have attended the same sort of education as their mothers. This becomes mainly evident in economics and law studies.

Educational level parents and child (15-27 yrs) not attending education, 2001/2009

Tanja Traag