Life course perspective

The life course perspective ( English Life Course Approach , Life Course Theory or Life Course Perspective ) is a longitudinal perspective when analyzing a human life within its social, cultural or structural context.

Basics

The life course perspective examines, among other things, how early events within a life story influence later events and decisions, such as marriage and divorce, criminal activities, participation in the labor market or the occurrence of illnesses.

In addition, different critical transitions and phases of life are considered from the life course perspective, which shape a life and influence each other in the sense of a path dependency . Examples of this are the professional and family life cycle and the compatibility of family and work .

CVs are first and foremost shaped by the various age phases - childhood, youth, middle age, old age. In addition, the curriculum vitae in the different phases of life is also shaped by various institutions such as school, work or old-age insurance.

In the life course perspective, the transitions from one phase of life to the next deserve special attention. This includes the transition from school to work, from home to an independent life, from job to family responsibilities or from employment to retirement. These transitions, also known as junctions, are important fields of investigation, as the decisions that set the course can be viewed from a life-course perspective and their long-term effects can be made clear.

In social and educational science, a distinction is made between three life course research perspectives. Biography research consistently analyzes processes of socialization in the life cycle regime from the subject's perspective as an interrelationship between the life cycle institutions as "key words" and their updating by the individuals. Transition research asks about continuities and discontinuities in personal development processes without losing sight of the interrelationship with the outside world of the life course. Coping with life analyzes attempts to regain the content or to expand the biographical ability to act in view of the decreasing accessibility of the normal welfare state life course.

Life courses of women and men

The life courses of women and men still differ fundamentally in some cases. Ideas of a " normal biography " based on the typical male résumé of the second half of the 20th century and showing a linear pattern of " childhood - school / training - working life - retirement " are increasingly not suitable for either male or female life. In the middle of life, the female life course is more determined by family reproductive work than the male , combined with interruptions in working life and / or reduced working hours. There is controversial debate as to whether the curricula vitae of women and men are differentiating themselves without a clear pattern or whether a new, more flexible normal employment relationship is emerging in which employment is interrupted or mixed with socially secure phases of reproductive work and further training . A distinction must be made between deregulation through the withdrawal or abolition of welfare state interventions and the destandardization of life courses through the different use of institutional offers depending on individual preferences.

Linked lives

The life course perspective is suitable for depicting the effects of "linked lives". The term "Linked Lives" refers to the relationship of several people who - e.g. B. in the family or in a partnership - combine their life organization for various reasons. Your life decisions are no longer made in isolation, but often together, and at the same time they influence each other. If, from a life-course perspective, joint decisions are associated with very different opportunities and risks, this poses special challenges for a social life-course policy that is committed to the goal of ensuring equal opportunities for women and men in the long term.

From the gender equality and life course perspective, it is also about a " fair " design of the distribution of the advantages, disadvantages and risks of joint life decisions in marriage . These result from one's own property regime and, more generally, from the legal and social framework.

Resume policy

Life course politics tries to implement politics in the life course perspective. The aim is to reduce the social inequality caused by social origins and market developments . A distinction is made between active and passive life-course policies and various forms of partial welfare state interventions. Active life-course policy - in contrast to passive life-course policy, which is only operated in an administrative or reactive manner - is characterized by a coherent policy in different phases of life and critical transitions based on a common, explicitly formulated model . In order to be able to adequately deal with the long-term perspective and the individual phases of life, various departments and actors must cooperate with one another in the active life-course perspective . Life course policy takes into account that the individual life course is structured politically and socially and that life course patterns are generated, shaped and changed by institutions. A social life course policy tries to reduce the risks and effects of certain status constellations and phases, such as B. Unemployment , mitigate and plan ahead. It is about acute risk management, the prevention / prevention and reduction of long-term inequality and the later correction of an unfavorable start through a second chance (e.g. in education).

National level

In German education policy , but also in active labor market and health policy , the life course perspective is becoming increasingly important. The pension is the only social benefit system to incorporate the life-course perspective, so to speak. The continuing differences in pensions between women and men reflect the different social and pension law assessments of the activities of women and men cumulatively over the course of their lives.

The life course perspective is also taken up in family policy and gender equality policy; For example, in the 7th Family Report from 2006, in the 8th Family Report from 2012, in the First Gender Equality Report of the Federal Government of 2011 or in the Second Gender Equality Report of the Federal Government of 2017.

European level

At the European level, the life course perspective has increasingly gained paradigmatic importance. It has thus found its way into the European employment strategy. One of the guidelines of the strategy is to promote a life cycle-based approach in employment policy and to focus on lifelong learning .

International level

The life course perspective is also resonating with international organizations , as it is suitable for checking the sustainable effectiveness of measures. For example, in the 2010 report by the United Nations Secretary-General on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women, the life course perspective is addressed and the International Labor Organization (ILO) also works with the life course approach . This can be seen e.g. B. Report VI "Gender Equality at the Core of Decent Work" at the International Labor Conference in Geneva in 2009.

Social Ethics and Political Philosophy

The life course perspective is increasingly taken up in German-speaking social ethics. The yearbook for Christian social sciences , which is dedicated to the topic in volume 53/2012, can be cited as an example . The reason for this assumption of perspective is the insight that the models on which the development of the German welfare state model was based (for example that of the normal biography ) are not suitable for taking a proper look at today's society and its changes. Instead, plural life courses are assumed. A special focus of the social-ethical life course perspective is also on the longer time span of the individual life and its technology-related acceleration, which requires a faster sequence of decisions. The approach sets itself the task of developing a “dynamic view of the success of individual life courses and their necessary political framework” from the perception of plurality and demographic change .

From the point of view of social ethics, the question arises as to which normative criteria should be applied to the political framework of life courses. According to Bernhard Laux, it is important to establish criteria for a consistent policy without specifying a fixed family model and thus standardizing life. In the discussion, Marianne Heimbach-Steins advocates the "empowerment and participation of all members of society - to the extent that is personally possible and beneficial": On the one hand, the primary responsibility for one's own biography lies with the individual, on the other hand, it is in the Support the perception of responsibility through social cooperation. A “policy of enabling responsibility” has to take into account long-term consequences for the life course in particular.

Selected examples of projects on the topic of life course perspective

Collaborative Research Center 186 Status passages and risk situations in the life course: From a research perspective relating to the relationship between institutions and individual actors, the Collaborative Research Center from 1987 to 2001 dealt with the social organization of life courses and the individual coordination of areas of life and biographical transitions.

The German Life History Study (GLHS): For over 20 years, life course data have been collected under the direction of Karl Ulrich Mayer. The German Life Course Study, which emerged from the Collaborative Research Center “Microanalytical Fundamentals of Social Policy ” at the University of Mannheim , has been conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development Berlin since 1983 and is now being continued by Yale, contains information on the life courses of around 8,500 women and men from twenty selected birth cohorts in western Germany and more than 2900 men and women from thirteen selected birth cohorts in eastern Germany .

The Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) of the German Institute for Economic Research Berlin (DIW): The SOEP is an annual repeat survey of Germans, foreigners and immigrants in the old and new federal states, which has been running since 1984 and located at DIW Berlin . In the 2008 survey year, the sample comprised almost 11,000 households with more than 20,000 people. The main topics include household composition, employment and family biography, labor force participation and occupational mobility, income trends, health and life satisfaction. The longitudinal data collected there are suitable for an evaluation in the context of the longitudinal perspective.

European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Living Conditions - Eurofound: Between 2000 and 2008, Eurofound carried out a number of research projects to develop the curriculum vitae of women and men in the countries funded by the European Union . The five resulting project reports are based on various national and European data sources and highlight different aspects, countries and actors. A summary of the most important results and the political conclusions can be found in Klammer / Muffels / Wilthagen 2008.

Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Research Area Educational and Employment Trajectories: The research area Educational and Employment Trajectories of the IAB , established since 2009, analyzes connections between education and employment , especially from a life-course perspective. The background is the close connection between education and job market opportunities in Germany. The focus is on general and vocational training, initial and continuing training , certified qualifications and non-certified training components on the one hand, and gainful employment, unemployment and inactivity on the other.

National Educational Panel Study (NEPS): Since 2009, under the direction of Hans-Peter Blossfeld , Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg , the interdisciplinary network of excellence of the National Educational Panel has been studying educational processes and competence development from early childhood to advanced adulthood in a longitudinal section. The aim of the educational panel is to collect longitudinal data on skills development, educational processes, educational decisions and educational returns in formal, non-formal and informal contexts over the entire lifespan.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Women's working hours: life course perspective and European trends . WSI_messages 8/2012. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
↑ Nico Dragano, Johannes Siegrist: The life course perspective of health inequality: Concepts and research results . In: Health Inequality. Basics, problems, concepts. 2006, pp. 171-184.
^ Peter Alheit, Heide von Felden: Lifelong learning and educational biography research: Concepts and research in European discourse . Springer-Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-531-15600-2 ( com.ua [accessed December 6, 2019]).
^ Sinus Sociovision: Partnership and marriage - decisions in the life course. Attitudes, motives, knowledge of the legal framework. BNFSFJ, February 4, 2011 ( Summary , full text (PDF file; 2.25 MB))
^ Marianne Heimbach-Steins (ed.): Yearbook for Christian Social Sciences. Vol. 53: Social ethics for a society of long life. Aschendorff, Münster 2012. (uni-muenster.de)
↑ Marianne Heimbach-Steins: Enable responsibility, promote generational and gender equality: On the socio-ethical reception of the life course perspective. In this. (Ed.): Yearbook for Christian Social Sciences. Vol. 53: Social ethics for a society of long life. Aschendorff, Münster 2012, p. 75f. (Full text)
^ Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa : Life course policy - requirements for generational and gender equality in a society of long life. In: Marianne Heimbach-Steins (Ed.): Yearbook for Christian Social Sciences. Vol. 53: Social ethics for a society of long life. Aschendorff, Münster 2012, pp. 17–35, 19 (full text)
↑ Bernhard Laux: Change of intergenerational relationships - socio-political challenges of intergenerational justice. In: Marianne Heimbach-Steins (Ed.): Yearbook for Christian Social Sciences. Vol. 53: Social ethics for a society of long life. Aschendorff, Münster 2012, pp. 107-137, 132. (full text)
↑ Marianne Heimbach-Steins: Enable responsibility, promote generational and gender equality: On the socio-ethical reception of the life course perspective. In this. (Ed.): Yearbook for Christian Social Sciences. Vol. 53: Social ethics for a society of long life. Aschendorff, Münster 2012, p. 103. (full text)
↑ Marianne Heimbach-Steins: Enable responsibility, promote generational and gender equality: On the socio-ethical reception of the life course perspective. In this. (Ed.): Yearbook for Christian Social Sciences. Vol. 53: Social ethics for a society of long life. Aschendorff, Münster 2012, p. 97. (full text)
^ SOEP

[1] Women's working hours: life course perspective and European trends . WSI_messages 8/2012. Retrieved November 6, 2018.

[2] Nico Dragano, Johannes Siegrist: The life course perspective of health inequality: Concepts and research results . In: Health Inequality. Basics, problems, concepts. 2006, pp. 171-184.

[3] Peter Alheit, Heide von Felden: Lifelong learning and educational biography research: Concepts and research in European discourse . Springer-Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-531-15600-2 ( com.ua [accessed December 6, 2019]).

[4] Sinus Sociovision: Partnership and marriage - decisions in the life course. Attitudes, motives, knowledge of the legal framework. BNFSFJ, February 4, 2011 ( Summary , full text (PDF file; 2.25 MB))

[5] Marianne Heimbach-Steins (ed.): Yearbook for Christian Social Sciences. Vol. 53: Social ethics for a society of long life. Aschendorff, Münster 2012. (uni-muenster.de)

[6] Marianne Heimbach-Steins: Enable responsibility, promote generational and gender equality: On the socio-ethical reception of the life course perspective. In this. (Ed.): Yearbook for Christian Social Sciences. Vol. 53: Social ethics for a society of long life. Aschendorff, Münster 2012, p. 75f. (Full text)

[7] Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa : Life course policy - requirements for generational and gender equality in a society of long life. In: Marianne Heimbach-Steins (Ed.): Yearbook for Christian Social Sciences. Vol. 53: Social ethics for a society of long life. Aschendorff, Münster 2012, pp. 17–35, 19 (full text)

[8] Bernhard Laux: Change of intergenerational relationships - socio-political challenges of intergenerational justice. In: Marianne Heimbach-Steins (Ed.): Yearbook for Christian Social Sciences. Vol. 53: Social ethics for a society of long life. Aschendorff, Münster 2012, pp. 107-137, 132. (full text)

[9] Marianne Heimbach-Steins: Enable responsibility, promote generational and gender equality: On the socio-ethical reception of the life course perspective. In this. (Ed.): Yearbook for Christian Social Sciences. Vol. 53: Social ethics for a society of long life. Aschendorff, Münster 2012, p. 103. (full text)

[10] Marianne Heimbach-Steins: Enable responsibility, promote generational and gender equality: On the socio-ethical reception of the life course perspective. In this. (Ed.): Yearbook for Christian Social Sciences. Vol. 53: Social ethics for a society of long life. Aschendorff, Münster 2012, p. 97. (full text)

[11] SOEP