Some Aspects of the Total Qualification Process in Denmark since 1960 1

Abstract

Developments in Danish education since the early 1960s have resulted in a much larger proportion of youth now possessing theoretical qualifications, and a smaller proportion practical, vocational skills. Simultaneously, the proportion leaving the educational system with no vocational qualifications or qualifications preparing them for an academic career has not undergone any change during the last decade. In this article it is sought, above all, to explain the trend in educational qualifications by partly independent developments at three social levels, i.e. the macro-structural level, the central intermediary level, and the micro-structural level. The analysis points to the fact that a freezing of the educational structure has meant that the mechanisms in the micro-structure have been absolutely determining for the final result of the trend in educational qualifications.