Comparative Analysis of Social Mobility in Industrial Nations (CASMIN)

The Comparative Analysis of Social Mobility in Industrial Nations (CASMIN) was developed in the 1980s in the course of a research project on social mobility (cf. Lechert et al. 2006: 3).
The scale was designed on the basis of the following criteria:
1.) the hierarchy of an education system (measured by the length and corresponding investment required in an education as well as the quality of the achieved certificate),
2.) the distinction between rather general and rather occupation-specific education (cf. König et al. 1988: 55).

Origin/Creator:	The CASMIN project was carried out by England, (West) Germany, France, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Poland, Sweden and Scotland.
Method/Structure:	There are 2 versions of the CASMIN education scale, an original and a revised version. The revised version is presented below: Primary level 1a: Inadequately completed general elementary education 1b: General elementary education 1c: General elementary education and/or basic vocational training Intermediate level 2a: Intermediate vocational qualification or intermediate general qualification and vocational qualification 2b: Intermediate general qualification 2c_gen: General maturity certificate 2c_voc: Vocational maturity certificate/general maturity certificate and vocational qualification Higher level 3a_gen: Lower tertiary education - general diplomas 3a_voc: Lower tertiary education - diplomas with vocational emphasis 3b_low: Higher tertiary education - lower level 3b_high: Higher tertiary education - higher level (cf. Brauns/Steinmann 1997: 28)
Development/implementation for Germany:	The application of the CASMIN classification to the German school system results in the following differentiation: 1a: Without qualification, vocational traineeship 1b: Haupt-/Volksschulabschluss (lower secondary school-leaving certificate) 1c: Haupt-/Volksschulabschluss (lower secondary school-leaving certificate) with completion of an apprenticeship/learning training or master craftsman/technician training 2a: Mittlere Reife (intermediate school-leaving certificate) with completion of an apprenticeship/learning training or master craftsman/technician training 2b: Mittlere Reife (intermediate school-leaving certificate) 2c_gen: Fachhochschulreife, Hochschulreife respectively Abitur (university entrance qualification) 2c_voc: Fachhochschulreife, Hochschulreife respectively Abitur (university entrance qualification) with completion of an apprenticeship/learning training or master craftsman/technician training 3a: University of Applied Sciences/engineering school 3b: University* (cf. Lechert et al. 2006: 5) The original CASMIN dates from the 1980s and was developed parallel to the Erikson-Goldthorpe-Portocarero (Class) Scheme (EGP). It was revised in the late 1990s to reflect the latest changes in the various education systems. In the process, level 2c was newly introduced and with it its distinction into gen and voc. Furthermore, the categories of the tertiary education were expanded (3a: division into gen and voc, 3b: division into low and high), although this is not reflected in the German implementation (cf. Brauns/Steinmann 1997: 24ff.). * Many Universities of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschulen) have renamed themselves "Hochschule" (which is actually the German term for university) in recent years. However, at this point "3b: Hochschule" means university, and "3a: Fachhochschule/Ingenieurschule" means (Fach-)Hochschule with a pragmatic focus.

Keywords

Education scale, educational qualifications, general education, vocational education

Comparative Analysis of Social Mobility in Industrial Nations (CASMIN)

Fundamental literature: König, Wolfgang; Lüttinger, Paul; Müller, Walter (1988). A comparative analysis of the development and structure of educational systems, CASMIN Working Paper No. 12, Universität Mannheim

Brauns, Hildegard; Steinmann, Susanne (1997): Educational reform in France, West-Germany, the United Kingdom and Hungary: updating the CASMIN educational classification. Mannheimer Zentrum für Europäische Sozialforschung.

Further literature: Braun, Michael, Müller, Walter (2007): Measurement of education in comparative research. Comparative Social Research, 16, 163-201.