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European Sociological Review Advance Access originally published online on December 8, 2005
European Sociological Review 2006 22(1):91-105; doi:10.1093/esr/jci045
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

How Socially Committed are the Dutch Low-Educated? Historical Trends, Life-Course Changes, and Two Explanations for Educational Differences

Maurice Gesthuizen

Maurice Gesthuizen, Social and Cultural Planning Office, Parnassusplein 5, PO Box 16164, 2500 BD The Hague, The Netherlands. Tel: +31-70-3407945; Fax: +31-70-3407044; E-mail: M.Gesthuizen{at}scp.nl

This article examines the level of social commitment of the low-educated in the Netherlands, and answers the following research questions: To what extent do low- and high- educated people differ in their level of social commitment, to what extent does the difference become larger across birth cohorts and over the life-course, and how can it be explained? Five indicators of social commitment, which were retrospectively asked for the ages of 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60, are used: electoral participation, political interest, newspaper reading, voluntary work for local organizations, and membership of societal organizations. Multilevel analyses for repeated measurements show that low-educated people are considerably less committed socially than high-educated individuals. Trends towards social marginalization are observed across birth cohorts, particularly with regard to political behavior and attitudes, where the gap between the low- and high-educated widens. A divergence in political interest is also observed during the life-course. These differences between the low- and high-educated are largely attributable to differences in human capital, labor market success, and partner’s resources. The social background of the low-educated is a less important factor.

Manuscript received: July 1, 2005.


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M. Gesthuizen, T. van der Meer, and P. Scheepers
Education and Dimensions of Social Capital: Do Educational Effects Differ due to Educational Expansion and Social Security Expenditure?
Eur. Sociol. Rev., December 1, 2008; 24(5): 617 - 632.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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