Presentation. Educational transitions and social inequalities: a sociological perspective

This presentation aims to contextualize and introduce the articles included in the Special Issue of Papers «Educational transitions and social inequalities: a sociological perspective». It also aims to explain the importance of this topic for a sociological research and reflection. Educational transitions have a key relevance to explain the dynamics of social inequality, especially in the post-compulsory stages. Likewise, the moments of educational transition are especially indicated for the study of the interactions between structure and agency, deeply embedded within the sociological perspective in general and within the sociology of education and youth, in particular. Finally, specialized research has increasingly emphasized the importance of studying young people’s choices and transitions in order to understand the process of their identity formation. For all these reasons, the study of the educational transitions is an object of study especially relevant for sociology. The contributions of the Special Issue individually and collectively contribute to identifying a great diversity of factors at the systemic, institutional and subjective levels representing a key contribution to the study of young people’ educational transitions from a sociological perspective.