Since higher education qualifications and digital transition are considered key factors for economic development and individual opportunities, distance learning has been presented as a solution to improve the labor force’s skills and employability. However, such links were seldom studied systematically in specific contexts, and doubts exist regarding online programs. Based on the results of three successive follow-up surveys to the graduates of the Portuguese distance learning public university (Universidade Aberta), from 2011 to 2018 (n = 1358), our article examines the graduates’ perception of acquired transversal competences, in relation to employability and social mobility gains. The statistical analysis points out a positive perception of transversal competences development, especially analytical capacity, autonomy, and communication, although some concerns were raised regarding digital skills, teamwork, job search skills, and social capital. The impacts on employability and socioeconomic mobility are positive for most students, but variable according to analyzed competences, and tend to occur mostly through internal mobility rather than through job search skills or entrepreneurship. Although exploratory, such findings allow some final considerations regarding the effective ability of higher education distance learning to enhance economic growth and employability, through transversal competences, as well as to sketch some suggestions to improve such ability.

O presente artigo procura analisar as formas como os jovens se tornam adultos na modernidade avançada. As conclusões aqui apresentadas baseiam-se num projeto de investigação de âmbito europeu, o qual, além de uma pesquisa teórica e de fontes estatísticas, procedeu à realização de entrevistas de grupo e individuais a jovens de contextos sociais diferenciados e em situações de vida distintas, como forma de reconstituir condições e histórias de vida, práticas e representações, projetos e expectativas ante o futuro. A análise centra-se em quatro dimensões fundamentais: educação, trabalho, família e gênero, procurando a partir delas chegar a uma tipologia de modos de transição para a vida adulta.

This article discusses the relationship between socialization and inequality, exploring the case of the working class in Portugal. Bringing together different sociologic traditions, the framework draws upon Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and practices, balanced with recent research on life histories, globalization and individualization. The life stories of 52 workers produced in the context of an adult education programme are analysed, focusing on two major topics: life pathways and class trajectories, and subjectivity, identity and values (stressing the weak class consciousness). The article discusses the potentialities/challenges of using the biographical method to study socialization and inequalities, particularly when developed in educational contexts. According to the analysis, life pathways are often branded by temporary rural, industrial and services work experiences, crossed by ‘turning points’ and dramatic moments, though with some generational and gender differences. Classes are seldom referred to, but narratives are framed by key socialization institutions (work, family, local community, church, army) and a sense of deficit, pride and shame, linked to the inequalities structure. Although a pervasive economic, cultural and political change from the 1960s on is evident, our research found key features of a working-class habitus, rooted in specific life paths and socialization institutions. These are likely to be stretched in the current context of economic crisis and neoliberal policies in southern Europe.

The expansion of vocational tracks is among the recent transformations of the Portuguese educational system. This policy measure entails risks of increasing ethnoracial segregation and institutional racism, especially considering the lack of monitoring programmes and the historically high-grade retention rates of the educational system. The experience of African immigrants and their offspring in Portugal is marked by a long history of racism associated with colonialism. Drawing on official data from multiple sources for the period between 2008–09 and 2013–14, this article examines developments in ethno-racial segregation in the educational system. Massive grade retention rates and a major orientation towards vocational tracks are apparent among students of African descent. Differences in comparison with their peers of Portuguese origin are striking, even considering students from similar class backgrounds.

The article analyses the main benefits of a Portuguese programme, launched in 1996, which was designed to support schools in segregated districts (TEIPs). The first part of the article presents a theoretical framework, before moving on to the main features of the TEIP programme in contemporary Portuguese society and education. An explanation of the methodological procedures applied in the research is also included. In the second part of the article, the main results are discussed. In broad terms, the programme succeeded in reducing violence patterns and drop-out rates. On the other hand, an improvement in academic outcomes is slow and the links to local communities and the labour market are variable and, in both cases, highly dependent of local variables. In the conclusion, the authors systematise the opportunities and challenges of such a ‘territorial approach’ and point out some key factors in enhancing its success.

This article aims to improve both theoretically and empirically our understanding of the socialization process, a key topic in Social Sciences, but currently subject to scarce research. Firstly, the concept of socialization is discussed, drawing upon major sociological and anthropological traditions, contributions from emerging research streams, as well as relevant findings from Educational Sciences, Psychology and Neurosciences. Recognizing that all life experiences are meaningful to individuals’ socialization, the author argues that not all of them hold the same value. Secondly, the biographical approach to socialization used in this study is outlined. Thirdly, the main results of the project on the socialization of the working class in Portugal are presented. Finally, in the discussion section, the project findings are confronted with the results of other recent studies, focusing on three major (interconnected) catalysts of the socialization process: emotions, practices and (biographical) identities. Key words: Sociology, life-history, dispositions, learning, education.