School Reentry

School reentry of adults is in many societies a common phenomenon and introduces new educational opportunities. How these new opportunities affect inequality depends on who can use them: whether it is those with more privileged backgrounds and better previous chances or whether it is previously disadvantaged groups for whom second chances are created. It further depends on the labor market returns to school reentry. Both questions are subject to debate between proponents of school reentry opportunities and a more cautious group highlighting the greater importance of earlier education for equality of opportunity.

School reentry is a phenomenon studied under different labels. Hence, although many sociologists are analyzing it, the literature seems sparse. Contributions are widespread and often appear under other keywords, such as “nontraditional” or “mature ...