An educational attainment score (educational_attainment_adu_c_1 or EA) of 'low', 'middle' or 'high' was calculated for all adult Lifelines participants who provided an answer to the highest obtained degree questions in 1A Questionnaire 1 and 2A Questionnaire 1 (i.e. variables degree_highest_adu_q_1/_a or EDUCATION & EDUCOTHER) (section: secondary & linked variables).
The coding procedures are described below.
The Educational Attainment variable can be requested in the Lifelines catalogue.
Participants who provided one of the pre-defined answers were recoded as follows:
| Table 1: Predefined answers to degree_highest_adu_q_1 (EDUCATION) | English translation | EA Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 = geen opleiding (lager onderwijs niet afgemaakt) | no education (did not finish primary school) | low |
| 2 = lager onderwijs (basisonderwijs, speciaal basisonderwijs) | primary education (primary school, special needs primary school) | low |
| 3 = lager of voorbereidend beroepsonderwijs (zoals lts, leao, lhno, vmbo) | lower or preparatory secondary vocational education (such as lts, leao, lhno, vmbo)l | low |
| 4 = middelbaar algemeen voortgezet onderwijs (zoals mavo, (m)ulo, mb)-kort, vmbo-t) | junior general secondary education (such as mavo, (m)ulo, mbo-short, vmbo-t) | low |
| 5 = middelbaar beroepsonderwijs of beroepsbegeleidend onderwijs (zoals mbo-lang, mts, meao, bol, bbl, inas) | secondary vocational education or work-based learning pathway (such as mbo-long, mts, meao, bol, bbl, inas) | middle |
| 6 = hoger algemeen en voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs (zoals havo, vwo, atheneum, gymnasium, hbs, mms) | senior general secondary education, pre-university secondary education (such as havo, vwo, atheneum, gymnasium, hbs, mms) | middle |
| 7 = hoger beroepsonderwijs (zoals hbo, hts, heao, kandidaats wetenschappelijk onderwijs) | higher vocational education (such as hbo, hts, heao, 'kandidaats' university education (e.g. bachelor) | high |
| 8 = wetenschappelijk onderwijs (universiteit) | university education | high |
| 9 = anders, nl. | other: | see step 2 |
Participants who chose answer 9 ('other', n = ~4,300) were scored according to the specifications they provided in degree_highest_adu_q_1_a (EDUCOTHER).
These specifications were manually checked for certain educational terms, which could fall into one of three groups:
| Table 2: Educational term with one possible interpretation | EA score |
|---|---|
| 1E GRAAD DOCENT | High |
| 2E GRAAD DOCENT | High |
| 3 JAAR HBS | Low |
| ASSISTENT HOVENIER/VERZORGENDE/VOEDING | Low |
| BACHELOR HBO | High |
| BACHELOR UNIVERSITEIT | High |
| BEJAARDENVERZORGING | Middle |
| BIJZONDER ONDERWIJS | Low |
| CHAUFFEURSOPLEIDING | Low |
| CONSERVATORIUM | High |
| COUPEUSE, NAAISTER, KOSTUUMNAAISTER | Low |
| GEPROMOVEERD | High |
| GEZINSVERZORGING | Middle |
| HBO | High |
| HBO+ | High |
| HBO + MASTER | High |
| HBO-PROPEDEUSE | Middle |
| HELPENDE | Low |
| HUISHOUDSCHOOL | Low |
| IHNO | Low |
| IN SERVICE OPLEIDING VERPLEEGKUNDE (A/B, MET/ZONDER AANTEKENINGEN, ZONDER SPECIALISATIE) | Middle |
| INAS | Middle |
| INTAS | Middle |
| ITO | Low |
| IVBO | Low |
| KAPPERSOPLEIDING | Low |
| KAPPERSOPLEIDING VIER JAAR | Middle |
| KAPPERSVAKSCHOOL | Middle |
| KLEUTERKWEEKSCHOOL | Middle |
| KLOS | Middle |
| K-MBO | Low |
| KORT MBO | Low |
| KRAAMVERZORGING | Middle |
| KUNSTACADEMIE | High |
| KVJV | Middle |
| LAGERE LANDBOUWSCHOOL | Low |
| LAGERE SCHOOL | Low |
| LANDBOUW-HUISHOUDSCHOOL | Low |
| LBO | Low |
| LEAO | Low |
| LHNO | Low |
| LTS | Low |
| MASTER | High |
| MAVO | Low |
| MBO+ or MBO++ | Middle |
| MBO-1 | Low |
| MBO-2 | Low |
| MBO-3 | Middle |
| MBO-4 | Middle |
| MBO-kort | Low |
| MBO-lang | Middle |
| MHNO | Middle |
| MLK | Low |
| MMS | Middle |
| MULO | Low |
| OPLEIDING TOT KLEUTERLEIDSTER | Middle |
| PABO | High |
| PHD | High |
| POST-ACADEMISCH | High |
| POST-DOCTORAAL | High |
| POST-HBO | High |
| PRAKTIJKONDERWIJS | Low |
| SPECIAAL ONDERWIJS | Low |
| SPW NIVEAU 3 OR 4 | Middle |
| ULO | Low |
| VAPRO A | Low |
| VAPRO B OR C | Middle |
| VBO | Low |
| VERPLEEGKUNDIGE (A/B, MET/ZONDER AANTEKENINGEN, ZONDER SPECIALISATIE) | Middle |
| VGLO | Low |
| VHBO | Low |
| VMBO | Low |
| VOORTGEZET SPECIAAL ONDERWIJS | Low |
| VORMINGSKLAS | Low |
| ZMLK | Low |
| Table 3: Educational term with two possible interpretations | low | middle | high |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASSOCIATE DEGREE (1) | x | x | |
| DIRECTIESECRETARESSE | x | x | |
| HOGERE (ZEEVAART / LANDBOUW ETC ) SCHOOL | x | x | |
| IN SERVICE OPLEIDING VERPLEEGKUNDE (A/B, MET/ZONDER AANTEKENINGEN, MET SPECIALISATIE) | x | x | |
| KORT-HBO (1) | x | x | |
| KWEEKSCHOOL | x | x | |
| LERARENOPLEIDING | x | x | |
| MBA (2) | x | x | |
| MBO (WITHOUT SPECIFICATION) | x | x | |
| MDGO (WITHOUT SPECIFICATION) (3) | x | x | |
| MEAO | x | x | |
| MIDDELBARE (LANDBOUW/TUINBOUW ETC) SCHOOL | x | x | |
| O.V.B. (ORIENTATIE VERZORGENDE BEROEPEN) | x | x | |
| SECRETARESSE | x | x | |
| VERPLEEGKUNDIGE (A/B, MET/ZONDER AANTEKENINGEN, MET SPECIALISATIE) | x | x | |
| WO-PROPEDEUSE (4) | x | x |
| Table 4: educational terms with no possible EA score | EA Score |
|---|---|
| AVONDSCHOOL | NA |
| BEROEPSOPLEIDING | NA |
| BEROEPSCURSUS | NA |
| DETAILHANDELSCHOOL | NA |
| HANDELSAVONDSCHOOL | NA |
| IN SERVICE OPLEIDING | NA |
| LANDBOUWSCHOOL | NA |
| TUINBOUWSCHOOL | NA |
| VAKSCHOOL / VAKOPLEIDING | NA |
Participants with highest degree 'other' were assigned a final EA score based on their full responses according to the following validation rules:
| If EDUCOTHER: | Then EA = |
|---|---|
| … contains no interpretable response | NA |
| … conveys that participant is currently studying (“nog bezig”, “nog niet af”, “momenteel mee bezig”, “ik zit nu op het VWO”, etc.) | NA |
| … indicates education in foreign country (“HAVO in China”, “opgegroeid in Zwitserland en daar naar school geweest, “lagere school in Turkije”) | NA |
| … indicates performing at a certain level of education without formally achieving this level (“gelijkwaardig aan HBO”, “avondschool op HBO-niveau”) | NA |
| … indicates level of education higher than the highest level (“gepromoveerd”, “post-HBO”) | high |
| … mentions a low level of education and conveys that participant did not complete this level (“deelcertificaten”,“niet afgemaakt”, “1 jaar ULO gedaan”) | low |
| … mentions a middle level of education and conveys that participant did not complete this level | low |
| … mentions a high level of education and conveys that participant did not complete this level | NA |
| … contains multiple responses in group 1 (interpretable) indicating different levels (“HAVO + HBO”, “Kleuterkweekschool, daarna SPH gehaald”) AND no responses in group 2 (dubious) AND no responses in group 3 (NA) (exception: the word “cursus” without any specification is to be ignored) | choose highest level |
| … contains one or multiple responses in group 1 (interpretable) indicating EA=low AND one or more responses in group 2 (dubious) AND/OR one or more responses in group 3 (NA) | NA |
| … contains one or multiple responses in group 1 (interpretable) indicating EA=middle AND one or more responses in group 2 (dubious) pointing to either EA=low or EA=middle AND no responses in group 3 (NA) | middle |
| … contains one or multiple responses in group 1 (interpretable) indicating EA=middle AND one or more responses in group 2 (dubious) pointing to either EA=low, EA=middle or EA=high AND/OR one or more responses in group 3 (NA) | NA |
| … contains one or multiple responses in group 1 (interpretable) indicating EA=high AND one or more responses in group 2 (dubious) AND/OR one or more responses in group 3 (NA) | high |