General description of research topics, objectives and theoretical framework 

Choices are made by individuals, and individuals are bearers of social factors: as a consequence, social and material choices and actions performed by individuals produce short- and long-term changes. Based on this premise, this study moves away from the general rhetoric of macro-systems and tries to introduce elements that go beyond the mere understanding of macro-phenomena in terms of socio-cultural reproduction. While there are some persistent trends in this field (which have been identified and analysed by well-established studies in the field of Sociology of Education), there are also some significant changes underway, whose effects are not easily predictable. Through a large survey conducted in Italy, we intend to show whether and how individual choices in education show signs of innovation and creativity. The most relevant international studies in this field are comparative analyses focusing on the efficiency of educational systems and individual performances in relation to a variety of competences: writing, reading, sciences, etc. (Two examples are the OECD/PISA survey, conducted among 14-year-olds, and the OECD/PIAAC study, which focuses on a target population aged between 16 and 65 years). Little consideration is instead given to micro-trends in the educational and professional choices of individuals, which may actually reveal innovative and creative patterns. Educational choices are indeed fertile ground for understanding how people subjectively respond to the pressures exerted by more general factors. In the context of the current economic crisis, which seems to affect future perspectives in terms of satisfaction, personal motivation and potential economic returns to investment in education, it is interesting to understand how the new generations project themselves into the future. In our study we adopted a multi-theoretical approach, observing individual choices from different perspectives. A first traditional perspective is that of Bourdieu, who considers individual choices in terms of reproduction of class and family habitus, and Boudon, who regards choices as rational deliberations made by individuals to maximize their efforts and reach desired goals. From a second perspective, which we can define as situated and post-modern (De Certeau, 1980), individuals try to break the chains of social reproduction and interest, turning to more immediate, innovative and creative ways of expression. Our basic assumption is that educational choices act upon processes of social and gender reproduction and may therefore be a vehicle for future changes. Along with phenomena of “social reproduction”, it is also possible to find significant elements of change and innovation (Penn, 2009) as well as a form of equity in educational processes that does not depend as much on educational systems and policies as on voluntary and subjective actions, which are not necessarily teleological or rational.

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