Survey and Data

SCHOOL LEAVER SURVEY

The survey instrument for a nationally representative school-leaver survey for Bulgaria was developed during the first project year. More than 170 questions were included in this retrospective school-leavers and labour market entry survey following Kogan's et al. (2011) study on school-to-work transitions in 10 Central and Eastern European countries.This survey identifies young people's pathways along different educational tracks to different positions in the labour market.Particular attention was paid to the operationalization of educational variables in the Bulgarian context, in consultation with the Ministry of Education. Similarly labour market outcomes variables and relevant socio-demographic characteristics were carefully drafted to suit the local contexts and diverse pathways of respondents.2100 young people participated in the Bulgarian school leaver survey.

The field work for the survey occurred from August 2013 to October 2014, including the preparatory phase, pilot survey, adjustment of questionnaire and methodology, and two phases of the main survey data collection starting January 26, 2014 through October 12, 2014.

The survey target group of school leavers was defined as those who were residents of Bulgaria; were 15 to 34 years old; and had completed or stopped their education for the first time and for at least one year in the last 5 years.

A total of three samples were drawn: a main sample representative at national level (N=1500); a booster sample representative for the North-West region of Bulgaria (N=300); and a booster sample representative for the South-West region (N=300). A two-stage cluster sample structured by regional planning units (NUTS2) and size of the settlement was employed both for the main and for the booster samples. We achieved a response rate of 81 percent.

Access to the Bulgarian School Leaver Survey Data can be obtained via the FORS website: https://forsbase.unil.ch/project/study-public-overview/14679/0/.

Bulgarian School Leaver Survey - Questionnaire English

Bulgarian School Leaver Survey - Questionnaire Bulgarian

SECONDARY DATA ANALYSIS

Data analysis during the first two project years (2013-2014) was focused on existing secondary data sources. Team members have conducted analysis with the following datasets: Gender and Generation Survey, Labour Force Survey, European Value Survey, European Social Survey, Eurostudent, TREE, Bulgarian Census (2011), Bulgarian Labour Force Survey.

To view full list of publications and working papers please go to Papers and Publications.

BULGARIAN LABOUR MARKET SURVEY 2012

In our paper 'The Bulgarian Educational System and Gender Segregation in the Labour Market' we investigate how gender typical employment is conditioned by the institutional features of the educational system in Bulgaria. For this article we use data from a Bulgarian nationally representative survey from 2012. The telephone survey was implemented by Vitosha Research. The sample consisted of 1006 respondents aged 18 and older. Respondents were contacted through random dialing during February 2012.

Here is a selection of survey questions used in our analysis:

- Where would you place yourself on the following scale, if the top box indicated high social standing in the country and the bottom box indicated low social standing: Lowest social standing, 2, 3, 4, Highest social standing.

- What is the highest level of education you have attained? [Primary education, Lower secondary education, Upper secondary education, Post secondary, non-tertiary education, First stage of tertiary education (not leading directly to an advanced research qualification), Second stage of tertiary education (leading to an advanced research qualification)]

- On a scale from 1 to 3 please indicate to what extent your education trained you for a specific profession? [I completed a general education which did not train me for a specific profession, I completed an education which somewhat trained me for a specific profession, I completed a vocational or professional education which trained me for a specific profession]

- Was your current (or last if currently not employed) occupation mostly exercised by men or by women? [almost exclusively by women, mostly by women, equally by women and men, mostly by men, almost exclusively by men, inapplicable – has never been employed]

The data is available for download (Excel file) and the Stata do-file of our analysis can also be accessed below.