This article explores parental involvement in the educational trajectories of children in Europe. The analysis is embedded in the framework of the three dominant contemporary social processes that have been acknowledged as crucial factors for the educational and life trajectories of young people today, i.e. familialization, institutionalization, and individualization. The article draws on qualitative data gathered during interviews with parents of lower secondary school students in disadvantaged city areas within the research project, GOETE, in eight European countries. The analysis focuses on specific behavioral aspects that were identified as the most relevant in our empirical evidence: parental educational aspirations and future plans for their children, the role of parents in decision-making in educational transitions and trajectories, parental participation in the school, and parental support with schoolwork. The most striking finding is the persistent emphasis on individual responsibility for both students and parents in terms of education. Parents realize that the future of their child not only depends on the work of the teacher but also to a great and growing degree on parents as coeducators. This parental awareness results in a high level of confidence in the power of education, which is met by parental skepticism when they experience a lack of school support and distant parent-teacher relationships and communication.

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Background: This paper discusses depressive symptoms among men and women in Slovenia and their relationship to various socioeconomic factors, and education in particular. Methods: The analysis is based on the European Social Survey Round 3 (ESS-3) from 2006, for the Slovene population (n = 1,282

The article explores the circumstances influencing family formation in Slovenia. Public opinion surveys in Slovenia have shown that young people have high aspirations regarding family life. These findings, however, stand in sharp contrast to demographic indicators, that is, delayed parenthood and a low birth rate. The qualitative analysis comprised both the personal factors, such as family lifestyles identified by young people as being desirable and the role of the family in their plans for the future, as well as structural factors affecting the starting of a family (housing, employment, etc.) and the problems and obstacles accompanying this process. One crucial finding is that personal factors rather than structural constraints are a key barrier to family formation.

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