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This paper explores the changes in intergenerational mobility seen in Spain during the last century. It examines educational and occupational mobility, paying particular attention to the existence of a differentiated gender effect. The magnitude of the historical changes that have taken place in Spain during the twentieth century and the scarcity of studies in this field increase the value of this paper. More specifically, the paper seeks to describe how the situation has changed with the social–economic and education policy developments in democratic Spain, especially with regards to women. The main results show that while educational mobility has improved, there has been no such significant change in occupational mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study aims to fill a gap in our understanding of the relationship between two major topics in educational research: higher education choices and students' conceptions of employability. It explores, first, the balance between vocational calling, instrumental considerations and chance in subject choice and, second, the relation between vocational calling and two alternative conceptions of employability (thin and thick) articulated in the article. Using survey data from 'Education' students in Spain, the results show an association between a strong vocational calling in subject choice and a 'thick' conception of employability that goes beyond credential performance and underlines the importance of an economy of experience. By contrast, students with lower vocational calling adopt a narrower ('thin') conception of employability, based on credential performance. The consequences of these results for theory and for practice are discussed, highlighting the need to better acknowledge the role of interests, and not only skills, in the employability agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]