Gaële Goastellec

Sociologist, my main research interests lie in the relationship between education systems and their societies through a comparative, historical, and multi-level approach. My first stream of research deals with access to Higher Education through a longue durée perspective with a special concern for social belongings’ categorisation (gender, ethnicity, class, etc.) and its translation into admission policies. I analyse jointly individual experiences, university policies and societal contexts including welfare state policies and national histories. A second line of research analyzes academic careers and HE organisations. My research articulates a sociology of inequalities with a sociology of public policy and organisations. My work especially explores intersections – between policy domains, research domains – so as to offer a comprehensive understanding of social phenomena.

Professor of Sociology at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, I am the head of Observatory Science, Policy and Society (OSPS) and a member of the Laboratory Capitalism, Culture and Society (LACCUS). Former CHER (Consortium of Higher Education Researchers) president, and actual vice-President of the AISLF research committee on International Comparisons, I have been a Lavoisier Fellow (2004-2005) and a Fulbright New Century Scholar fellow (2005-2006).