Sociology experienced a major boom in Switzerland in the 1960s. This period saw the founding of the Institute of Sociology and Socio-Economic Development at the University of Bern (
5.84). One project was the management of the “Eidgenössische Kommission für Nachwuchsfragen im Gebiet der Geisteswissenschaften, der medizinischen Berufe sowie des Lehrerberufes auf der Mittelstufe” [Federal commission for the recruitment of young scholars in the humanities, medicine and education], which made my employment at the institute possible. Subsequently, I wrote my PhD dissertation on “Der Beruf des Gymnasiallehrers” [The “gymnasium” teacher as a profession] (cf.1.2). The central thesis was that this profession was a role that vacillated between scientific aspirations (which at the time often led to a university career) and commitments to education. Concurrently, I conducted surveys of the study and career choices of “gymnasium “- graduates (
4.1) and surveys on the emerging field of educational research in Switzerland (5.1). Conceptually, this work was extended in the thesis of habilitation "Der Prozess der beruflichen Sozialisation” [The process of occupational socialization] (cf. 1.3).