7 Social inequality and educational decisions in the life course (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of Vocational Behavior, 2002
Despite the historical trend in all Western societies to increase educational participation irrespective of students' social origin, the correlation between parents' education and socioeconomic status and the educational outcomes of their offspring remains a rather universal phenomenon. Although comparative studies have consistently found this association in various nations which differ in many ways in their educational systems, little is known about the mechanism behind this effect. Drawing on the assumption that career decision points are the major gateway for social background influences, we assume that similarities, as well as differences in the structure of the correlation between parents' socioeconomic background and students' school success, can be explained. Using two longitudinal data sets from the United States (N = 1425) and Germany (N = 1755) covering the school careers from Grade 7 to Grade 10, the analyses supported the hypothesis that (a) achievement information is the best predictor of career relevant decisions in both nations, (b) parents' background variables are This article is based on an integrative reanalysis project headed by the first two authors.
Social background's effect of educational attainment: Does method matter?
2013
Social background's effect on educational attainment: Does method matter? Social background directly impacts educational choice and attainment, but also influences choice and attainment indirectly by affecting school performance. Boudon (1974) described this relationship as primary (indirect) and secondary (direct) effects of social stratification. Based on this approach and Mare's sequential transition model, we decompose this impact to analyze these effects' relative importance at various stages over the school career. Using Dutch panel data of three school cohorts, we can assess whether primary and secondary effects' relative importance has been stable over time. We use different statistical methods to assess the results' robustness. Our findings show secondary effects have a decreasing impact at the first transition over time but a rather stable and in some cases increasing impact at the educational career's later stages. As a result, the cumulative share of secondary effects on educational attainment is stable over time, at least if one examines the last two cohorts. When using ordinary least squares (OLS) or counterfactual models, secondary effects amount to some 55� of social background's total effect. However, using structural equation modeling that allows for taking into account measurement error in performance tests and social background, secondary effects' relative importance amounts to some 45�. This result suggests method does matter for numerical closeness. Nevertheless, the findings of all models used in this study point in the same direction and suggest that preferences and expectations of aspiring higher educational levels remain strongly associated with social background.
Family Background and Educational Attainment – Are there Birth Order Effects in Germany?
Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik, 2015
SummaryThis paper contributes to the literature on the determinants of children’s human capital by analyzing the effects of birth order in Germany. These effects are typically attributed to sibling rivalry for parental resources. For our analysis we use data collected as part of the German Life History Study on birth cohorts 1946-1977. We find a substantial positive impact of being first born on the probability of completing higher secondary education. Analyzing gender differences, we find stronger effects for boys. Furthermore, birth order effects are more prevailing in small families. The results are discussed against the background of equal opportunities in the German educational system.
Social background's effect on educational attainment: does method matter?
Social background's effect on educational attainment: Does method matter? Social background directly impacts educational choice and attainment, but also influences choice and attainment indirectly by affecting school performance. Boudon (1974) described this relationship as primary (indirect) and secondary (direct) effects of social stratification. Based on this approach and Mare's sequential transition model, we decompose this impact to analyze these effects' relative importance at various stages over the school career. Using Dutch panel data of three school cohorts, we can assess whether primary and secondary effects' relative importance has been stable over time. We use different statistical methods to assess the results' robustness. Our findings show secondary effects have a decreasing impact at the first transition over time but a rather stable and in some cases increasing impact at the educational career's later stages. As a result, the cumulative share of secondary effects on educational attainment is stable over time, at least if one examines the last two cohorts. When using ordinary least squares (OLS) or counterfactual models, secondary effects amount to some 55� of social background's total effect. However, using structural equation modeling that allows for taking into account measurement error in performance tests and social background, secondary effects' relative importance amounts to some 45�. This result suggests method does matter for numerical closeness. Nevertheless, the findings of all models used in this study point in the same direction and suggest that preferences and expectations of aspiring higher educational levels remain strongly associated with social background.
1988
Abstract It is proposed here that there are two reasons for extending the standard set of family factors predicting educational outcomes, such as parents' educational and occupational status, parents' income and family size. First, this standard set is not exhaustive, as is shown by sibling research; and second, the standard variables are merely descriptive and do not reveal the mechanisms which link family background and educational attainment. The notion of 'status group culture'might fill both gaps.
Inequality of Educational Opportunity – The Role of Performance and Choice
European Review, 2020
Equality of opportunity is a central aim in the political agenda of many nations, and political leaders consequently speak about the importance of reducing differences in educational attainment between young persons from differing social origins. Such differences are apparent at two educational steps – the transition from compulsory school to upper secondary and at the transition from upper secondary school to tertiary institutions. Both steps have to be considered if the interest lies in attainment of university degrees, since the outcome at the first transition affects that at the second. Differences in educational attainment by parental origin appear through two separate mechanisms. Children from higher origins tend to perform better at school than other children, and consequently they more than others continue to higher educational levels. However, also among children who did perform equally well, children from more advantaged origins more often than other children choose to con...
Open Journal for Educational Research
The social and cultural origins of students' families contribute to the formation of the students' own culture through the accumulation and engraving of a system of predispositions that influence their educational success. The purpose of this study, which focuses on a review of recent sociological literature, is to explore and highlight the factors that define the choices of individuals from different social backgrounds regarding their educational future. The analysis of the research findings of the relevant scientific papers highlights the impact of socioeconomic and cultural factors on the shaping of the educational choices of individuals of different social origin, bringing at the same time to the fore issues of social and educational inequalities. In particular, the social class of origin of young people, which produces its own class dispositions, the family habitus, the volume of cultural, social and economic capital that the student's family possesses, as well as the way in which teachers, who also have their own system of predispositions within the educational institutions where they work, approach young people of different social origin tend to make a significant contribution to the choices that define the educational paths of young people.
Our paper addresses the process of intergenerational mobility in terms oftransfers of educational advantages and disadvantages trough parentalwealth in Germany, where in contrast to the USA, education at any level islargely free of tuitions costs. Based on the unique features of wealth andfollowing the logic of subjective expected utility theory, we propose and, asone of the very first studies, empirically test two causal mechanismsunderlying the parental wealth-educational decisions relationship:“disadvantage compensation” and “educational demotivation”. We apply amultinomial logit model for discrete-time event history analysis, allowingus to estimate the relative transition risk ratio of children with universityentrance qualification to make the transition from upper secondary schoolto 1) higher education, 2) the labor market or vocational training or 3) tonot transition at all. The relative transition risk ratio is measured as afunction of the relative position of the parents in ...