Abstract

This paper examines the relative importance of upper secondary subject choice and attainment in explaining social inequalities in access to higher education (HE) in Scotland and Ireland. These two countries differ in the extent of curriculum differentiation, in the degree of standardisation in school examination and in HE entry criteria. In particular, in Scotland subject choice in upper secondary education is more differentiated (both in terms of number and type of subjects taken) and allocation of places in HE is less standardised and more dependent upon the subjects studied at school than in Ireland. Given these institutional differences, we expected subject choices to be more important for explaining social origin differences in HE entry and access to prestigious institutions in Scotland than in Ireland. Because of increasing student competition for HE places, we further hypothesised the growing importance of school subjects over time in mediating social inequalities in HE entry in both countries, more so in Scotland than in Ireland. Our results confirm that subject choice is a stronger mediator of social inequalities in HE entry and access to prestigious universities in Scotland while attainment is more important in Ireland. Contrary to our expectations, the role of subject choice in HE entry has not become more important over time. However, in Scotland subject choice continues to be a strong mediator for social inequalities in HE entry.

Highlights

  • Much research has shown that social origin is one of the main, if not the most, important factor that affects educational attainment

  • By analysing the Scottish and Irish cases that vary in the degree of institutional standardisation and differentiation (Allmendinger, 1989), this paper aims to offer a better understanding of the mechanisms by which institutional characteristics influence the unequal distribution of educational outcomes in Scotland and Ireland

  • These results show that higher-class students in Scotland take substantially more subjects in upper secondary education than lower-class students and this is exclusively due to the higher number of facilitating subjects taken, which are considered important for entering higher education (HE), especially the most prestigious universities in the UK

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Summary

Introduction

Much research has shown that social origin is one of the main, if not the most, important factor that affects educational attainment. In many countries the expansion of education has led to a reduction in social differentiation in post-compulsory educational participation. Substantial social class differences remain in the probability of entering higher education (HE) (see, for example, Strand, 2014). These differences are mostly explained by social class differences in academic achievement at the end of lower and upper secondary levels (Crawford & Vignoles, 2010). The potential role that school subject choices play in channelling young people towards, or away from, higher education has been neglected, a lacuna we address in this paper

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