Educational expansion and equality of opportunity: Evidence from studies conducted by IEA in ten countries in 1970–71 and 1983–84

Abstract

This chapter examines the relationship between the educational expansion that has occurred in ten countries, and whether there is evidence that expansion has resulted in greater equality of opportunity for students from different social backgrounds. The chapter draws on data collected in the First and Second IEA Science Studies, conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in 1970–1971 and 1983–1984 respectively. The ten countries involved are: Australia, England, Finland, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand and the United States. Problems are encountered in the measurement of both social background and participation. The chapter examines the possibility of using several variables which assess home background and are shown to be related to the educational outcome of science achievement. A ratio involving membership of major occupational groups, is subsequently employed to provide an index of social selectivity or social bias. This index is used to show that educational expansion has, in general, resulted in the anticipated decrease in social bias and in the provision of greater equality of educational opportunity across different social class groups.