Inequality of Opportunity in Education in the Arab Region

Abstract

Inequality of opportunity (IOp) in education concerns the influence of circumstances that children were born into on their educational achievement. Earlier literature has shown that IOp in the Arab region for the most part is considerably high (Salehi-Isfahani et al., 2014). This paper updates the literature by using the latest student test scores in math and science reported by the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study and student test scores in reading reported by the Programme for International Students Assessment. We compare the inequality of opportunity for achievement in math, science, and reading for eleven Arab countries (Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and United Arab Emirates [UAE]) between 1999 and 2012. Our results confirm the earlier finding in the literature (Salehi 2012) that inequality of opportunity in most Arab states is high and more or less in line with other developing regions and, in many countries, it has been worsening for years. Although there has been evidence of improvement in recent years in few cases, for many others high IOp remains a challenging issue in the region.