Social inequalities in slovenian higher education

Abstract

In this article the authors study social inequalities in Slovenian higher education, using a census of students at the University of Maribor. Using the common odds ratio test, it was found that young people whose fathers had completed higher education or levels beyond are approximately 14 times more likely to enter the higher education system than those whose fathers had not completed primary education. Stratification is even more acute when mothers are observed: the ratio is 1:25. Both the situation and the trend are assessed as being unmeritocratic. These findings fit into the hypothesis of the radicalization of economic inequality in society and clarify the consolidation of a class structure and a relative absence of meritocracy. An attempt is made at longitudinal analysis of the issue: it seems that disparities in this area are increasing, after a diminution during communist times.