Spatial inequality in higher education: a growing urban–rural educational gap?

Abstract

Abstract Scholars have consistently found that inequalities in educational attainment are most pronounced along social origin and gender dimensions, but urban–rural inequalities have also been evident in recent years. A spatial gradient in educational attainment reflects how rural students are consistently less likely to gain higher education (HE) credentials than their urban peers. By drawing on full-population administrative data on the Norwegian birth cohorts from 1965 to 1989 (n = 1,419,406), followed from age 16 to 30, this article analyses how urban–rural differences in HE have changed over the last 25 years, and furthermore, whether urban–rural disparities have developed in distinct ways based on students’ social origin and gender. The results show that urban–rural disparities in higher educational attainment have become more pronounced for recent birth cohorts and particularly evident for post-1980 cohorts. This applies to students originating from both privileged and less privileged families. However, urban–rural inequalities are more evident for men than women, which over time has led gender differences to become considerably greater in rural areas. The results demonstrate that spatial inequality requires further attention in educational and stratification research, as the outcomes suggest that the urban–rural educational gap is not necessarily consistent over time.