Inequalities In Attainment Research Articles

Stereotyped at Seven? Biases in Teacher Judgement of Pupils’ Ability and Attainment

AbstractThere is evidence that teacher judgements and assessments of primary school pupils can be systematically biased. This paper tests the proposal that stereotyping plays a part in creating these judgement inequalities and is instrumental in achievement variation according to income-level, gender, special educational needs status, ethnicity and spoken language. Using 2008 data for almost 5,000 pupils from the Millennium Cohort Study, it demonstrates biases in teachers’ average ratings of sample pupils’ reading and maths ‘ability and attainment’ which correspond to every one of these key characteristics. Findings go on to suggest that stereotypes according to each of income-level, gender, special educational needs status and ethnicity all play some part in forming these biases. The paper strengthens the evidence that stereotyping of pupils may contribute to assessment and thereby attainment inequalities, and concludes that an increased focus on tackling this process may lead to greater parity and a narrowing of gaps.

Reading for pleasure and progress in vocabulary and mathematics

This paper examines inequalities in attainment in vocabulary and mathematics at age 16 for a nationally representative cohort of people born in Britain in 1970 (the 1970 British Cohort Study). Our analytical sample is n = 3,583 cohort members who completed vocabulary and mathematics tests at age 16. We explore whether inequalities as a result of childhood social background are similar across the linguistic and mathematical domains, or whether they differ, and to what extent these inequalities are accounted for by families’ social class position, parents’ education and home reading resources, as well as by children's own reading for pleasure. As reading can be seen as an indicator of ‘cultural capital’, we also test the influence of an alternative indicator of cultural capital, playing a musical instrument. Our longitudinal analysis addresses the question of the extent to which differences in attainment are determined by age 10; and which factors are linked to a growth in differentials during adolescence. We show that childhood reading is linked to substantial cognitive progress between the ages of 10 and 16, whereas playing an instrument is not. Reading is most strongly linked to progress in vocabulary, with a weaker, but still substantial link to progress in mathematics. Strikingly, reading for pleasure is more strongly linked than parental education to cognitive progress in adolescence.

Who you know, what you know and knowing the ropes: a review of evidence about access to higher education institutions in England

This paper considers the history of access to higher education in England and reviews the evidence on the progress made in widening participation and ensuring ‘fair access’ under the New Labour governments of 1997–2010 and, insofar as is possible, under the Coalition government that has been in office since 2010. While recognising that we need also to consider the nature of what students gain access to, the focus of this particular review is on evidence about inequalities in access to higher education as presently constituted, including in particular access to what are often regarded as the most ‘prestigious’ institutions. The paper considers the various ‘barriers’ to widening participation that are said to exist—from finance, aspiration and awareness and prior attainment—and assesses claims that socio‐economic inequalities in access largely disappear once prior attainment is taken into account. It then discusses the role of social and cultural capitals in perpetuating inequalities both in prior attainment and access to higher education in its various forms. The importance of ‘knowing the ropes’ is highlighted and the paper ends with a discussion of the implications of the findings of the review for future approaches to policy and research in this field.

PUBLIC POLICY, HIGHER EDUCATION, AND INCOME INEQUALITY IN THE UNITED STATES: HAVE WE REACHED DIMINISHING RETURNS?

Public policy designed to promote greater college enrollment rates has often been justified as a means to reduce income inequalities, yet there is very little evidence that higher college attainment is associated with less inequality. Economic theory at best suggests that the relationship between college attainment and inequality is ambiguous. An overview of some of the unintended consequences of public policies designed to promote greater enrollment is described. One such consequence is that the growth in college completion, which is at least partially attributable to public policy, may have actually contributed to rising income inequality. We hypothesize the existence of a U-shaped relationship between college attainment and income inequality, and using panel data for the 50 U.S. states over the period 1970-2004 provide empirical evidence in support of the curve. Prior to the mid 1990’s, increases in attainment were associated with less inequality for most states. Rapid growth in attainment since then has moved most states to the right of the inflection point such that attainment gains are associated with more inequality in most states.

Caste-Religion Inequalities in Occupational Attainment in Delhi in the 1970s

This paper examines caste-religion inequalities in occupational attainment in Delhi in 1975-1976 to determine if Other Backward Classes (OBCs) were disadvantaged vis-a-vis Hindu upper castes on the eve of the establishment of the Second Backward Classes Commission (the so-called Mandal Commission). The paper finds no evidence of bias against OBCs in labour market outcomes at a time when this group did not benefit from reservation policies. Also, after controlling for education and employment-related characteristics, Muslims were not at a disadvantage in entering professional occupations.

Segregación Social y Desigualdad de Logros Educativos en Argentina

En este artículo se analiza el impacto de la segregación estudiantil por nivel socioeconómico sobre la equidad educativa en la escuela secundaria argentina. La presencia de segregación implica que los alumnos se distribuyen de forma desigual en el sistema, tendiendo a concentrarse en ciertos establecimientos según su origen social. El objetivo es evaluar si este proceso contribuye a incrementar la desigualdad de logros educativos. Empleando la base de datos de PISA 2009, se estiman modelos multinivel para examinar el efecto de la composición social estudiantil de las escuelas en el desempeño individual en las pruebas de Lectura. La evidencia apoya la existencia de efectos composicionales significativos que contribuyen a explicar la dispersión en los resultados. Esto indica que los jóvenes de bajo estatus socioeconómico enfrentan un doble riesgo educativo: a la desventaja inicial relacionada con su contexto social y familiar desfavorable se suma la probable asistencia a centros con una población estudiantil más vulnerable y la exposición a efectos de pares negativos. Los hallazgos permiten sostener la importancia de considerar a la composición social de las escuelas como una variable clave de política educativa, y señalan la necesidad de analizar medidas orientadas a fomentar la integración social en el sistema.

Educating the early career arts professional using a hybrid model of work based learning

PurposeUsing data drawn from two cohorts of learners studying the Bachelor of Arts (Professional Practice) programme at Middlesex University, the purpose of this paper is to critically analyse the effectiveness of work based learning in improving the skills bases of early career arts professionals in the twenty‐first century and to explore the changing place and role of “traditional” concepts of knowledge and teaching.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilised a collaborative action research approach in order to categorise and theorise the themes that have emerged from the practice of delivering the programme, and to provide data that informed the on‐going curriculum development.FindingsThe study identified three emerging themes in terms of the role of knowledge attainment for the early career arts professional undertaking work based learning. First, knowledge attainment processes shift from a push model to a pull model, second the authors noted a change in the inequalities in knowledge attainment facilitated by the use of the web 2.0 platforms and third it is argued that there are recognisable differences in the value and use of experientially gain knowledge in the establishing and in the established practitioner. The study then suggests changes that may occur in terms of curriculum design, delivery and pedagogy to support establishing arts professionals through a work based learning programme.Originality/valueThere is a limited research discourse on the authenticity of the use of work based learning with early career professionals. Further, the study of this emerging cohort for work based learning programmes at Middlesex University points to a wider discourse in terms of positioning work based learning in volunteer environments, third sector and other creative industries contexts where the notion of work is challenged and the connection of learning to practice less firmly set in the established identity of a workplace.

Poverty, Race, and Children's Progress at School in South Africa

This article investigates inequalities in school attainment in South Africa using community-based data collected in 2008 by the National Income Dynamics Study. Schools-based research has concluded that poor children, who are mostly African, remain disadvantaged by the continuing low performance of former African schools. In contrast, this analysis finds that most educational disadvantages of African children, including their low matriculation rates, are accounted for by household poverty and their mothers' own limited education. Thus, earlier studies may not have adjusted fully for pupils' backgrounds or the performance of former African schools may have improved since 2000.

Educational attainment in educationally backward states of India: some implications for the Right to Education Act

This paper presents estimates of educational attainment and educational inequality for educationally backward states in India. Using multiple rounds of nationally representative household surveys carried out by the National Sample Survey Organisation of India, we estimate average years of schooling and the education Gini index. The estimates show that educational attainment is very low and the extent of inequality is high in all the states. The study adds to the evidence on large gender inequalities in educational attainment in the states of Bihar and Rajasthan. The results are very distressed for disadvantaged social groups of the society. There is a need to give attention on education of females belonging to these social groups, particularly in rural areas, to make the Right to Education Act successful.

Education inequality in Ghana: gender and spatial dimensions

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to examine the nature and extent of gender and spatial inequalities in educational attainment in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses the education Gini coefficient, computed on the basis of years of schooling of individuals, to assess education inequality in Ghana.FindingsThe paper finds evidence of gender and spatial inequality in education in Ghana. In particular, the three northern regions have lower education attainment as well as higher education Gini coefficients compared to the rest of the country. The paper finds evidence of intra‐gender and intra‐spatial inequalities in education attainment in Ghana, with females contributing proportionately more to the within‐inequality component of the education Gini. The paper also finds a positive correlation between poverty incidence and education inequality.Research limitations/implicationsThe research finds a positive correlation between poverty incidence and education inequality but requires an econometric analysis to make inferences regarding causality.Practical implicationsThe findings call for the design and implementation of policies not only to address between‐gender and spatial inequities in education in Ghana, but also to tackle within‐gender and within‐spatial inequalities. The positive correlation between poverty incidence and education inequality implies the need to create greater equity in educational opportunities across the country.Social implicationsThe need for changes in attitudes, values and cultural practices that put girls at a disadvantage when it comes to education.Originality/valueOne important and new finding of the paper is the existence of intra‐gender and intra‐spatial inequalities in education attainment in Ghana, with females contributing proportionately more to the within‐inequality component of the education Gini.

New Inequalities Through Privatization and Marketization? An Analysis of Labour Market Entry of Higher Education Graduates in Poland and Ukraine

This article investigates the effects of privatized and marketized higher education on inequalities in education attainment and labour market outcomes in Poland and Ukraine. Drawing on representative samples of tertiary graduates, our analyses show that students from advantageous social backgrounds are more likely to enter state-funded studies. Regarding labour market chances, we find a trade-off between higher status attainment and slower labour market entry among graduates who studied free-of-charge compared with students who paid tuitions. In accordance with our hypotheses, inequality patterns are more pronounced in Poland. Particularly, graduates from the Polish ‘mass’ lower tertiary private education have the lowest chances of finding high-quality jobs. Thus, mass privatization and marketization of higher education have its drawbacks in terms of lower status returns for graduates. In both countries, however, the Bachelor–Master differentiation, as well as the academic–vocational distinction, matter more for inequalities in status attainment than the privatization and marketization of tertiary education.

A Re‐Assessment of Common Theoretical Approaches to Explain Gender Differences in Continuing Training Participation

AbstractIt is often argued that gender differences in access to continuing training are a central cause of persisting gender inequalities in occupational attainment. Yet existing empirical work has presented rather mixed evidence regarding a potential sex gap in training participation. In this article, we carry out an empirical test of the central theoretical models commonly used to explain gender differences in continuing training participation. Using the European Social Survey, we find that male employees are more likely to train than their female colleagues, controlling for worker, firm and job characteristics, with some tentative evidence for differences across countries. Common theoretical approaches to understanding gender differences in continuing skill investment to some degree explain men's training incidence, while they largely fail to predict that of women.

Job tenure and self-reported workplace discrimination for cancer survivors 2 years after diagnosis: Does employment legislation matter?

To assess the risk of leaving employment for cancer survivors 2 years after diagnosis and the role of workplace discrimination in this risk. A representative sample of 4270 French individuals older than 17 and younger than 58 years when diagnosed with cancer in 2002 were interviewed 2 years later. Their occupational status was analyzed with the help of Probit and IV-Probit models. Overall, 66% of the cancer survivors who were working at the time of diagnosis were still employed 2 years later. Age, education level, income at diagnosis, work contract, professional status, affective support, relative prognosis at diagnosis, tumor site and treatment have contrasting impacts upon the probability of job loss across gender. Even after having controlled for these variables, self-reported workplace discrimination increases the probability of job loss by 15%. Despite protective labor law and favorable health insurance arrangements, French cancer survivors continue to experience problems to stay in or to return to the labor force. Measures targeting only the employment protection of cancer survivors do not seem to be sufficient to end prior social inequalities in job attainment. Intervention for specific populations particularly exposed to job-loss risks would also be needed.

Relative Age Effects are a developmental problem in tennis: but not necessarily when you’re left‐handed!

Relative Age Effects (RAEs), describing attainment inequalities as a result of interactions between biological age and age‐grouping procedures, have been demonstrated across many sports contexts. This study examined whether an additional individual characteristic (i.e., handedness) mediated RAEs in tennis. Relative age and handedness distributions of 1027 male professional tennis players ranked in the year‐end ATP Top 500 for 2000–2006 were analyzed. Relatively older players, born in the first two quartiles, were over‐represented for right‐handed players (86.56%), whereas no RAEs were found for left‐handers (13.44%). Findings seem to suggest that left‐handers in tennis gain advantages that circumvent the RAE problem.

Planning for the future: changing education expectations in three British cohorts

This paper examines changing educational expectations in three British age cohorts born in 1958, 1970 and 1989/90. A pathway model is tested to examine the associations between parental education, academic attainment, school motivation and education expectations among young people and their parents in a changing social context. The findings suggest that educational expectations have increased considerably between 1974 and 2006. In the most recent cohort education expectations at age 16 are more loosely linked to parental education and previous academic attainment, suggesting that expectations for further education are becoming the norm. Furthermore, there are persisting social inequalities in attainment, as well as an increasing gender gap in expectations, with girls being more ambitious regarding their educational goals than boys. Findings are discussed in terms of changing norms and expectations for young people in a changing socio-historical context.

L’école et les ambivalences du mérite

Nas sociedades modernas, quando o mérito é assumido como a base em que assenta a seriação dos indivíduos, a escola é perspectivada como sendo a responsável por fazer a avaliação desses níveis de mérito. Partindo do princípio que as sociedades são desiguais, a sociologia da educação mostra que é impossível considerar que o sucesso escolar se deva às diferenças de mérito individual. Do mesmo modo, uma meritocracia plena induziria várias consequências nefastas, tanto no meio escolar como na vida profissional. Contudo, o mérito não pode ser desconsiderado, assumido como um princípio de justiça, deve ser combinado com outros tais como os imperativos de necessidade e a igualdade. Resulta, portanto, que ao nível societal, a obsessão pelo mérito e a promoção de igualdade de oportunidades não deve desviar atenções da luta contra as próprias desigualdades.

The prevalence, influential factors and mechanisms of relative age effects in UK Rugby League

Relative age effects (RAEs), reflecting observed inequalities in participation and attainment as a result of annual age-grouping policies in youth sport, are common in most team sports. The aims of this study were to determine if and when RAEs become apparent in Rugby League, determine how influential variables (e.g., gender) lead and clarify whether player retention at junior representative levels can explain persistent RAEs. Player data were collected for the male and female community games ranging from Under 7s to Senior (N=15,060) levels, junior representative selections (i.e., Regional) and professional players (N=298). Chi-square analyses found significant (P<0.05) uneven birth date distributions beginning at the earliest stages of the game and throughout into senior professionals. In junior representative selections, 47.0% of Regional and 55.7% of National representative players were born in Quartile 1, with RAE risk increasing with performance level. Gender and nationality were also found to moderate RAE risk. When tracking representative juniors, over 50% were retained for similar competition the following season. Findings clearly demonstrate that RAEs exist throughout Rugby League with early selection, performance level and retention processes, appearing to be key contributing factors responsible for RAE persistence.

A Transgenerational Model of Status Attainment: the Potential Mediating Role of School Motivation and Education

This paper examines the influences of parental social status, childhood cognitive ability, school motivation and education on social status attainment in early adulthood. Using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), a pathway model of transgenerational status attainment is conceptualised, taking into account the context as well as the timing of individual status transitions. The subjects were 3104 men and 3229 women who participated in the 1958 National Child Development Study and 3049 men and 2692 women from the 1970 British Cohort Study, following their lives from childhood to their mid-thirties. The findings suggest that in both cohorts the number of years spent in full-time education is by far the most important determinant of status attainment among men and women and that there are persistent social inequalities in status attainment. The findings furthermore confirm the hypothesis that social background and cognitive ability are partially mediated through school motivation and education, opening up leverage for possible interventions.

Educational Inequality and Juvenile Crime: An Area-Based Analysis

This paper focuses on the links between educational inequality and juvenile conviction rates for violent crime, stealing from another person, burglary in a dwelling and racially motivated offences. We use area-based data on conviction rates, educational attainment and educational inequality for three cohorts of young people and employ mixed-effect models to estimate the impact of between-cohort changes in educational inequality on conviction rates. Our results show that, above and beyond impacts of absolute access to resources, young people who grow up in school cohorts marked by higher levels of disparity in educational achievement are more likely to commit violent crime and racially motivated offences than those with less disparity. This association was not found for property-related offences. Our results suggest that if governments wish to be tough on the causes of crime as well as on crime itself, it must address issues of relative deprivation.

Recent trends in social reproduction in France: should the political promises of education be revisited?

Relying upon recent research, this article puts into perspective the evolution of inequalities concerning both education and life chances in France since the 1960s. While a dramatic expansion of education has taken place, what consequences can one observe as far as social mobility and more broadly social reproduction are concerned? In fact, French society does not appear more fair and an interpretation of this mismatch is proposed. First, the main sociological classical theories (Bourdieu, Boudon, and so on) are called up: do they help in understanding the underlying processes, and what questions remain? The persistent inequalities in attainment and the importance of structural external factors are among the most problematic issues. Finally, following this analysis and going back specifically to France, some political questions are sketched out, a central issue being the place that should be given to educational policies to achieve a fairer society.