Inequalities In Educational Achievement Research Articles

Inequalities in educational achievement: Effect of individuals’ capabilities & social identity

We address the issue of inequalities in educational achievements among social groups, within the framework of Sustainable Development Goal 10 (SDG10). Despite efforts to distribute resources equitably and implement affirmative government actions, educational inequalities remain a significant challenge, partially due to the continuing impact of social group dynamics. Previous studies have emphasized the possibility of improving individual capabilities to address this issue. However, the quantitative studies that examine this issue are underexplored. We utilize data from the Indian Human Development Survey (IHDS) 2011–12 to examine the effect of individual capabilities and social group affiliations on educational achievements. We employ ordered logit regression, decomposition analysis, and instrumental variable approach to analyze the data. The findings of our study indicate that while government interventions and policies have had some impact, a more focused approach and policy change on individual capability is necessary. We propose a policy framework emphasizing early identification and development of key capabilities. These are mass media exposure, parental participation of professional groups, and good physical health, especially for marginalized sections. The study advocates for equipping schools with digital and mass media resources, establishing community programs for financial literacy, and engaging families to understand the importance of these capabilities. This dual approach aims to enhance individual capabilities and reduce the influence of social group dynamics, contributing to more equitable and inclusive educational outcomes and broader societal sustainability. The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and contribute to the global debate on sustainable development and educational equality.

COVID-19 and inequalities in educational achievement in Italy.

We use longitudinal data from over 1.5 million Italian students to examine differences in the mathematics and reading achievement of students who completed primary and lower secondary school in 2020-21 (COVID cohort) and those who completed it in 2018-19 (non-COVID cohort). We also examine the evolution of inequalities by gender,socio-economic condition, and prior academic achievement during the pandemic. On average, the primary school COVID cohort experienced a small increase in reading achievement and a drop in mathematics achievement compared to the non-COVID cohort. The lowersecondary school COVID cohort experienced a large reduction in mathematics achievement and a smaller reduction in reading achievement compared to the non-COVID cohort. Previously middle-achieving students suffered the most from the pandemic, while highachievers gained. Socio-economic inequalities in achievement remained stable for secondary school students and somewhat decreased for primary school students between the non-COVID and COVID cohorts. Gender disparities were broadly reduced across domains and school levels, except for primary school math.

The Effects of COVID-19 on Inequalities in Educational Achievement in Italy

The Effects of COVID-19 on Inequalities in Educational Achievement in Italy

Feminists’ Perspectives on Gender Gap in Education

Gender inequality is a universal phenomenon in contemporary society. It is evident in all cultures and forms – social, economic, cultural, and political. The accepted view is that expanding educational access to women will produce an equalizing effect in an unequal gendered society. However, contrary to the established belief, education reproduces many forms of inequality in society, and gender inequality is one. The phenomena of gender inequalities in educational achievement and the gendered character of the educational system have been some of the significant concerns of feminist struggles. The feminists have exposed the hidden agendas of various academic dogmas, policies, and practices. They not only focus on the unequal achievements of girls but also on areas of potential changes in the educational system, which teaches women ‘to lose’ through gendered curriculum and other such practices. The present paper attempts to explore some of the feminist underpinnings of gender inequalities reproduced through the educational system in society. This paper traces some major feminist perspectives about gender inequality in education and examines the feminist pedagogical propositions and their potential for transforming the prevalent deviances in the education system.

Does Schooling Decrease Socioeconomic Inequality in Early Achievement? A Differential Exposure Approach

Does schooling affect socioeconomic inequality in educational achievement? Earlier studies based on seasonal comparisons suggest schooling can equalize social gaps in learning. Yet recent replication studies have given rise to skepticism about the validity of older findings. We shed new light on the debate by estimating the causal effect of 1st-grade schooling on achievement inequality by socioeconomic family background in Germany. We elaborate a differential exposure approach that estimates the effect of exposure to 1st-grade schooling by exploiting (conditionally) random variation in test dates and birth dates for children who entered school on the same calendar day. We use recent data from the German NEPS to test school-exposure effects for a series of learning domains. Findings clearly indicate that 1st-grade schooling increases children’s learning in all domains. However, we do not find any evidence that these schooling effects differ by children’s socioeconomic background. We conclude that, although all children gain from schooling, schooling has no consequences for social inequality in learning. We discuss the relevance of our findings for sociological knowledge on the role of schooling in the process of stratification and highlight how our approach complements seasonal comparison studies.

Educational achievement and youth homicide mortality: a City-wide, neighborhood-based analysis

Background and objectiveEducational achievement, particularly among youth, may mitigate risk of exposure to violence and negative related health outcomes such as crime and gang activity. Few studies to date have examined relationships between education and youth homicide. The authors hypothesized association between educational achievement in grades 3 and 8 and youth homicide mortality.MethodsNeighborhood-based, city-wide analysis was conducted of cross-sectional data regarding N = 55 neighborhoods in Baltimore, MD, extracted from Baltimore 2017 Neighborhood Health Profiles.ResultsHigher educational achievement (operationalized by reading proficiency) in third, but not eighth, grade was associated with reduced neighborhood youth homicide mortality rates in hierarchical linear regression, controlling for demographic and socioeconomic factors (ß = − 0.5082, p = 0.03), such that each 1.97% increase in proportion of students reading at an acceptable level was associated with one fewer neighborhood youth homicide per 100,000. Neighborhoods within the highest tertile of youth homicide mortality differed from those in the lowest tertile with fewer males (45% vs. 48%, p = 0.002), greater unemployment (17% vs. 8%, p < 0.001), familial poverty (35% vs. 16%, p < 0.001), and residents identifying as black or African-American (88% vs. 25%, p < 0.001). Causal mediation analysis demonstrated mediation effects of familial poverty and eighth grade educational achievement through third grade educational achievement (ACME = 0.151, p = 0.04; ACME = − 0.300, p = 0.03, respectively) with no significant direct effects.ConclusionsHigher educational achievement (operationalized by reading proficiency) predicts reduced homicide mortality among Baltimore youth and appears to mediate effects of familial poverty on homicide mortality as well. This converges with literature highlighting the importance of education as a determinant of social capital and violence. Future policy-based interventions should target inequalities in educational achievement to mitigate homicide risk among youth in communities facing disparities in violent crime.

Educational Inequality and Inclusiveness: The Case of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

It is argued that masses in Pakistan are excluded from the mainstream progress of education resulting in social unrest and adverse state of human development. This paper examines prevailing inequality in and exclusion from education in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, and provides an empirical base for designing an appropriate policy framework to mitigate the underline issues. Towards this end the household-based education and Inequality-adjusted education indices are derived using Foster-López-Calva-Székely (FLS) methodology at the provincial, and district levels from the most recent Pakistan Social and Living Standard Measurement (PSLM) survey 2014-15. The provincial analysis is elaborated at the urban and rural regions as well. The distribution of these indices across households are utilized to measure inequality and inclusiveness coefficients by employing “Atkinson’s inequality measure” and “sixty percent of median as threshold of exclusion,” respectively. At the district level the impact of economic, social, demographic, and locational factors on inclusiveness of education are also investigated using linear regression. The results demonstrate that KPK households reside on average in low category of actual education level experiencing high inter-regional and intra-regional disparities and exclusions. At the district levels, the inequalities in educational achievement and exclusions are even more pronounced, indicating that aggregated analyses suppress the intra-regional disparities and segregations. Based on these findings, it is asserted that investment in social infrastructure specifically educational, health, and law and order facilities, development of agriculture sector, and eradication of gender discrimination, are important factors to promote inclusive education in the province.

After the Bell Rings: Looking Beyond the Classroom to Reduce Inequalities in Educational Achievement and Health Outcomes.

After the Bell Rings: Looking Beyond the Classroom to Reduce Inequalities in Educational Achievement and Health Outcomes.

The unobserved power of context: Can context moderate the effect of expectations on educational achievement?

There is growing evidence that shows that social context is becoming less significant in influencing educational achievements and expectations. Additionally, evidence indicates that expectations are high across the board and becoming of declining significance to educational achievement. In light of this, we reexamine and offer an alternative to the renowned linear models connecting background variables to scholarly achievement via pupils' educational expectation. Analysis of GCSE scores, using three consecutive waves of the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England, reveals that the verity of this classical claim is dependent on occupational class, ethnic origin, and school socio-economic status level. These results thus confirm an unrecognized effect of family and school background variables on achievement—not only to engender expectations but also to moderate their influence. This recognition expands and deepens understanding of inequality in educational achievement and social mobility by treating expectations as a resource and analytically distinguishing between the ability of a social group or a certain school to attain or create high expectations and their ability to capitalize on it and translate these into achievements. We find that in many cases, expectations still possess strong potential to transform into achievement, while in others they are high across the board and rather inconsequential.

Desigualdad en el acceso educativo en México: Un estudio con sujetos egresados de un bachillerato tecnológico de alto desempeño

Access to the higher education system in Mexico has been characterized by educational inequalities explained by social and reproductionist currents. The phenomenon occurs in graduate students with a high school diploma and coming from different contexts (social, cultural, economic, institutional and academic ones) that create a process of transition far away from equal opportunities. Therefore, the differences due to cultural diversity do not generate equitable access to higher education institutions. The aim of this study was to identify the social, cultural and academic factors affecting the access to or the abandonment of the academic education of students with expectations of entering the higher education system. The research was based on the results obtained from forty technicians who studied at a vocational high school with high academic performance in Mexico, and were supposed to enter the higher level. It was an exploratory descriptive investigation with qualitative approach, using two multiple-choice item questionnaires whose results were analyzed interpretively. The sampling was non-probability, with the technique of “snowball” and “convenience”. The results showed that the level of parents’ schooling, social relations, and academic career of graduates were decisive to enter the higher education; so it can be concluded that the students’ origin generate inequality in educational achievement.

Preschool education as the great equalizer? A cross-country study into the sources of inequality in reading competence

In this study we examine the extent to which preschool education can reduce social background differentials in learning outcomes across countries; our focus is on whether the benefits of preschool attendance for children depend on other family inputs such as parents’ education and their pedagogical involvement during early childhood. We use the 2011 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, which provides a standardized measure of reading literacy among students in 4th grade. Our sample contains data on 119,008 individuals from 28 developed countries. The presented evidence confirms that preschool is visibly beneficial in most cases, but also that benefits are lower for children who have more involved or more educated parents. Rather than complements to, parental involvement and parental education seem to be substitutes for preschool attendance in children’s skill production function. As such, preschool education reduces social inequalities in educational achievement. Yet, its equalizing potential could have been overstated in previous debates.

Explaining social class inequalities in educational achievement in the UK: quantifying the contribution of social class differences in school ‘effectiveness’

There are large social class inequalities in educational achievement in the UK. This paper quantifies the contribution of one mechanism to the production of these inequalities: social class differences in school ‘effectiveness’, where ‘effectiveness’ refers to a school’s impact on pupils’ educational achievement (relative to other schools). It builds on the small number of existing studies, whilst overcoming a number of their limitations. It estimates the effectiveness of the (state) schools attended between ages 7/8 and 10/11 by a cohort of children born in the 1990s in Avon, a former county of England, and then compares the effectiveness of the schools attended by children from different social classes. It finds that ‘higher’ social class children attend more effective schools, on average, and that these social class differences in average school effectiveness between ages 7/8 and 10/11 account for 7% of social class differences in average educational achievement age 10/11. This is not a causal analysis, however.

Educational trajectories after childhood cancer: When illness experience matters

With the increase in survival from childhood cancer, research has increasingly focused on the educational and professional achievements of childhood cancer survivors. Yet, if large-scale studies provide an acute description of the current situation of childhood cancer survivors, little is known about their trajectories and the social processes shaping these trajectories.Using a qualitative methodology, drawing from a life course perspective, this study sought to describe the role of childhood cancer and its side effects in educational trajectories, as perceived by the participants. We investigated related processes of social adjustment to cancer, that is to say, choices or decisions that survivors related to the illness in the making of their career plans. Eighty long-term French childhood cancer survivors participating in the Euro2K longitudinal study were interviewed through in-depth, face-to-face interviews undertaken in 2011–2012.There were various types of impact described by respondents of the diagnosis of cancer on their trajectories. These varied according to gender. In women, childhood cancer tended to result in poor educational achievement, or in steering the individual towards a health care or child care occupation. This was justified by a desire to return the support that had been offered to them as patients. In men, however, childhood cancer led to a shift in career plans, because of physical sequelae, or because of concerns about their future health. Paradoxically, this limitation had a positive impact in their occupational achievement, as most of these men disregarded blue-collar jobs and chose more qualified white-collar occupations. Overall, findings suggest that childhood cancer influenced educational trajectories and, thus, socioeconomic status in adulthood, through mechanisms embedded in gender norms. These mechanisms could explain gender inequalities in educational achievement after childhood cancer reported in large-scale cohort studies.

Inequality of Opportunities of Educational Achievement in Turkey Over Time

This study investigates inequality of opportunity in educational achievements in Turkey over time. For this purpose we use test scores of PISA in mathematics, science and reading achievement of 15-year-olds over the period 2003-2012. Since the different waves of the samples cover only a fraction of the cohorts of 15-year olds we take into account the inequality of opportunity in access to the PISA test as well as the inequality of opportunity of the academic achievement in the PISA test. This procedure enables proper over time comparisons. We estimate the effect of circumstances children are born into on their academic achievement as evidenced in their PISA test scores. The main findings are as follows. First, confirming the previous studies we find that inequality of opportunity is a large part of the inequality of educational achievement in Turkey. Second, the inequality of opportunity in educational achievement shows a slightly decreasing trend over time in Turkey. Third, the inequality of opportunity figures based on the mathematics, science and reading achievements exhibited the similar trend over time. Forth, the family background variables are the most important determinants of the inequality in educational achievement which is a consistent pattern over time. However, there is also evidence of slight weakening of these factors over time. Policies are necessary to improve equality of opportunity in education in Turkey.

Inequality of Opportunities of Educational Achievement in Turkey Over Time

This study investigates inequality of opportunity in educational achievements in Turkey over time. For this purpose we use test scores of PISA in mathematics, science and reading achievement of 15-year-olds over the period 2003-2012. Since the different waves of the samples cover only a fraction of the cohorts of 15-year olds we take into account the inequality of opportunity in access to the PISA test as well as the inequality of opportunity of the academic achievement in the PISA test. This procedure enables proper over time comparisons. We estimate the effect of circumstances children are born into on their academic achievement as evidenced in their PISA test scores. The main findings are as follows. First, confirming the previous studies we find that inequality of opportunity is a large part of the inequality of educational achievement in Turkey. Second, the inequality of opportunity in educational achievement shows a slightly decreasing trend over time in Turkey. Third, the inequality of opportunity figures based on the mathematics, science and reading achievements exhibited the similar trend over time. Forth, the family background variables are the most important determinants of the inequality in educational achievement which is a consistent pattern over time. However, there is also evidence of slight weakening of these factors over time. Policies are necessary to improve equality of opportunity in education in Turkey.

Exploring the relation between socio-economic status and reading achievement in PISA 2009 through an intercepts-and-slopes-as-outcomes paradigm

In some countries more than others, factors like parental socio-economic status (SES) can cause inequalities in educational achievement. Here we show how the mechanisms leading to such inequalities can be scrutinized by involving background variables which impact the relation between SES and achievement. We use the intercepts-and-slopes-as-outcomes paradigm which recognizes that the outcomes of schooling systems are not only characterized by average achievement (the intercept) but also by the achievement–SES regression slope. We show how certain background variables moderate the relationship between SES and achievement. As an illustration, we examine the relationship between reading achievement and SES, and how this is moderated by school funding and curriculum. This is done for several countries that participated in the PISA 2009 cycle.

In This Issue

In This Issue

Effects of simulated interventions to improve school entry academic skills on socioeconomic inequalities in educational achievement.

Randomized controlled trial evidence shows that interventions before age 5 can improve skills necessary for educational success; the effect of these interventions on socioeconomic inequalities is unknown. Using trial effect estimates, and marginal structural models with data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (n = 11,764, imputed), simulated effects of plausible interventions to improve school entry academic skills on socioeconomic inequality in educational achievement at age 16 were examined. Progressive universal interventions (i.e., more intense intervention for those with greater need) to improve school entry academic skills could raise population levels of educational achievement by 5% and reduce absolute socioeconomic inequality in poor educational achievement by 15%.

Ethnicity, gender, social class and achievement gaps at age 16: intersectionality and ‘getting it’ for the white working class

Perhaps the most prevailing inequalities in educational achievement in England are those associated with socio-economic status (SES), ethnicity and gender. However, little research has sought to compare the relative size of these gaps or to explore interactions between these factors. This paper analyses the educational achievement at age 11, 14 and 16 of over 15,000 students from the nationally representative longitudinal study of young people in England. At age 16, the achievement gap associated with social class was twice as large as the biggest ethnic gap and six times as large as the gender gap. However, the results indicate that ethnicity, gender and SES do not combine in a simple additive fashion; rather, there are substantial interactions particularly between ethnicity and SES and between ethnicity and gender. At age 16 among low SES students, all ethnic minority groups achieve significantly better than White British students (except Black Caribbean boys who do not differ from White British boys), but at high SES only Indian students outperform White British students. A similar pattern of results was apparent in terms of progress age 11–16, with White British low SES students and Black Caribbean boys (particularly the more able) making the least progress. Parents’ educational aspirations for their child and students’ own educational aspirations, academic self-concept, frequency of completing homework, truancy and exclusion could account for the minority ethnic advantage at low SES, but conditioning on such factors simultaneously indicates substantial ethnic underachievement at average and high SES. Accounts of educational achievement framed exclusively in terms of social class, ethnicity or gender are insufficient, and the results challenge educational researchers to develop more nuanced accounts of educational success or failure.

The Academic Success of East Asian American Youth: The Role of Shadow Education.

Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study, this study assessed the relevance of shadow education to the high academic performance of East Asian American students by examining how East Asian American students differed from other racial/ethnic students in the prevalence, purpose, and effects of using the two forms - commercial test preparation service and private one-to-one tutoring - of SAT coaching, defined as the American style of shadow education. East Asian American students were most likely to take a commercial SAT test preparation course for the enrichment purpose, and benefited most from taking this particular form of SAT coaching. However, this was not the case for private SAT one-to-one tutoring. While black students were most likely to utilize private tutoring for the remedial purpose, the impact of private tutoring was trivial for all racial/ethnic groups including East Asian American students. The authors discussed broader implications of the findings on racial/ethnic inequalities in educational achievement beyond the relevance of shadow education for the academic success of East Asian American students.