Inequality In Educational Attainment Research Articles

The Balancing Act of Family and College: Reciprocity and Its Consequences for Black Students

Abstract Literature indicates the ways that young adults –especially those from advantaged backgrounds—rely on parents during college and the transition to adulthood. Little research focuses on how the Black family reaches into college and Black college students’ provision of support to parents and other kin. The nexus of family and higher education is a rich site for investigating inequalities in educational attainment and outcomes. Based on interviews with Black undergraduates, this paper analyzes variation in familial involvement during college. It shows the ways in which Black students maintain a balancing act to meet academic responsibilities and family obligations. These practices help sustain the families they value but also reproduce class inequalities. The social organization of colleges and families imposes greater costs on disadvantaged students and offers greater benefits for advantaged students. The structure of education and constructions of family diminish obligations to family, narrow family ties, and mystify aspects of dependence, especially for disadvantaged students. Student narratives highlight the broad character of family values that often compete with academic obligations and detract from college immersion. Different forms and patterns of assistance and connection by class and gender are tied to structural resources and cultural differences, such as the place of family, the meaning of self, assessments of who counts as family, and reliance on a norm of one-way giving.

Peer Interaction, Exclusion and School Participation: Issues of Schooling in a Tribal Village of Odisha

In India, drop-outs and out-of-school children in school education are dominant educational discourses even after seven decades of independence. No doubt, various policies and programmes were devised to challenge these issues in education, but still the issues of drop-outs are rampant both in rural and urban areas. The inequality in educational attainment between Scheduled Tribes and the rest of the population has widened throughout the years. Various social aspects of why children leave school before they complete the secondary level of school are understudied in India. Aspects of cultural and social practices and patterns of socialization of tribal children have received little attention in the research on tribal children in India. By specially focussing on friendship networks/peer interaction, the article reflects on how it affects educational participation of tribal and non-tribal children in a village located in the tribal areas of Odisha, one of the eastern states of India.

Borrowing Constraints and Demand for Remedial Education: Evidence from Tanzania

Abstract We use a cash transfer to relax households’ borrowing constraints, then elicit their willingness to pay (WTP) for a remedial education program offering tutoring and life-skills training. Lottery losers were willing to pay 3,300 Tanzanian Shillings for the program, seven percent of per-capita monthly expenditures. For those identified at baseline as able to borrow, WTP increases by three percent upon winning a lottery prize of 3,200 TSh. For those unable to borrow, WTP increases by 27 percent upon winning the lottery. We conclude that borrowing constraints limit access to educational programs, and may increase inequality of educational attainment.

Teacher Salaries and Racial Inequality in Educational Attainment in the Midcentury South

Teacher Salaries and Racial Inequality in Educational Attainment in the Midcentury South

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

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.

Does tackling poverty related barriers to education improve school outcomes? Evidence from the North East of England.

Poverty related barriers to education perpetuate inequalities in educational attainment which lead to inequalities in income, health, and happiness in later life. While schools cannot tackle poverty directly, they can implement policies that tackle the stigma of poverty and ensure that the school day is more equitable. This study estimates the effect of a programme delivered to schools in North East England that is designed to remove barriers to education by reducing the stigma of poverty which impacts pupils’ educational attainment and school absences. Since the roll-out of the programme was staggered, we apply the Callaway–Sant'Anna​ time-varying-treatment difference-in-differences approach. The results show that tackling the obstacles to learning that arise from children being in poverty can improve their educational attainment and the attainment for all children, particularly in math and English reading.

The role of institutional contexts for social inequalities in study abroad intent and participation

AbstractWe contribute to research on social inequalities in educational attainment by examining the role of institutional contexts for students’ study abroad (SA) intent and participation. To do so, we extend the individual-level rational choice model predicting SA intent and participation depending on students’ socioeconomic status (SES) into a multi-level model emphasizing the importance of context effects. We test our model based on unique micro-level student data, which we supplement with context data. Examining 18,510 students nested in 69 universities, we provide the first in-depth multi-level analyses of SA intent and participation of students from Japan. In line with findings from many Western countries, our results show that higher-SES students are more likely to (intend to) study abroad. Regarding the role of institutional contexts, we find that programs designed to improve SA opportunity structures hardly affect students’ SA intent but significantly positively affect SA participation above and beyond other university-level and student-level characteristics. Importantly, both lower- and higher-SES students benefit from favorable SA opportunity structures. These findings suggest that Japan’s recent push toward internationalization of higher education has created relevant SA opportunities for students from different social backgrounds. Still, higher-SES students are currently overrepresented among those studying abroad because they are more likely to select into universities offering favorable SA opportunity structures. Our analysis calls for more research combining individual-level with contextual-level theories and data to better understand the conditions shaping SES-specific SA intent and participation.

Motivating Students to Learn Mathematics in the iGrowMaths Classroom: An Innovative Adaptive Classroom in Business Mathematics Education

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the inequalities in educational attainment and achievement, especially for students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds. The teaching and learning process has become more complex as students are increasingly diverse in terms of prior knowledge and learning pace. Hence, this study proposes and designs the iGrowMaths Classroom, an innovative adaptive learning classroom for Business Mathematics course at a public polytechnic in Malaysia. The purpose is to create an adaptive learning environment that builds on the level of prior knowledge and learning pace in order to promote motivation and improve achievements in mathematics. The case study design was employed to investigate the effectiveness of iGrowMaths Classroom, with the adoption of a triangulation method that involved questionnaires, interviews, and formative assessment. The findings reveal that the iGrowMaths classroom is effective in fostering the students’ motivation towards learning mathematics and thereby enhancing the learning outcomes.

Racial, Ethnic, Nativity, and Educational Disparities in Cognitive Impairment and Activity Limitations in the United States, 1998-2016.

Despite extensive research on cognitive impairment and limitations in basic activities of daily living, no study has investigated the burden of their co-occurrence (co-impairment). Using the Health and Retirement Study data and incidence-based multistate models, we study the population burden of co-impairment using three key indicators: mean age at onset, lifetime risk, and health expectancy. We examine patterns by gender, race, ethnicity, nativity, education, and their interactions for U.S. residents aged 50-100. Furthermore, we analyze what fractions of racial, ethnic, and nativity disparities in co-impairment are attributable to inequalities in educational attainment. Results reveal that an estimated 56% of women and 41% of men aged 50 will experience co-impairment in their remaining life expectancy. Men experience an earlier onset of co-impairment than women (74 vs. 77 years), and women live longer in co-impairment than men (3.4 vs. 1.9 years). Individuals who are Black, Latinx, and lower educated, especially those experiencing intersecting disadvantages, have substantially higher lifetime risk of co-impairment, earlier co-impairment onset, and longer life in co-impairment than their counterparts. Up to 75% of racial, ethnic, and nativity disparity is attributable to inequality in educational attainment. This study provides novel insights into the burden of co-impairment and offers evidence of dramatic disparities in the older U.S. population.

Change or stability in educational inequalities? Educational mobility and school effects in the context of a major urban policy

Urban areas are facing increasing social inequalities, which governments try to tackle with social policy. This study examines one of the most ambitious urban policies in the history of Dutch policies that aims to increase educational attainment amongst disadvantaged children in one of the poorest areas in the Netherlands. We investigate to what extent inequality in educational attainment based on parental education has changed during the first period of this programme. We further examine to what extent school characteristics affect educational attainment and how these effects relate to targeting disadvantaged areas for policy intervention. Register data on the individual, school and area level were employed to study these issues. We find that the effect of parental education on secondary school attainment has been stable since the start of the programme, indicating that inequality has not decreased in the context of the programme. Furthermore, several school characteristics, including socioeconomic status and retention rate, were relevant in explaining differences in educational attainment. We discuss the implications of our findings regarding the allocation of public resources for policy programmes based on area and school characteristics.

Uneven Distribution of Higher Education Attained in Haryana (A Geographical View)

Education of all people is very important in order to upgrade a nation's human resources for the best possible utilisation of their full potential throughout life. The process of effective teaching, learning, and skill development equips them for fulfilling lives. Even if it is not a "basic right" of the individual, government and society still value higher education for the population's prosperity and well-being. The government has developed a multitude of plans, laws, and programmes over time to make access to education easier. The action plan includes gender sensitization to reduce the gender gap in educational achievement and to narrow the rural-urban divide over time. This was done with the assistance of governmental, private, and joint venture entities (Public Private together). The inequalities between rural and urban areas and gender inequality in educational attainment, however, are almost ubiquitous. The focus of the current study is higher education. Based on data from the 2011 Indian Census, it is a micro level analysis. In order to analyse the distribution of men and women with higher education throughout all districts in Haryana, both urban and rural, maps are created using the Q. GIS software. The maps reveal a significant disparity between the male and female populations as well as between rural and urban areas.

Missing observations in regression: a conditional approach.

This note presents an alternative to multiple imputation and other approaches to regression analysis in the presence of missing covariate data. Our recommendation, based on factorial and fractional factorial arrangements, is more faithful to ancillarity considerations of regression analysis and involves assessing the sensitivity of inference on each regression parameter to missingness in each of the explanatory variables. The ideas are illustrated on a medical example concerned with the success of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children, and on a sociological example concerned with socio-economic inequalities in educational attainment.

Why Inter-caste Inequality in Educational Attainment Still Persists? Wealth and Caste Discrimination Matters

Using recent data for 2017/2018 the article provides empirical evidence on the persistence of the traditional inter-caste inequality in higher educational attainment—enrolment rate being much low for low castes than the high castes. The educational attainment of middle caste is lower than high castes but better than low caste untouchables, indicating a graded inequality in education attainment, unique feature of caste system. Between the income group the low income groups suffered the most from low education attainment than the high oncome groups. The inequalities in ownership of wealth and income and caste discrimination faced by low caste untouchables are the main reasons for low education attainment among the low caste and low income groups. The shift in the government policy towards privatisation of higher education also has taken the education beyond the reach of low income household. The caste discrimination result into high drop out among the scheduled castes. In the end based on the empirical results relevant (caste) group specific and income group specific policies are proposed to promote higher education among the low castes and low income groups. JEL Codes: 123, J24, D63, J71

Does Schooling Affect Socioeconomic Inequalities in Educational Attainment? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Germany

Does Schooling Affect Socioeconomic Inequalities in Educational Attainment? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Germany

Social Inequality in Dropout from Higher Education in Germany. Towards Combining the Student Integration Model and Rational Choice Theory

Students from a lower socioeconomic background have a higher risk of dropping out of higher education. The underlying mechanisms of this association between socioeconomic background and higher education dropout are not well understood. Previous research in higher education has followed Tinto’s model of academic and social integration to explain dropout but has largely neglected social inequality therein. In contrast, social stratification research draws on rational choice theory to explain social inequality in educational attainment but has rarely been applied to explain dropout from higher education. In our paper, we combine these two strands of research. Utilizing data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), we draw on a largescale, representative sample of students in Germany to quantify the relative contribution of each theoretical approach for explaining social inequality in dropout from higher education. Binary logistic regression models reveal that both students’ integration and costs-benefit considerations are associated with their dropout risk net of each other. While academic and social integration appears to better predict dropout, rational choice theory accounts for a larger proportion of social inequality therein. We conclude that combining Tinto’s model and rational choice theory provides a more comprehensive perspective of dropouts from higher education and social inequality therein.

Social class and sex differences in absolute and relative educational attainment in England, Scotland and Wales since the middle of the twentieth century

ABSTRACT Changes over time in social-class inequality of educational attainment have been shown by previous research to depend on whether attainment is measured absolutely or relatively. The pioneering work in this respect by Bukodi and Goldthorpe found that inequality has fallen when attainment is measured absolutely (for example, as the percentage completing full secondary schooling) but has changed less when a relative measure is used (for example, reaching the top quarter of the distribution of attainment). Although absolute measures remain intrinsically interesting, insofar as they represent cognitive or cultural accomplishment, relative measures are more relevant for understanding the role of education in allocating people competitively to employment. Implicit in this previous research, as in much research on the connection between education and social mobility, is that the society over which the relative standing of qualifications is measured is the same as that in which they are used to gain social rewards, such as a job. When labour markets operate across educational borders, this assumption might be open to question. The present analysis investigates the interpretation of absolute and relative educational inequality by comparing England, Scotland and Wales, which have distinct education systems but a common labour market.

Why is the educational attainment of people with schizophrenia lagging so far behind?

It is well known that education is important. It underpins the social mobility of individuals, increases the range of contributions that people can make to their communities and economies, and is a driving force in increasing national productivity and income levels. National datasets consistently show a link between higher levels of education and lower levels of unemployment and higher income. 1 US Bureau of Labor StatisticsEducation pays. https://www.bls.gov/emp/chart-unemployment-earnings-education.htmDate: 2021 Date accessed: April 30, 2022 Google Scholar While this is well known in the general population, it has also been known for a long time that educational attainment is important to people living with mental illness. 2 Iyer SN Mangala R Anitha J Thara R Malla AK An examination of patient-identified goals for treatment in a first-episode programme in Chennai, India. Early Interv Psychiatry. 2011; 5: 360-365 Crossref PubMed Scopus (47) Google Scholar In addition, education is recognised in a number of international treaties and covenants as a fundamental human right. 3 United Nations General AssemblyInternational Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. United Nations, New York1966https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-economic-social-and-cultural-rightsDate accessed: April 30, 2022 Google Scholar , 4 United Nations General AssemblyConvention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. United Nations, New York2006https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-persons-disabilitiesDate accessed: April 30, 2022 Google Scholar Article 13 of the International Convention on Economic, Cultural and Social Rights and Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of People with Disability speak respectively to the general right to access to education and the specific right of people with disabilities, which includes people with mental illness, to access education. Representative surveys of people living with schizophrenia consistently show that this right is not realised for them. 5 Waghorn G Saha S Harvey C et al. ‘Earning and learning’ in those with psychotic disorders: the second Australian national survey of psychosis. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2012; 46: 774-785 Crossref PubMed Scopus (87) Google Scholar The enduring gap in educational attainment in schizophrenia according to the past 50 years of published research: a systematic review and meta-analysisPatients with schizophrenia have faced persistent inequality in educational attainment in the last century, despite advances in psychosocial and pharmacological treatment. Reducing this gap should become a priority to improve their functional outcomes. Full-Text PDF

The enduring gap in educational attainment in schizophrenia according to the past 50 years of published research: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Educational attainment is associated with wellbeing and health, but patients with schizophrenia achieve lower levels of education than people without. Several effective interventions can ameliorate this situation. However, the magnitude of the education gap in schizophrenia and its change over time are unclear. We aimed to reconstruct the trajectories of educational attainment in patients with schizophrenia and, if reported, their healthy comparator controls. We did a systematic review and meta-analysis including all studies reporting on patients with schizophrenia (of mean age ≥18 years) and describing the number of years of education of the participants, with or without healthy controls. There were no other design constraints on studies. We excluded studies that included only patients with other schizophrenia spectrum disorders and studies that did not specify the number of years of education of the participants. 22 reviewers participated in retrieving data from a search in PubMed and PsycINFO (Jan 1, 1970, to Nov 24, 2020). We estimated the birth date of participants from their mean age and publication date, and meta-analysed these data using random-effects models, focusing on educational attainment, the education gap, and changes over time. The primary outcome was years of education. The protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42020220546). From 32 593 initial references, we included 3321 studies reporting on 318 632 patients alongside 138 675 healthy controls (170 941 women and 275 821 men from studies describing sex or gender; data on ethnicity were not collected). Patients' educational attainment increased over time, mirroring that of controls. However, patients with schizophrenia in high-income countries had 19 months less education than controls (-1·59 years, 95% CI -1·66 to -1·53; p<0·0001), which is equivalent to a Cohen's d of -0·56 (95% CI -0·58 to -0·54) and implies an odds ratio of 2·58 for not completing 12 years of education (ie, not completing secondary education) for patients compared with controls. This gap remained stable throughout the decades; the rate of change in number of total years of education in time was not significant (annual change: 0·0047 years, 95% CI -0·0005 to 0·0099; p=0·078). For patients in low-income and middle-income countries, the education gap was significantly smaller than in high-income countries (smaller by 0·72 years, 0·85 to 0·59; p<0·0001), yet there was evidence that this gap was widening over the years, approaching that of high-income countries (annual change: -0·024 years, -0·037 to -0·011; p=0·0002). Patients with schizophrenia have faced persistent inequality in educational attainment in the last century, despite advances in psychosocial and pharmacological treatment. Reducing this gap should become a priority to improve their functional outcomes. Ciencia y Tecnología para el Desarrollo (CYTED) to the Latin American Network for the Study of Early Psychosis (ANDES).

Educational Attainment Inequalities in Depressive Symptoms in More Than 100 000 Individuals in Europe

IntroductionIncreasing educational attainment (EA) could decrease the occurrence of depression. We investigated the relationship between EA and depressive symptoms in older individuals across four European regions.Objectives1) examine association between EA and depressive symptoms 2) determine, if there is an upper limit to this association 3) explore regional and demographic differences within this relationship across EuropeMethodsWe studied 108 315 Europeans (54 % women, median age 63 years old) in Europe assessing EA and depressive symptoms. Logistic regression estimated the association between EA and depressive symptoms, adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related factors; testing for sex/age/region and education interactions.ResultsHigher EA was associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms, independent of sociodemographic and health-related factors. A threshold of the lowest odds of depressive symptoms was detected at the first stage of tertiary education (OR 0.60; 95% CI 0.55-0.65; p&lt;0.001; relative to no education). Central and Eastern Europe showed the strongest association (OR for high vs. low education 0.37; 95% CI 0.33-0.40; p&lt;0.001) and Scandinavia the weakest (OR for high vs. low education 0.69; 95% CI 0.60-0.80; p&lt;0.001). The association was strongest amongst younger individuals. There was a sex and education interaction only within Central and Eastern Europe.ConclusionsLevel of EA is reflected in later-life depressive symptoms, suggesting that supporting individuals in achieving EA, and considering those with lower EA at increased risk for depression, could lead to decreased burden of depression across the life-course. Further educational support in Central and Eastern Europe may decrease the higher burden of depressive symptoms in women.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Inequality in Education: A Comparison of Australian Indigenous and Nonindigenous Populations

Abstract Data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey is used to estimate distributions for the level of educational attainment for Australian indigenous and nonindigenous populations for the years 2001, 2006, 2014 and 2017. Bayesian inference is used to analyse how these ordinal categorical distributions have changed over time and to compare indigenous and nonindigenous distributions. Both the level of educational attainment and inequality in educational attainment are considered. To compare changes in levels over time, as well as inequality between the two populations, first order stochastic dominance and an index of educational poverty are used. To examine changes in inequality over time, two inequality indices and generalised Lorenz dominance are considered. Results are presented in terms of posterior densities for the indices and posterior probabilities for dominance for the dominance comparisons. We find some evidence of improvement over time, especially in the lower parts of the indigenous distribution and that inequality has significantly increased from 2001 to 2017.