Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/195171 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Citation: 
[Editor:] Blossfeld, Hans-Peter [Editor:] Buchholz, Sandra [Editor:] Skopek, Jan [Editor:] Triventi, Moris [Title:] Models of Secondary Education and Social Inequality – An International Compariso [ISBN:] 978-1-78536-726-7 [Series:] eduLIFE Lifelong Learning series [Publisher:] Edward Elgar Publishing [Place:] Cheltenham [Year:] 2016 [Pages:] 61-76
Publisher: 
Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham
Abstract: 
Middle- and upper-class parents tend to think that school systems in which students from different socio-economic backgrounds learn together in the same schools would promote equality of opportunity but would harm their children. I investigate this belief, making both a conceptual and a methodological contribution. Conceptually I broaden the concept of differentiation in education arguing that not only formal differentiation but also more ‘hidden’ forms of differentiation such as residential segregation or private schools might contribute to a segregation of students from different socio-economic backgrounds into separate schools. Methodologically I contribute to the debate by analysing changes within countries, controlling for time-constant unobserved differences between countries. Using five waves of PISA data for 35 countries from 2000 to 2012, I find that in education systems in which schools become more socially inclusive, students from disadvantaged families improve their performance. Students from better-off families perform well independent of whether the education system becomes more socially segregated or inclusive. Thus, there is no conflict between equality of opportunity and excellence in education. In contrast, excellence can be improved through equality of opportunity without hindering advantaged students or top performers.
Subjects: 
inclusion
education system
secondary education
promotion of disadvantaged persons
pupil
social differentiation
school system
educational opportunity
Published Version’s DOI: 
Document Type: 
Book Part
Document Version: 
Manuscript Version (Preprint)

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.