The dynamics of achievement inequalities: the role of performance and choice in Chile

in International Journal of Educational Development (2022), 92(C),

Research on education inequalities has long established the relationship between the social composition of schools and achievement levels. However, the empirical study of the social processes in choosing ... [more ▼]

Research on education inequalities has long established the relationship between the social composition of schools and achievement levels. However, the empirical study of the social processes in choosing schools and their potential effects on achievement inequalities has often been neglected. This article investigates the extent to which such social processes, related to parents’ educational preferences and expectations, influence the development of students’ achievement throughout their schooling career, as a channel of transmission of social inequality. Using longitudinal census data from Chile, which allows us to observe students’ achievements between the 4th and 10th grades, we find support for the claim that the development of achievement inequalities operate partly through well-off parents’ educational preferences and expectations. Moreover, these preferences and beliefs explain most of the social composition effect of schools on achievement inequalities. We conclude that choice processes should be considered as an integral part of theories aimed to explain achievement inequalities as a dynamic process. [less ▲]

The positional value of education in the Americas: dynamics of inequality in labour market returns for highly unequal countries, 2000-2019

Scientific Conference (2021, November 17)

The article examines how the labour market value of education has changed in the context of the expansion of higher education. However, one drawback is understanding how it generates differences between ... [more ▼]

The article examines how the labour market value of education has changed in the context of the expansion of higher education. However, one drawback is understanding how it generates differences between high and low-skilled labour markets, particularly in contexts of high inequality and informality. This could be linked to specific mechanisms by which employers value educational credentials as signalled skills. Using the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS), we analyse trends over two decades in 11 American countries. Our results confirm the previous results for the claim that education has become increasingly positional, compared with the absolute model of education. However, we find that the relative gains in wages for workers with higher levels of education, as the pool of higher education graduates expand over time, increased only slightly in high-skilled occupations, while their relative gains decreased for lower-skilled occupations. This trend is present in both absolute and positional models of education. Moreover, when looking at the structure of labour markets in terms of the linkage between educational credentials and occupational groups, we higher the tertiary education specificity of occupations, the higher the earnings for workers with advantaged positions. These findings are consistent with processes of displacement of low-skilled workers due to increasing competition among highly educated workers, from the positional model of education. [less ▲]

The very long arm of wealth: Effects of intergenerational wealth resources on health in the U.S. over the last three decades

E-print/Working paper (2021)

Health inequalities result from multidimensional socioeconomic inequalities (income, education, wealth, etc.). Given the specific size and greater stability through time of wealth than income, wealth ... [more ▼]

Health inequalities result from multidimensional socioeconomic inequalities (income, education, wealth, etc.). Given the specific size and greater stability through time of wealth than income, wealth might affect health beyond other socioeconomic indicators. An important question is how far the reach of wealth is on one’s health: Does wealth promote health even over generations? Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), we consider the effects of intergenerational and intragenerational wealth on age-adjusted self-assessed health (ASAH) across the life course. We find that both parental and personal household wealth strongly affect ASAH net of other socioeconomic measures. Just as social disadvantages have been shown to be inherited between generations, so too are wealth-induced health advantages. Furthermore, the inter- and intra- generational wealth effects on health increase over the life course. This study thus encourages social scientists to pay greater attention to wealth inequalities, despite difficulties in their accurate measurement. [less ▲]

Beyond School Effects: Private Schooling, Segregation and Standardization of School Systems in Latin America

Scientific Conference (2020, November 07)

Introduction A considerable body of studies have shown that specific institutional arrangements in educational systems help in understanding cross-national differences in educational outcomes (Woessman ... [more ▼]

Introduction A considerable body of studies have shown that specific institutional arrangements in educational systems help in understanding cross-national differences in educational outcomes (Woessman 2003, Brunello and Checchi 2007, Bol and van de Werfhorst 2011, Bol et al 2014, Mijs 2016). The design of educational institutions may face policy trade-offs in the tasks of school systems that are served by them. Deregulation as privatization and school autonomy may enhance efficient sorting of students and then maximize learnings but at the cost of exacerbating social inequalities. A centralized education system may guarantee equality of educational opportunities, but it is not clear if it increases or hinder the overall performance level (Bol and van de Werfhorst 2011, Pedró et al 2015). This study is aimed to fill this gap, first, by departing from the widely supported assumption that the organization of educational systems affect, partly, the educational outcomes of students. Second, I focus on developing countries –Latin American countries- as we know less about the impact of institutions in educational outcomes in the region. Third, I attempt to address the following research question: what is the effect of the level of privatization increase achievement inequalities, given the level of standardization of the school systems in Latin American countries? Data and Methods I analyse data from the Tercer Estudio Regional Comparativo y Explicativo (TERCE), implemented in in year 2013 by UNESCO office in Santiago, Chile. TERCE is the most recent large-scale assessment that exclusively cover students and schools in Latin American countries. Fifteen countries participated: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. Following the comparative research body, I use two-level hierarchical model to account for the multilevel structure of the data, students nested in schools, with random school effects and country fixed effects, to identify variability in the educational institutions of interest, given the small number of countries. The dependent variable is performance in mathematics in 6th grade as it is the subject that is most clearly learned at schools (Coleman 1975, Bol et al 2014), and seems to be more sensitive to socioeconomic background than other subjects. The main predictor is socioeconomic status of student, and I control for several indicators related to learning home environment, and sociodemographic variables. At school level, I control for several organizational characteristics and social composition. Findings The main findings show that country-specific configurations of school systems are associated to difference in mathematics achievement. Differences between schools in performance are partly explained by differences at country level. In this regard, I have chosen two important dimensions of school systems, for the Latin American region: the level of standardization and privatization. These results confirm some recent findings that achievement inequality is larger in school systems with a great level of differentiation between schools, in which the stratification triggered by the private sector is one important indicator (Chmielewski and Reardon, 2016). In case of the level of standardization results show that is associated to a lesser degree of achievement inequality. However, the main finding points to persistent inequalities as much as private sector in school systems is bigger. Further, the models predict that these inequalities are not decreasing as the standardization level increases. In this respect, I also find support for a diminishing effect of policies that points to equalization of opportunities (Woessman 2003, Bol and van de Werfhorst 2011). The results suggest higher inequalities as the stratification induced by private school sector increases. These effects are still significant after adding school level controls, which suggest that over and above school processes, uneven between school sorting induces by private sector. [less ▲]