Study Notes on Inequalities in Education and Employment

Social Analysis Notes

Inequalities in Education and Employment

  • Lecture by: Dr. Chris Playford

  • Institution: University of Exeter

  • Course: SOC1001

  • Week: 10

Overview of Topics Discussed

  1. Attainment at School in England

  2. School Subject Choice

  3. Post-16 Education

  4. The Class Pay Gap

  5. Conclusions

Status Attainment Process

  • Theoretical Framework: OED Triangle proposed by Blau and Duncan (1967)

    • Components:

    • Parents' Socio-economic Status (A)

    • Education (B)

    • Occupational Status (C)

    • Diagram: Status attainment illustrated as a triangle structure representing the relationship between social origins (parents), education, and outcomes in occupational ranking.

    • Source: Van Tubergen (2020: 318)

Modernization Theory

  • Theory by: Treiman (1970)

  • Key Concepts:

    • Ascription: The influence of an individual's social background on their eventual social position diminishes over time.

    • Achievement: The impact of educational attainment on social outcomes grows stronger over time.

Primary and Secondary Effects of Education

  • Primary Effects:

    • Differences in educational performance due to social background, noted particularly during key transitions in education (Jackson, 2013).

  • Secondary Effects:

    • Differences in educational choices made based on social background, independent of actual performance (Bourdon, 1974).

Maximally Maintained Inequality (MMI)

  • Concept by: Raftery and Hout (1993)

  • Findings:

    • Educational expansion does not always mitigate inequalities. While working-class youth gain more access to education, middle-class youths tend to progress faster, reinforcing inequalities over time.

Effectively Maintained Inequality (EMI)

  • Concept by: Lucas (2001)

  • Implication: Builds on MMI by considering inequalities arising from the type of qualifications pursued, fields of study, and institutions selected.

Class and Education Historical Perspective

  • Quote by Roberts (2009):

    • Before 1944, social class influenced access to secondary education. Post-1944, social class determined the types of secondary schooling attended and continued to predict the qualification levels achieved and the university ranks entered. Class differences in education re-emerge when suppressed in one area.

Importance of Education

  • Human Capital Theory (Becker 1993):

    • Definition: Skills, knowledge, and values that enhance individual productivity and marketability.

    • Signal to Employers (Wolf 2002; Checchi 2006):

    • Education signals characteristics like intelligence and motivation, which are essential in employment contexts.

    • Credentialism:

    • Definition: The increasing necessity for higher education credentials for jobs that historically did not require them (Collins, 1979; Brown, 2001).

    • Intergenerational Inequality:

    • Education contributes to the continuity of social inequalities across generations.

Attainment at School in England

  • National Curriculum Development

  • Key Stages Overview: Key stages followed in the education system from early years through secondary education.

Gender and Educational Attainment (Abbott 2013)

  • Key Stage 1 Performance:

    • Reading: Boys 80.5%, Girls 88.5%

    • Writing: Boys 75.3%, Girls 86.7%

    • Mathematics: Boys 87.9%, Girls 91.1%

    • Science: Boys 87.2%, Girls 90.6%

  • Key Stage 2 Performance:

    • English: Boys 75.8%, Girls 85.0%

    • Mathematics: Boys 79.8%, Girls 80.3%

    • Science: Boys 84.0%, Girls 86.0%

  • Key Stage 3 Performance:

    • English: Boys 73.0%, Girls 86.0%

    • Mathematics: Boys 79.0%, Girls 81.0%

    • Science: Boys 79.0%, Girls 82.0%

  • Source: ONS (2011) Social Trends 41: Education and Training.

General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)

  • Introduced: 1988

  • Age Group: Typically for students aged 15-16 (Year 11)

  • Compilation: Up to 9-10 subjects, including compulsory: English, Mathematics, Sciences (additional requirements for foreign languages may also be imposed).

  • Standard Benchmark: Achievement of five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C is crucial for future educational and employment success (Leckie and Goldstein, 2009).

  • Consequential Nature: Performance in GCSEs influences subsequent opportunities in education and employment (Babb, 2005).

Challenges in Analyzing GCSE Attainment

  • Variability in Entries: Not all pupils are entered for a GCSE due to strategic decisions by schools based on expected outcomes.

  • Compulsory Measures: Very few subjects are compulsory, complicating standardized comparison.

  • Key Measures Discussed:

    • 5+ A*-C including English and Maths

    • English Baccalaureate (EBacc)

    • Attainment 8 and Progress 8 measures.

    • Source for more details: Perryman et al. (2011).

Distribution of Attainment

  • Data Source: Youth Cohort Study surveying 54,236 respondents detailing attainment levels of GCSEs at grades A*-C from 1990-1999.

GCSE Attainment Trends by Gender (Platt 2011)

  • Trend Visual: Percentage of students achieving 5+ A*-C (or pass) GCSEs, compared by gender from 1962-2006.

Ethnic Disparities in Educational Attainment (Strand 2015)

  • Statistical comparison of achievement rates across various ethnic groups from 2003-2013.

  • Data Highlights:

    • Data exhibited performance of White British, White Other, Mixed, Indian, and Black Caribbean cohorts among others.

  • For detailed tabulated data: See Appendix 4.

Socioeconomic Status (SES) and Educational Attainment (Strand 2015)

  • Mean Total Points Score Analysis: Adjusted to consider SES across different ethnic groups. Reported scores illustrated differences in performance across genders and ethnic backgrounds.

Social Class and GCSE Attainment (Connolly 2006)

  • Analysis: Binary logistic regression showing relative odds of achieving five or more GCSE grades A*-C based on both gender and ethnicity in 1997, 1999, and 2001.

  • Findings Noted:

    • Higher odds for girls and ethnic minorities like Chinese and Indian students, underlining significant disparities linked to social class.

    • Source of Data: Analysis based on Youth Cohort Study data.

Other Socioeconomic Background Measures

  • Index of Multiple Deprivation: Used to evaluate the levels of deprivation in geographical areas where students reside.

  • Criticism: The index measures area deprivation rather than specific family socioeconomic status.

  • Free-School Meals (FSM): A commonly used proxy for assessing socioeconomic background but criticized for crude assessment.

School Subject Choice

  • Impact of Gender on Subject Selection: Trends in choice of subjects at GCSE level vary significantly between genders, highlighting societal influences on academic pathways.

  • Studies Cited: Bramley et al. (2015) explored disparities in subject selections over time (2005-2014).

Post-16 Education Contextual Changes

  • Trends Noted: Increasing number of young individuals (aged 14-19) remaining in educational settings post-compulsory schooling.

  • Historical Context: Most students used to leave school at the statutory leaving age until policy changes in the late 20th century showed a shift towards continued education into post-compulsory realms.

Rise in Attainment in Compulsory Qualifications

  • Statistical Growth:

    • 1953/54: 10.7% achieved 5 or more GCE O-level passes.

    • 1990/91: 36.8% achieved 5 or more GCSE passes.

    • 2011/12: 81.1% achieved 5 or more GCSE A*-C passes (Bolton, 2012).

Expansion of A-Level Education

  • Current Trends in A-Level Enrollment:

    • A-levels remain a primary route for students aiming for university (36% of 18-year-olds in state-funded schools in 2015).

    • Historical Comparison: 6% of school leavers achieved A-levels in the early post-war years.

Tertiary Education Growth

  • Tertiary Education Rates:

    • Proportion of individuals aged 25-64 with tertiary education increased from 26% in 2000 to 48% by 2012 (OECD, 2014).

Further Education Dynamics

  • Definition of Further Education: Traditionally encompasses all non-higher education routes, crucial for individuals 16-18 and for those looking at post-secondary pathways.

  • Viewpoints on Enrollment Trends: Indications that further education is usually seen as less prestigious compared to academic routes.

  • Study Cited: Wolf (2002) argued that general educational skills are perceived as more valuable in the evolving job market than specific vocational certifications.

Decline of Youth Labour Demand

  • Historical Data Points: Dramatic decreases in youth labor, particularly in manufacturing, highlighted major sectoral shifts.

    • 1951: 36% of youth worked in manufacturing, by 2011 this shrank to 9%.

    • Service sector employment saw growth from 46% to 81%.

The Class Pay Gap

  • Research by: Laurison and Friedman (2016)

  • Dataset: Labor Force Survey Sample including 95,950 respondents. Analytic sample of 43,444 respondents for in-depth wage analysis focusing on social class origins.

Findings of The Class Pay Gap

  • Statistical Observations:

    • Comparatively underrepresented social origins in higher-paid occupational categories.

    • Salary regressions highlight significant disparities based on social class of origin.

Mechanisms Behind Pay Gaps

  • Potential Influencing Factors:

    • Work context selection, networks, parental wealth, educational background, elite institutional attendance, and cultural dispositions may account for discrepancies.

Conclusions and Summary

  1. Primary and Secondary Effects in Education: Identified disparities in educational outcomes and choices attributed to background.

  2. Inequality in Subject Choice: Nova-based discussion revealing how choices exacerbate inequality.

  3. Class Pay Gap Insights: Existence and factors contributing to persistent pay disparities across different social class origins.

Next Topic

  • Upcoming Discussion: Social Mobility

References

  • Full references include works by Abbott, Ashton, Babb, Becker, Bolton, Brown, Checchi, Collins, Connolly, Gayle, Gillard, Hasluck, Hodgson, Hupkau, Ilie, Jackson, Laurison, Leckie, Lucas, McCoshan, McMullin, OECD, Parry, Payne, Perryman, Platt, Raftery, Roberts, Strand, Taylor, Treiman, UCAS, van Tubergen, Wolf. See individual citations for specific details and further readings.