an article by Dalit Contini, Marianna Filandri and Lia Pacelli (University of Torino, Italy) published in Journal of Youth Studies Volume 22 Issue 7 (2019)
Abstract
This article addresses the NEET phenomenon in a longitudinal perspective, by examining the case of Italy, a country experiencing one of the highest and increasing NEET shares in the EU.
We exploit the longitudinal sample of the 2008-2011 EU-SILC data, providing self-declared information on individuals’ educational and occupational status on a monthly basis for 4 years.
Firstly, we propose a classification of individual histories in education, employment and the NEET states. According to our estimates, more than 40% of the Italian young people report being NEET for at least 13 months out of 48, and more than 10% for (almost) the entire period.
Secondly, we examine the composition of the NEET groups and draw a long-term NEET risk profile for individuals from different sociodemographic groups.
Thirdly, we examine the longitudinal histories by distinguishing between unemployment and inactivity spells.
Our findings show that the NEET phenomenon among Italian young adults is largely an issue of unemployment. The only exception is represented by Italian older females with children, the majority of which portrays themselves as inactive. Still, a sizable portion of these women define themselves as being mainly ‘unemployed’ instead of ‘performing domestic tasks’, indicating an unsatisfied wish or need to work.
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Monday, 19 August 2019
Thursday, 20 June 2019
Human development in the age of globalisation
a column by Leandro de la Escosura for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
The concept of human development views wellbeing as being affected by a wide range of factors including health and education.
This column examines worldwide long-term wellbeing from 1870-2015 with an augmented historical human development index (AHHDI) that combines new measures of achievements in health, education, material living standards, and political freedom. It shows that world human development has steadily improved over time, although advances have been unevenly distributed across world regions.
Continue reading
And if, like me, you enjoy reading social history you will really like this piece.
The concept of human development views wellbeing as being affected by a wide range of factors including health and education.
This column examines worldwide long-term wellbeing from 1870-2015 with an augmented historical human development index (AHHDI) that combines new measures of achievements in health, education, material living standards, and political freedom. It shows that world human development has steadily improved over time, although advances have been unevenly distributed across world regions.
Continue reading
And if, like me, you enjoy reading social history you will really like this piece.
Thursday, 13 June 2019
The benefits of starting school early
a column by Thomas Cornelissen and Christian Dustmann for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
Primary education starts at age 6 or 7 in most OECD countries, but in the UK children start primary school at the age of 4 or 5.
This column exploits local variation in school entry rules in the UK to investigate the effects of schooling at an early age on cognitive and non-cognitive development. It finds that early schooling boosts both cognitive and non-cognitive skills up until the age of 11. These effects tend to be strongest for boys from disadvantaged family backgrounds.
Continue reading
Primary education starts at age 6 or 7 in most OECD countries, but in the UK children start primary school at the age of 4 or 5.
This column exploits local variation in school entry rules in the UK to investigate the effects of schooling at an early age on cognitive and non-cognitive development. It finds that early schooling boosts both cognitive and non-cognitive skills up until the age of 11. These effects tend to be strongest for boys from disadvantaged family backgrounds.
Continue reading
Friday, 26 April 2019
It’s not just for boys! Understanding gender differences in STEM
a column by Judith Delaney and Paul Devereux for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
Women are much less likely to study STEM degrees at university.
This column reveals that in the case of Ireland, the gender gap is concentrated in the areas of engineering, technology, and mathematics.
Subject choice in secondary school is the most important predictor of the portion of the gap that can be explained, with a small role for grades achieved in mathematics versus English. A gender gap of 9% remains even among students who studied the same subjects and achieved the same grades at secondary school.
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Women are much less likely to study STEM degrees at university.
This column reveals that in the case of Ireland, the gender gap is concentrated in the areas of engineering, technology, and mathematics.
Subject choice in secondary school is the most important predictor of the portion of the gap that can be explained, with a small role for grades achieved in mathematics versus English. A gender gap of 9% remains even among students who studied the same subjects and achieved the same grades at secondary school.
Continue reading
‘We always torment different people, so by definition, we are no bullies’: The problem of definitions in cyber-bullying research
an article by Jette Kofoed (Aarhus University, Denmark) and Elisabeth Staksrud (University of Oslo, Norway) published in New Media & Society Volume 21 Issue 4 (April 2019)
Abstract
In this article, we investigate the power of prevailing definitions within the research field of cyber-bullying. We address how these definitions, mostly deriving from developmental psychology, have had a problematic influence on the way researchers, policymakers, practitioners working with interventions, and children and young people themselves approach the challenge of understanding and preventing cyber-bullying and its consequences.
We analyse how the definition of cyber-bullying stemming from developmental psychology is inadequate in addressing the complexities of technologically mediated exclusionary processes in educational- and peer-group settings.
The dominant research paradigm has suppressed such complexity by deeming irrelevant the extensive experience with cyber-bullying of many children and young people. Thus, we argue that it is necessary for the research field to refine definitional work.
Research on cyberbullying needs to draw on a broad spectrum of empirical data and incorporate multiple and diverse theoretical perspectives.
Abstract
In this article, we investigate the power of prevailing definitions within the research field of cyber-bullying. We address how these definitions, mostly deriving from developmental psychology, have had a problematic influence on the way researchers, policymakers, practitioners working with interventions, and children and young people themselves approach the challenge of understanding and preventing cyber-bullying and its consequences.
We analyse how the definition of cyber-bullying stemming from developmental psychology is inadequate in addressing the complexities of technologically mediated exclusionary processes in educational- and peer-group settings.
The dominant research paradigm has suppressed such complexity by deeming irrelevant the extensive experience with cyber-bullying of many children and young people. Thus, we argue that it is necessary for the research field to refine definitional work.
Research on cyberbullying needs to draw on a broad spectrum of empirical data and incorporate multiple and diverse theoretical perspectives.
Monday, 8 April 2019
An EU tax credit to preserve incentives for investment in human capital in the context of intra-EU migration
a column by Debora Revoltella, Philipp-Bastian Brutscher and Patricia Wruuck for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
Spending on education underpins the formation of human capital. But intra-EU labour mobility means that returns to such spending often accrue somewhere other than where the investment takes place, which can lead to sub-optimal levels of investment in countries that are subject to persistent outward migration.
This column advocates for more intra-EU coordination on investment in education and proposes a novel mechanism for fostering more investment in human capital across the EU.
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Spending on education underpins the formation of human capital. But intra-EU labour mobility means that returns to such spending often accrue somewhere other than where the investment takes place, which can lead to sub-optimal levels of investment in countries that are subject to persistent outward migration.
This column advocates for more intra-EU coordination on investment in education and proposes a novel mechanism for fostering more investment in human capital across the EU.
Continue reading
Friday, 22 March 2019
Taking stock of skills and education in Brexit Britain
a post by Kathleen Henehan for the Resolution Foundation blog
The skills and qualifications held by the British workforce have come under increased scrutiny lately, tied as they are to the Brexit-related migration debate. Some have argued that ‘turning off the tap’ of migrant labour will cause immediate, and substantial, recruitment difficulties for firms. Others maintain that reduced levels of migration could compel educators and employers to put renewed focus on upskilling UK-based workers.
Regardless of whether you view Brexit as a skills-related challenge, or an opportunity, now seems a good time to stock of where Britain is on educational attainment, and where we might be heading.
Continue reading
The skills and qualifications held by the British workforce have come under increased scrutiny lately, tied as they are to the Brexit-related migration debate. Some have argued that ‘turning off the tap’ of migrant labour will cause immediate, and substantial, recruitment difficulties for firms. Others maintain that reduced levels of migration could compel educators and employers to put renewed focus on upskilling UK-based workers.
Regardless of whether you view Brexit as a skills-related challenge, or an opportunity, now seems a good time to stock of where Britain is on educational attainment, and where we might be heading.
Continue reading
Tuesday, 11 December 2018
You are needed but not your skills: Challenges to manufacturing workers in the wake of globalisation
a column by Hâle Utar for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
The impact of trade shocks on labour market shifts is usually studied in the context of re-training and social welfare frictions.
Using evidence from Denmark, this column shows how workers can experience long-run reductions in earnings no matter how easy it is to change sector. A sudden and obligatory shift toward a new sector may, by its nature, generate some worker dissatisfaction.
Continue reading
The impact of trade shocks on labour market shifts is usually studied in the context of re-training and social welfare frictions.
Using evidence from Denmark, this column shows how workers can experience long-run reductions in earnings no matter how easy it is to change sector. A sudden and obligatory shift toward a new sector may, by its nature, generate some worker dissatisfaction.
Continue reading
Tuesday, 20 November 2018
Is digital upskilling the next generation our ‘pipeline to prosperity’?
an article by Huw C Davies and Rebecca Eynon (The Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK) published in New Media & Society Volume 20 Issue 11 (November 2018)
Abstract
The British government is claiming digital skills will deliver economic growth to the country and social mobility to young people: its ministers call it ‘a pipeline to prosperity’. While declaring this pipeline, the government assumes the needs of the economy and young people’s needs are (or should be) synchronised.
We challenge this assumption and the policy it sustains with data from questionnaires, workshops and interviews with 50 young people from communities in South Wales (including a former mining town and a deprived inner city area) about digital technology’s role in their everyday life.
We use a new typography to compare the reality of their socially and economically structured lives to the governmental policy discourse that makes them responsible for their country’s future economic success.
To explain these young people’s creative and transgressive use of technology, we also make an empirically grounded contribution to the ongoing theoretical debates about structure and agency.
Abstract
The British government is claiming digital skills will deliver economic growth to the country and social mobility to young people: its ministers call it ‘a pipeline to prosperity’. While declaring this pipeline, the government assumes the needs of the economy and young people’s needs are (or should be) synchronised.
We challenge this assumption and the policy it sustains with data from questionnaires, workshops and interviews with 50 young people from communities in South Wales (including a former mining town and a deprived inner city area) about digital technology’s role in their everyday life.
We use a new typography to compare the reality of their socially and economically structured lives to the governmental policy discourse that makes them responsible for their country’s future economic success.
To explain these young people’s creative and transgressive use of technology, we also make an empirically grounded contribution to the ongoing theoretical debates about structure and agency.
Thursday, 15 November 2018
Overcoming age barriers: motivation for mature adults’ engagement in education
an article by Francesco Marcaletti (Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain), Tatiana Iñiguez Berrozpe (Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain) and Kleio Koutra (TEI of Crete, Heraklion, Greece) published in International Journal of Lifelong Education Volume 37 Issue 4 (2018)
Abstract
Education is the main vehicle for empowering adults, and can contribute to community wellbeing. However, regarding mature adults (MAs) (over 45 years old), age has been identified in various studies as a significant barrier to accessing educational activities.
This paper focuses on MAs’ motivations to learn through an exploratory survey undertaken in six European countries.
A K-means cluster analysis based on 16 variables has been run on n = 846 valid cases. Four clusters describing distinctive behaviours and attitudes of MAs towards learning activities were identified. The study confirms that MAs’ motivations to learn are very diverse, overcoming some of the so-called myths of global aging, such as the homogeneity of MAs or the correlation between age and a decline in motivation to learn.
Furthermore, analysing the main motivations of MA learners can be useful for adapting education to cater to their specific needs, boosting a more inclusive education, and promoting MAs’ empowerment.
Abstract
Education is the main vehicle for empowering adults, and can contribute to community wellbeing. However, regarding mature adults (MAs) (over 45 years old), age has been identified in various studies as a significant barrier to accessing educational activities.
This paper focuses on MAs’ motivations to learn through an exploratory survey undertaken in six European countries.
A K-means cluster analysis based on 16 variables has been run on n = 846 valid cases. Four clusters describing distinctive behaviours and attitudes of MAs towards learning activities were identified. The study confirms that MAs’ motivations to learn are very diverse, overcoming some of the so-called myths of global aging, such as the homogeneity of MAs or the correlation between age and a decline in motivation to learn.
Furthermore, analysing the main motivations of MA learners can be useful for adapting education to cater to their specific needs, boosting a more inclusive education, and promoting MAs’ empowerment.
Wednesday, 7 November 2018
Students’ perceptions of education and employability: Facilitating career transition from higher education into the labor market
an article by William E. Donald, Melanie J. Ashleigh and Yehuda Baruch, (University of Southampton, UK) published in Career Development International Volume 23 Issue 5 (2018)
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand how students perceive their future careers and how university has prepared them to enter the global labor market; student perceptions regarding benefits vs associated costs of pursuing higher education (HE) on employability and earnings; and the anticipated barriers and how to overcome these in pursuit of career sustainability within a career ecosystem.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopted a qualitative method using semi-structured interviews on a small sample of 38 final year students from a UK university who were also participants in an earlier two-wave quantitative survey, which was conducted with 387 penultimate and final year undergraduates from the same UK-based University.
Findings
Findings revealed that undergraduates perceive their investment in HE to offer a net financial gain; however, this is narrowing due to increased tuition fees, associated student debt and interest payments eroding earning premiums. As undergraduates progress, they feel more employable from a personal perspective, but less employable from a market perspective due to competition for graduate jobs and the cost/benefit conflict of resources.
Practical implications
The authors provide nine opportunities for enhancing the employability of graduates collaborating with graduate employers, providing a timely contribution to the social, political and economic debate on the funding of HE.
Originality/value
The authors advance career theory via the new perspective of Career Ecosystem Theory by: explaining student career perceptions in terms of how university has prepared them for the global labor market; exploring the perceived costs vs benefits of pursuing HE in relation to employability; suggesting a two-dimensional model of personal and market factors of employability; providing a model of careers advice from employers and universities for supporting students’ careers; and offering policy implications in relation to the future funding of HE and employability of future graduates.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand how students perceive their future careers and how university has prepared them to enter the global labor market; student perceptions regarding benefits vs associated costs of pursuing higher education (HE) on employability and earnings; and the anticipated barriers and how to overcome these in pursuit of career sustainability within a career ecosystem.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopted a qualitative method using semi-structured interviews on a small sample of 38 final year students from a UK university who were also participants in an earlier two-wave quantitative survey, which was conducted with 387 penultimate and final year undergraduates from the same UK-based University.
Findings
Findings revealed that undergraduates perceive their investment in HE to offer a net financial gain; however, this is narrowing due to increased tuition fees, associated student debt and interest payments eroding earning premiums. As undergraduates progress, they feel more employable from a personal perspective, but less employable from a market perspective due to competition for graduate jobs and the cost/benefit conflict of resources.
Practical implications
The authors provide nine opportunities for enhancing the employability of graduates collaborating with graduate employers, providing a timely contribution to the social, political and economic debate on the funding of HE.
Originality/value
The authors advance career theory via the new perspective of Career Ecosystem Theory by: explaining student career perceptions in terms of how university has prepared them for the global labor market; exploring the perceived costs vs benefits of pursuing HE in relation to employability; suggesting a two-dimensional model of personal and market factors of employability; providing a model of careers advice from employers and universities for supporting students’ careers; and offering policy implications in relation to the future funding of HE and employability of future graduates.
Thursday, 30 August 2018
Human capital and the supply of agricultural workers
a column by Tommaso Porzio for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
The share of the population employed in agriculture across the globe declined steeply over the second half of the 20th century. This coincided with an unprecedented increase in average years of schooling.
This column explores whether these two trends are related.
The results lend support to the idea that increased schooling led more workers to sort out of agricultural work. Whether reallocation out of agriculture has been beneficial for growth, however, remains to be seen.
The share of the population employed in agriculture across the globe declined steeply over the second half of the 20th century. This coincided with an unprecedented increase in average years of schooling.
This column explores whether these two trends are related.
The results lend support to the idea that increased schooling led more workers to sort out of agricultural work. Whether reallocation out of agriculture has been beneficial for growth, however, remains to be seen.
Monday, 30 July 2018
Intergenerational mobility across the world: Where socioeconomic status of parents matters the most (and least)
a column by Ambar Narayan and Roy Van der Weide for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
Intergenerational mobility is important for both fairness and economic efficiency in a society.
This column uses data from a new global study spanning five decades to show that average relative mobility is lower in developing economies, with no sign that the gap with developed countries is getting smaller.
In addition, income mobility in several developing economies is much lower than their levels of educational mobility would lead us to expect. Labour market deficiencies appear to be contributing to this gap between mobility in education and income.
Intergenerational mobility is important for both fairness and economic efficiency in a society.
This column uses data from a new global study spanning five decades to show that average relative mobility is lower in developing economies, with no sign that the gap with developed countries is getting smaller.
In addition, income mobility in several developing economies is much lower than their levels of educational mobility would lead us to expect. Labour market deficiencies appear to be contributing to this gap between mobility in education and income.
Wednesday, 25 July 2018
Subsidised childcare, maternal labour supply, and children's outcomes
a column by Francesca Carta and Lucia Rizzica for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
A growing number of advanced economies are opting for highly subsidised childcare systems. But studies have shown mixed effects of subsidised childcare on children’s outcomes, suggesting a potential trade-off between promoting female labour supply and providing the best care for children.
This column shows that an expansion of subsidised childcare in Italy increased female labour supply without hurting children’s outcomes. Childcare could be made more cost-effective by making it conditional on the mother’s employment status, or incentivising firms to provide corporate childcare options.
Continue reading
A growing number of advanced economies are opting for highly subsidised childcare systems. But studies have shown mixed effects of subsidised childcare on children’s outcomes, suggesting a potential trade-off between promoting female labour supply and providing the best care for children.
This column shows that an expansion of subsidised childcare in Italy increased female labour supply without hurting children’s outcomes. Childcare could be made more cost-effective by making it conditional on the mother’s employment status, or incentivising firms to provide corporate childcare options.
Continue reading
Saturday, 21 July 2018
Speak better, do better? Education and health of migrants in the UK
Yu Aokia (University of Aberdeen, UK) and Lualhati Santiagob (Office for National Statistics, London, UK) published in Labour Economics Volume 52 (June 2018)
Highlights
Abstract
Does proficiency in host-country language affect immigrant social outcomes?
This paper aims to address this question by estimating the causal effects of English language skills on education, health and fertility outcomes of immigrants in England and Wales.
We construct an instrument for language skills using age at arrival in the United Kingdom, exploiting the phenomenon that young children learn languages more easily than older children. Using a unique individual-level dataset that links the 2011 Census data to life event records, we find that better English language skills significantly improve educational attainment and adult health, and affect fertility behaviour, but do not affect child health.
Supplementary analysis suggests that a higher educational attainment as a result of better English language skills is a possibly important channel though which English proficiency affects immigrant health.
JEL classification: I10, I21, J13, J15
Highlights
- Estimate the causal effects of English proficiency on the social outcomes of UK migrants.
- Use the critical period hypothesis of language acquisition to construct an instrument.
- Better English skills improve educational attainment and adult health, and affect fertility.
- An improvement in adult health likely occurred due to an improvement in educational attainment.
Abstract
Does proficiency in host-country language affect immigrant social outcomes?
This paper aims to address this question by estimating the causal effects of English language skills on education, health and fertility outcomes of immigrants in England and Wales.
We construct an instrument for language skills using age at arrival in the United Kingdom, exploiting the phenomenon that young children learn languages more easily than older children. Using a unique individual-level dataset that links the 2011 Census data to life event records, we find that better English language skills significantly improve educational attainment and adult health, and affect fertility behaviour, but do not affect child health.
Supplementary analysis suggests that a higher educational attainment as a result of better English language skills is a possibly important channel though which English proficiency affects immigrant health.
JEL classification: I10, I21, J13, J15
Tuesday, 10 July 2018
The need for lifelong learning
an article by Luke Gerard Christie and Gajendra Kumar (Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, India) published in International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital Volume 15 Number 2 (2018)
Abstract
The more we learn and acquire knowledge, the more empowered and better would our life become. In more than one scenario, people who upgraded themselves or were more knowledgeable came off as being resilient, innovative with the attitude of being socially and emotionally resilient.
The more learning becomes part of our daily life and curious we are, life becomes more gratifying and energetic for achieving one's dreams and goals. Acquisition of more knowledge helps in solving problems effectively with an efficient and innovative bent of mind.
The desire to make learning a life-long activity and a continuous process helps create value and add value to what we do or in living life to the fullest and in reaching out to others with integrity and in principle. Life has to be lived not as a monotonous activity but has to be experienced from within and learning creates that path.
Abstract
The more we learn and acquire knowledge, the more empowered and better would our life become. In more than one scenario, people who upgraded themselves or were more knowledgeable came off as being resilient, innovative with the attitude of being socially and emotionally resilient.
The more learning becomes part of our daily life and curious we are, life becomes more gratifying and energetic for achieving one's dreams and goals. Acquisition of more knowledge helps in solving problems effectively with an efficient and innovative bent of mind.
The desire to make learning a life-long activity and a continuous process helps create value and add value to what we do or in living life to the fullest and in reaching out to others with integrity and in principle. Life has to be lived not as a monotonous activity but has to be experienced from within and learning creates that path.
Sunday, 17 June 2018
Cultural alignment can make bedfellows out of autocracy and literacy
a column by Nuno Palma and Jaime Reis for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
Can less democratic forms of government lead to higher literacy rates?
This column uses a sample of over 4,000 individuals from military archives in Portugal to show that an autocracy can have greater educational success than a democracy if it has closer cultural alignment with the preferences of the masses. This understanding has implications for development policy in poor countries today.
Continue reading
Can less democratic forms of government lead to higher literacy rates?
This column uses a sample of over 4,000 individuals from military archives in Portugal to show that an autocracy can have greater educational success than a democracy if it has closer cultural alignment with the preferences of the masses. This understanding has implications for development policy in poor countries today.
Continue reading
Monday, 30 April 2018
Does it matter if immigrants work in jobs related to their education?
an article by Jason Dean (Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada) published in IZA Journal of Development and Migration Volume 8 Article 7 (2018)
Abstract
A common finding throughout the Canadian immigration literature is that, despite having high levels of education, recent immigrants endure substantial earnings disadvantages upon arrival that persist throughout their working career.
This paper investigates the role of “qualitative” education-job matches in explaining these poor labor market outcomes.
Using a self-reported match measure, available in the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID), the incidence and wage penalties associated with being mismatched are found to be higher among immigrants relative to Canadian-born workers. As a consequence, mismatches on the part of immigrants are a mechanism behind the immigrant wage disadvantages reported throughout the literature.
Successful matching is also found to significantly improve the return to pre-migration education and work experience.
JEL Classification: I2, J3
Full text (PDF 42pp)
Abstract
A common finding throughout the Canadian immigration literature is that, despite having high levels of education, recent immigrants endure substantial earnings disadvantages upon arrival that persist throughout their working career.
This paper investigates the role of “qualitative” education-job matches in explaining these poor labor market outcomes.
Using a self-reported match measure, available in the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID), the incidence and wage penalties associated with being mismatched are found to be higher among immigrants relative to Canadian-born workers. As a consequence, mismatches on the part of immigrants are a mechanism behind the immigrant wage disadvantages reported throughout the literature.
Successful matching is also found to significantly improve the return to pre-migration education and work experience.
JEL Classification: I2, J3
Full text (PDF 42pp)
Saturday, 14 April 2018
Equality of What? The Capability Approach and the Right to Education for Persons with Disabilities
an article by Andrea Broderick (Maastricht University, The Netherlands) published in Social Inclusion Volume 6 Number 1 (2018)
Abstract
The right to education is indispensable in unlocking other substantive human rights and in ensuring full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in mainstream society.
The cornerstone of Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities seeks to ensure access to inclusive education for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others as well as the full development of human potential. Since the adoption of the Convention, there has been much theorising about inclusive education; however, there has been little focus on the meaning of equality in the context of the right to education for persons with disabilities.
The capability approach, developed by Amartya Sen and further refined by Martha Nussbaum, focuses on ensuring equality and developing human potential.
It is often viewed as a tool that can be used to overcome the limitations of traditional equality assessments in the educational sphere, which only measure resources and outcomes.
This article explores whether the capability approach can offer new insights into the vision of educational equality contained in the Convention and how that vision can be implemented at the national level.
Full text (PDF 11pp)
Abstract
The right to education is indispensable in unlocking other substantive human rights and in ensuring full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in mainstream society.
The cornerstone of Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities seeks to ensure access to inclusive education for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others as well as the full development of human potential. Since the adoption of the Convention, there has been much theorising about inclusive education; however, there has been little focus on the meaning of equality in the context of the right to education for persons with disabilities.
The capability approach, developed by Amartya Sen and further refined by Martha Nussbaum, focuses on ensuring equality and developing human potential.
It is often viewed as a tool that can be used to overcome the limitations of traditional equality assessments in the educational sphere, which only measure resources and outcomes.
This article explores whether the capability approach can offer new insights into the vision of educational equality contained in the Convention and how that vision can be implemented at the national level.
Full text (PDF 11pp)
Wednesday, 7 March 2018
Inequality in mobilizing online help after a negative life event: the role of education, digital skills, and capital-enhancing Internet use
an article by Erik van Ingen (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and Uwe Matzat (Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands) published in Information, Communication & Society Volume 21 Issue 4 (April 2018)
Abstract
Many studies have investigated inequalities in coping with stressful life events and often education is found to play a role in this (the higher educated are usually more successful in dealing with their problems in terms of well-being consequences).
We examine whether something similar occurs on the Internet, whether the higher educated are more successful in mobilizing help online, and whether this is related to their digital skills and the way in which they use the Internet. With the latter, we link online coping to digital inequality research.
Researchers have investigated digital inequalities with regard to skills and types of Internet use. However, we know little about the extent to which these factors translate into inequalities in resources mobilized from the Internet. This latter type of inequality is highly relevant, since it is an intermediary step between Internet use and (improved) well-being and life chances.
Using a large sample of individuals living in the Netherlands, we find educational differences in the mobilization of online problem-focused coping resources, but no differences with regard to online socioemotional or disengagement coping resources. The educational inequalities in online coping are somewhat smaller than educational inequalities in offline coping, leading to remarkable consequences for social policy.
Furthermore, we find a relatively complex pattern of interrelations between offline inequality (education) and different types of digital inequality (skills, usage, resources).
In our conclusions we make a plea for more research on outcomes of Internet use and we discuss the implications of our findings for further research.
Full text (PDF 19pp)
Abstract
Many studies have investigated inequalities in coping with stressful life events and often education is found to play a role in this (the higher educated are usually more successful in dealing with their problems in terms of well-being consequences).
We examine whether something similar occurs on the Internet, whether the higher educated are more successful in mobilizing help online, and whether this is related to their digital skills and the way in which they use the Internet. With the latter, we link online coping to digital inequality research.
Researchers have investigated digital inequalities with regard to skills and types of Internet use. However, we know little about the extent to which these factors translate into inequalities in resources mobilized from the Internet. This latter type of inequality is highly relevant, since it is an intermediary step between Internet use and (improved) well-being and life chances.
Using a large sample of individuals living in the Netherlands, we find educational differences in the mobilization of online problem-focused coping resources, but no differences with regard to online socioemotional or disengagement coping resources. The educational inequalities in online coping are somewhat smaller than educational inequalities in offline coping, leading to remarkable consequences for social policy.
Furthermore, we find a relatively complex pattern of interrelations between offline inequality (education) and different types of digital inequality (skills, usage, resources).
In our conclusions we make a plea for more research on outcomes of Internet use and we discuss the implications of our findings for further research.
Full text (PDF 19pp)
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