Different systems, same inequalities? Post-compulsory education and young adults’ literacy in 18 OECD countries

an article by Camilla Borgna (Research Unit “Skill Formation and Labor Markets”, WZB Berlin Social Science Center, Germany) published in Journal of European Social Policy Volume 27 Issue 4 (October 2017)

Abstract

Education is increasingly seen as a substitute for social policy, but opportunities for skill development vary by social background and educational institutions are not neutral in this respect.

While previous research has extensively examined how schooling affects skills distribution, the role of post-compulsory education has been long overlooked.

Using data from the 2011/2012 Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competences, this article investigates how selected features of upper secondary and tertiary education are connected to the social stratification of young adults’ literacy skills in 18 OECD countries.

First, I use individual-level regressions to assess the extent to which disparities in the skills of 24- to 29-year-old individuals are explained by parental education in each country.

Second, I apply fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis across countries to investigate under which institutional conditions the social stratification of young adults’ literacy skills is most severe.

The findings point to the existence of functionally equivalent education regimes:

• young adults face severe disparities not only in socially selective higher education systems but also in relatively open systems characterized by institutional differentiation; moreover,
• disparities arising during compulsory schooling are consequential for the skill distribution of young adults, underscoring the importance of a life-course approach to education policies.

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Educational attainment across the UK nations: performance, inequality and evidence

an article by Stephen Machin (University College London, UK and London School of Economics and Political Science, UK), Sandra McNally (London School of Economics and Political Science, UK and University of Surrey, Guildford, UK) and Gill Wyness (London School of Economics and Political Science, UK) published in Educational Research Volume 55 Issue 2 (2013)

Background

Political devolution occurred in the UK in 1998–99, following many years in which some degree of policy administration had been devolved to the four nations. Since devolution, all four countries of the UK have pursued increasingly divergent education policies. This is true in England in particular, where diversity, choice and competition have become a key focus of education policy. This political divergence between the four nations gives us the opportunity to appraise differences and similarities in educational policies and outcomes in the four UK nations.

Purpose

This article is a comparative review of the education reforms of the constituent countries of the UK, with particular focus on value for money.
The main aims of the article are to

1. outline the key differences in the educational systems in terms of school type, choice and competition, educational resources and pedagogy;
2. describe how the countries compare in terms of educational attainment during compulsory schooling years;
3. examine inequalities in educational attainment, such as by gender and socio-economic status, and how the different countries compare on these measures; and
4. examine existing evidence on the effectiveness and value for money of different education policies and programmes in the different countries.

Sources of evidence

We use a variety of sources of evidence to achieve these aims. We undertake a literature review of the existing evidence on the effectiveness and value for money of different programmes and policies that have taken place across the UK. We also collate and undertake an analysis of data on educational outcomes from published statistics sourced from the national statistics offices of each country. It is easier to be confident about comparisons based on international data sets because in this case all students will have taken exactly the same test, so we also compile and analyse survey data from international surveys of educational attainment such as PISA, PIRLS and TIMSS.

Main argument

We argue that while the systems of the four countries of the UK are becoming increasingly divergent, there are still many similarities. This is borne out in the evidence on educational outcomes, which show many similarities between the four countries. Because of these similarities, the positive impacts of many of the policies and programmes adopted in England may have relevance for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Conclusions

We find evidence that increasing school resources improves results, and also that more targeted spending benefits able pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. We also find positive results of several programmes. Evaluating the education policies of the four nations in terms of value for money – and therefore whether they have scope to be adopted – represents a bigger challenge. Whilst the value for money of certain policies – such as the literacy hour – can be reasonably well measured, for many other policies, value for money is hard to pin down accurately. However, this forms an important direction for future research.

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Educational attainment across the UK nations: performance, inequality and evidence

an article by Stephen Machin (University College London, UK and London School of Economics, UK), Sandra McNally (London School of Economics, UK and University of Surrey, Guildford, UK) and Gill Wyness (London School of Economics, UK) published in Educational Research Volume 55 Issue 2 (2013)

Background

Political devolution occurred in the UK in 1998–99, following many years in which some degree of policy administration had been devolved to the four nations. Since devolution, all four countries of the UK have pursued increasingly divergent education policies. This is true in England in particular, where diversity, choice and competition have become a key focus of education policy. This political divergence between the four nations gives us the opportunity to appraise differences and similarities in educational policies and outcomes in the four UK nations.

Purpose
This article is a comparative review of the education reforms of the constituent countries of the UK, with particular focus on value for money. The main aims of the article are to:

1. outline the key differences in the educational systems in terms of school type, choice and competition, educational resources and pedagogy;
2. describe how the countries compare in terms of educational attainment during compulsory schooling years;
3. examine inequalities in educational attainment, such as by gender and socio-economic status, and how the different countries compare on these measures; and
4. examine existing evidence on the effectiveness and value for money of different education policies and programmes in the different countries.

Sources of evidence
We use a variety of sources of evidence to achieve these aims. We undertake a literature review of the existing evidence on the effectiveness and value for money of different programmes and policies that have taken place across the UK. We also collate and undertake an analysis of data on educational outcomes from published statistics sourced from the national statistics offices of each country. It is easier to be confident about comparisons based on international data sets because in this case all students will have taken exactly the same test, so we also compile and analyse survey data from international surveys of educational attainment such as PISA, PIRLS and TIMSS.

Main argument
We argue that while the systems of the four countries of the UK are becoming increasingly divergent, there are still many similarities. This is borne out in the evidence on educational outcomes, which show many similarities between the four countries. Because of these similarities, the positive impacts of many of the policies and programmes adopted in England may have relevance for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Conclusions
We find evidence that increasing school resources improves results, and also that more targeted spending benefits able pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. We also find positive results of several programmes. Evaluating the education policies of the four nations in terms of value for money – and therefore whether they have scope to be adopted – represents a bigger challenge. Whilst the value for money of certain policies – such as the literacy hour – can be reasonably well measured, for many other policies, value for money is hard to pin down accurately. However, this forms an important direction for future research.

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University access for disadvantaged children: A comparison across English speaking countries

DoQSS Working Paper No. 12-11 December 2012 by John Jerrim (Institute of Education, University of London), Anna Vignoles (University of Cambridge) and Ross Finnie (University of Ottawa)

Abstract

In this paper we consider whether certain countries are particularly adept (or particularly poor) at getting children from disadvantaged homes to study for a bachelor’s degree.

A series of university access models are estimated for four English speaking countries (England, Canada, Australia and the United States) which include controls for comparable measures of academic achievement at age 15.

We not only consider access to any university but also admission to a ‘selective’ institution.

Our results suggest that socio-economic differences in university access are more pronounced in England and Canada than Australia and the United States, and that cross-national variation in the socioeconomic gap remains even once we take account of differences in academic achievement.

We discuss the implications of our findings for the creation of more socially mobile societies.

JEL classifications: I20, I21, I28

Full report (PDF 53pp)

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Lifelong Learning, Equality and Social Cohesion

an article by Andy Green published in European Journal of Education Volume 46 Number 2 (June 2011)

Abstract

This article compares the evidence from the 2009 PISA survey on the distribution of skills amongst 15-year-olds in different regions and country groups and explores how education systems in these regions contribute to different levels of inequality. In the second part, it presents evidence from surveys on adult skills and attitudes on how skills inequality affects social attitudes and social cohesion.

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