Completed project

Unequal access to education: the extent, sources, social and economic consequences, policy strategies

Project duration: 
2003 - 2008

A vast number of studies conducted by the OECD and World Bank has well-documented that those countries reforming their educational systems and eliminating a variety of socio-economic barriers causing inequal access to education are today world leaders in competitiveness and economic growth. Yet, the Czech Republic still maintains its leading position in unequal access to higher education among the OECD countries. We suspect that one of the underlying causes of educational inequality is not only the socio-economic background of students, but also outdated structure of educational system, it’s low degree of openness and permeability. Therefore, the primary purpose of this project is to identify main causes of unequal access to higher education in the Czech Republic. Using already existing sets of longitudinal data, a number follow-up surveys will be carried out to examine two relevant cohorts: students finishing compulsory school attendance in 2003 (a panel of respondents assembled for the PISA 2003 project) and first-year university students (VS 2003/4). The analysis of these data, supplemented with a comparative analyses of the OECD data, will unveil the underlying causes of educational inequalities and mechanisms of their reproduction. The project will conclude with an extensive monograph and suggestions of possible educational reforms pertaining to the solution of the problem of educational inequalities; inequalities which in the long run represent far-reaching negative social as well as economic consequences (i.e., loss of human resources and competitiveness) for the Czech Republic.

Grant agency: 
Government ministry project

Project publications (total 20, displaying 11 - 20)

Smith, Michael L.

An extended book review that overviews the arguments, data and analysis of the book Nerovné šance na vzdělaní (Unequal Chances in Education), edited by Petr Mateju and Jana Strakova.

Topic:
social inequalities, education
Department:
Economic Sociology
Type of publication:
Published review
Simonová, Natalie

Text shrnuje obsah monografie „České vysoké školství na křižovatce“. Ta ukazuje, do jaké míry existují v České republice podmínky pro přechod od výdajového modelu financování vysokého školství k investičnímu modelu, resp. jaké povahy jsou bariéry, které tomuto přechodu brání. Autorský tým se pokusil o propojení diskuse probíhající na poli ekonomické teorie s analýzou vývoje pokusů o reformu financování českého vysokého školství v kontextu jeho celkové proměny po r. 1989.

Topic:
education
Department:
Economic Sociology
Type of publication:
Public event or educational activity
Matějů, Petr, Jana Straková, Arnošt Veselý (eds.)

The book follows up on the monograph (Un)equal chances for education (Academia 2006). Authors update findings on inequalities in compulsory education, on multi-year gymnasia, on inequalities in tertiary education, on the impact of the structure of the system of upper secondary education on education aspirations. They also add other important topics: further education, education of Roma children and early school leavers.

Topic:
social inequalities, public policy, education
Department:
Economic Sociology
Type of publication:
Monograph
Veselý, Arnošt, Michael L. Smith

This article proposes a new conceptual framework based on social mechanisms and the multileveled nature of the stratification process. The authors argue that the identification of social mechanisms should be a core aspect of sociological explanation. They apply their conceptual framework to stratification research, where the authors observe that the micro-to-macro linkage is one of the least explored, but also one of the most promising, areas of future research.

Topic:
social inequalities
Department:
Economic Sociology
Type of publication:
Article with impact factor
Matějů, Petr, Petr Soukup, Josef Basl

The aim of the paper is to assess the effect of education system stratification, its vocational specificity and permeability on the formation of educational aspirations in OECD countries participating in PISA 2003. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of ability, gender, and socioeconomic background.

Topic:
social inequalities, education
Department:
Value Orientations in Society
Type of publication:
Monograph
Matějů, Petr, Michael L. Smith, Petr Soukup, Josef Basl

The aim of the paper is to assess the effect of education system stratification, its vocational specificity and permeability on the formation of educational aspirations in OECD countries participating in PISA 2003. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of ability, gender, and socioeconomic background

Topic:
social inequalities, education
Department:
Economic Sociology
Type of publication:
Article with impact factor
Simonová, Natalie, Dimonik Antonowitz

This article aims to compare development in tackling educational inequalities and attempt to evaluate their policies and reforms from the beginning of socialism to-date in the Czech Republic and Poland. A considerable difference in the number of higher education institutions emerged in both countries. We show the negative impact of this development on educational inequalities and the social consequences of the enormous increase in student and private universities numbers.

Topic:
social inequalities, public policy, education
Department:
Economic Sociology
Type of publication:
Article with impact factor
Simonová, Natalie

The text constitutes an excurse among different definitions of the term “education” in various dictionaries. It tries to find not only sociological definitions in the encyclopedias, which are accessible to the Czech audience.

Topic:
education
Department:
Economic Sociology
Type of publication:
Public event or educational activity
Simonová, Natalie

The text is the second reaction to a continuing discussion with Rudolf Pomazal about a book “Czech Higher Education at the Crossroads” (Institute of Sociology, 2005). It shows that R. Pomazal hasn´t a clear concept or only a vision about the problem of the direction of the future development of the Czech higher education.

Topic:
education
Department:
Economic Sociology
Type of publication:
Other publication
Matějů, Petr, Jana Straková (eds.)

The volume offers detailed discussion of the most significant aspects of educational inequalities formation in the Czech Republic and presents them in historic and international contexts. The first part of the publication reflects educational inequalities theoretically and historically and compares the skills of Czech pupils internationally. The second part deals with formation of educational aspirations.

Topic:
social inequalities, education
Department:
Value Orientations in Society
Type of publication:
Monograph

Pages