Educational Inequality

In meritocracies, people get ahead in society based on their skills, effort and motivation rather than their social origin. Inequality of educational opportunity exists, therefore, when the educational attainments of children and young adults are strongly determined by their social origin. While many liberal societies have sought to improve social fairness and efficiency by expanding educational opportunities, inequality of educational opportunity continues to be a major social problem. Sociological theories use micro, meso and macro levels of analysis to explain this inequality. While micro-level theories focus on people's traits and their resources and those of their families, macro-level theories focus on socio-economic conditions and the educational system in a given country. In between these two types of theories, meso-level theories suggest explanations that relate to the characteristics of the school and the area of ​​residence. This seminar will discuss the problem of educational inequality across OECD countries and consider the three levels of analysis in explaining it. Students in this seminar will read and interpret empirical studies and develop research questions on educational inequality, which will be tested empirically by analyzing survey data. The skills learned in this seminar will provide students with the ability to conduct empirical studies in the field of educational research and evaluate the implications of educational policy analytically. This seminar will discuss the problem of educational inequality across OECD countries and consider the three levels of analysis in explaining it. Students in this seminar will read and interpret empirical studies and develop research questions on educational inequality, which will be tested empirically by analyzing survey data. The skills learned in this seminar will provide students with the ability to conduct empirical studies in the field of educational research and evaluate the implications of educational policy analytically. This seminar will discuss the problem of educational inequality across OECD countries and consider the three levels of analysis in explaining it. Students in this seminar will read and interpret empirical studies and develop research questions on educational inequality, which will be tested empirically by analyzing survey data. The skills learned in this seminar will provide students with the ability to conduct empirical studies in the field of educational research and evaluate the implications of educational policy analytically.