Social Disadvantage and Education Experiences [electronic resource] /
Stephen Machin
- Paris : OECD Publishing, 2006.
- 34 p. ; 21 x 29.7cm.
- OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, no.32 1815199X ; .
- OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, no.32. .
This paper discusses how social disadvantage affects the learning experiences of households with fewer economic resources, at each stage of the individuals' life-course, and on some of the "social" effects of such learning. It argues that while education can be an escalator out of social disadvantage - leading to better job prospects for youths facing greater risks of poverty and reducing the prevalence of income poverty in adult age - educational failure can reinforce it: a significant minority of students in several OECD countries do not even complete compulsory education; students' test scores in lower secondary education are strongly shaped by family characteristics; and the expansion of university education has most often benefited households with better educated parents. Far from "equalising" opportunities, education can be a powerful driver of social selection. When returns to education increase over time, this may lead to greater inter-generational persistence of poverty and less equality of opportunities.