IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v13y2024i10p499-d1484527.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social Determinants of School-to-School Differences in Opportunity to Learn (OTL): A Cross-National Study

Author

Listed:
  • Shangmou Xu

    (Department of Educational Foundations, Organizations, and Policy, School of Education, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
    Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA)

  • Sean Kelly

    (Department of Educational Foundations, Organizations, and Policy, School of Education, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA)

Abstract

Do some students learn more than others because they attend School A instead of School B? Or is educational inequality generated elsewhere, from common processes within schools, or outside of formal schooling? Within these paradigmatic questions, this study investigates the social determinants of school-to-school differences in STEM course-taking experiences, a key component of Opportunity to Learn (OTL), in a cross-national setting. Drawing on an internal-development model and social stratification theories, we examine whether observed school-to-school differences in OTL can more clearly be attributed to functional or dysfunctional sources, using a large cross-national sample from TIMSS with 278 observations across 67 countries/regions, dating from 1995 to 2019. Results from Generalized Multilevel Linear Models indicate that variation in school-level OTL comes primarily from variation in school readiness in a given country. Yet, we also observe evidence that supports conflict forces of differentiation. This paper contributes to existing cross-national studies of educational inequality by tracing the fundamental origins of inequality in OTL, locating potentially dysfunctional sources of OTL between schools.

Suggested Citation

  • Shangmou Xu & Sean Kelly, 2024. "Social Determinants of School-to-School Differences in Opportunity to Learn (OTL): A Cross-National Study," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-24, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:13:y:2024:i:10:p:499-:d:1484527
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/10/499/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/13/10/499/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Giorgio Brunello & Daniele Checchi, 2007. "Does school tracking affect equality of opportunity? New international evidence [‘Educational opportunities and the role of institutions’]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 22(52), pages 782-861.
    2. Parker, Philip D. & Jerrim, John & Schoon, Ingrid & Marsh, Herbert W., 2016. "A multination study of socioeconomic inequality in expectations for progression to higher education: the role of between-school tracking and ability stratification," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 53(1), pages 6-32.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hyunsu Oh & Houa Vang, 2024. "Outcomes of Academic Tracking Among Young Adults in the United States: A Longitudinal Survey Analysis," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 29(3), pages 561-578, September.
    2. Égert, Balázs & Botev, Jarmila & Turner, David, 2020. "The contribution of human capital and its policies to per capita income in Europe and the OECD," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    3. Torben M. Andersen & Giuseppe Bertola & John Driffill & Harold James & Hans-Werner Sinn & Jan-Egbert Sturm & Branko Uroševic, 2016. "Chapter 3: Tuning Secondary Education," EEAG Report on the European Economy, CESifo, vol. 0, pages 70-84, February.
    4. Ralph Hippe & Luisa De Sousa Lobo Borges de Araujo & Patricia Dinis Mota da Costa, 2016. "Equity in Education in Europe," JRC Research Reports JRC104595, Joint Research Centre.
    5. Cappellari, Lorenzo & Lucifora, Claudio, 2009. "The "Bologna Process" and college enrollment decisions," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(6), pages 638-647, December.
    6. Miroslava Federicova, 2014. "The Impact of High-Stakes School-Admission Exams on Study Effort and Achievements: Quasi-experimental Evidence from Slovakia," Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación volume 9, in: Adela García Aracil & Isabel Neira Gómez (ed.), Investigaciones de Economía de la Educación 9, edition 1, volume 9, chapter 27, pages 515-532, Asociación de Economía de la Educación.
    7. Daniele Checchi, 2010. "Educational achievements and social origins in Italy," Politica economica, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 3, pages 359-388.
    8. Andrés Felipe Rivera Trivino, 2017. "Health opportunities in Colombia," Revista Lecturas de Economía, Universidad de Antioquia, CIE, issue 87, pages 125-164.
    9. Daniele Checchi & Luca Flabbi, 2013. "Intergenerational Mobility and Schooling Decisions in Germany and Italy: The Impact of Secondary School Tracks," Rivista di Politica Economica, SIPI Spa, issue 3, pages 7-57, July-Sept.
    10. Elke Lüdemann & Guido Schwerdt, 2011. "Zuwanderer der zweiten Generation: Im deutschen Schulsystem doppelt benachteiligt?," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 64(04), pages 19-25, February.
    11. Jakubowski, Maciej & Pokropek, Artur, 2015. "Reading achievement progress across countries," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 77-88.
    12. Michele Raitano & Francesco Vona, 2013. "Peer heterogeneity, school tracking and students' performances: evidence from PISA 2006," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(32), pages 4516-4532, November.
    13. Parker, Philip D. & Jerrim, John & Schoon, Ingrid & Marsh, Herbert W., 2016. "A multination study of socioeconomic inequality in expectations for progression to higher education: the role of between-school tracking and ability stratification," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 53(1), pages 6-32.
    14. Floro Ernesto Caroleo & Francesco Pastore, 2018. "Overeducation at a Glance. Determinants and Wage Effects of the Educational Mismatch Based on AlmaLaurea Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 137(3), pages 999-1032, June.
    15. Giannelli, Gianna Claudia & Rapallini, Chiara, 2017. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Math Culture," IZA Discussion Papers 10622, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. P. Lovaglio & S. Verzillo, 2016. "Heterogeneous economic returns to higher education: evidence from Italy," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 50(2), pages 791-822, March.
    17. Feron, Eva & Schils, Trudie & ter Weel, Bas, 2015. "Does the Teacher Beat the Test? The Additional Value of Teacher Assessment in Predicting Student Ability," IZA Discussion Papers 8768, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Michele Raitano & Francesco Vona, 2010. "Peer Heterogeneity, Parental Background and Tracking: Evidence from PISA 2006," Documents de Travail de l'OFCE 2010-23, Observatoire Francais des Conjonctures Economiques (OFCE).
    19. Luís Martins & Manuel Coutinho Pereira, 2017. "Disentangling the channels from birthdate to educational attainment," Working Papers w201706, Banco de Portugal, Economics and Research Department.
    20. Annabelle Krause & Simone Schüller, 2014. "Evidence and Persistence of Education Inequality in an Early-Tracking System - The German Case," FBK-IRVAPP Working Papers 2014-07, Research Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies (IRVAPP), Bruno Kessler Foundation.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:13:y:2024:i:10:p:499-:d:1484527. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.