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Differentiation in Higher Education: The Impact of Parental Education

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  • Iakovos Tsiplakides

    (Greek Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs, 151 80 Maroussi, Greece)

Abstract

The widening of participation in higher education in recent decades has been heralded as a means toward the reduction of social class inequalities in higher education. Research findings indicate, though, that simply increasing the number of people attending higher education does not mean that social inequalities have been substantially reduced. The mass expansion of higher education has existed alongside a differentiated and stratified higher education. Students from more privileged socioeconomic backgrounds usually study in prestigious higher education institutions and departments which offer more ambitious occupational trajectories, while those from less privileged socioeconomic backgrounds usually attend lower status institutions and courses of study. Using official quantitative data, in this article we explore the correlation between familial cultural capital and distribution in higher education in Greece. The research findings show that the Greek higher education sector is differentiated, since students with parents who are higher education graduates are overrepresented in prestigious higher education departments and courses of study. Based on the research findings, we argue that initiatives to reduce social class inequalities in higher education need to tackle the issue of social class stratification in higher education and the unequal representation of people from different socioeconomic backgrounds in prestigious fields of study.

Suggested Citation

  • Iakovos Tsiplakides, 2018. "Differentiation in Higher Education: The Impact of Parental Education," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-10, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:7:y:2018:i:2:p:28-:d:131799
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Brown, Phillip & Hesketh, Anthony, 2004. "The Mismanagement of Talent: Employability and Jobs in the Knowledge Economy," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199269549.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jessica Ortega Barón & Javier Postigo & Begoña Iranzo & Sofía Buelga & Laura Carrascosa, 2018. "Parental Communication and Feelings of Affiliation in Adolescent Aggressors and Victims of Cyberbullying," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Polina Bugakova & Ilya Prakhov, 2020. "Regional Accessibility Of Higher Education In Russia," HSE Working papers WP BRP 58/EDU/2020, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    3. Annah Vimbai Bengesai & Nompumelelo Nzimande, 2020. "The Association between Family Structure Changes and High School Completion in South Africa," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-15, July.

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