The International Observatory on Academic Achievement - Documentary search

File number :
CS-ISC-01e

Bibliographic reference :
Dupriez, V., & Dumay, X. (2004). L'égalité dans les systèmes scolaires: effet école ou effet société? Les cahiers de recherche en éducation et formation, 31.

Abstract :

Study Context
This study was conducted by Belgian researchers from the Groupe Interfacultaire de Recherche sur les Systèmes d'Éducation et de Formation (GIRSEF), a pluridisplinary research unit for the analysis of education and training systems. It was part of research work on comparative education, which consisted of comparing school organizations in various countries and monitoring the influence of these organizations on the academic performance of students.

Facilitated by the recent development of international databases on student academic assessment such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) or the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), the study of school systems in different countries allowed researchers to highlight how the organization of school systems creates inequalities. Results of studies focusing on this relationship have shown that integrated-type school systems having a common structure for all students create fewer inequalities than differentiated school systems that are made up of early streams.

Research Topics
In this study, the authors analyse the extent to which equality in these school systems is based on a school effect due in part to the structure of the system or on a society effect due to the social and political characteristics of these countries. To answer this question, two hypotheses were set forth. The first proposed that the equality of the teaching system of some countries could be explained by the particular equality prevailing in the society that supports it. The second proposed that this equality could stem from the very structure of the teaching system and to its position on the “integrated teaching – differenciated teaching axis”.

In order to verify these hypotheses, data from PISA and PIRLS international databases on European countries, including European Union countries were studied in three analyses. These countries have teaching systems that vary from integrated structures to differenciated structures and intermediate structures.

Main Results
To begin with, results have shown that there is very little relationship between the inequality index in society, evaluated with an income inequality index (Gini coefficient) and the inequality index at school for students 15 years of age (PISA). What is more, it was observed that there is a strong correlation between the school differenciation index (integrated or differenciated characteristic of the school system) and the inequality index at school for students 15 years of age. These results are backed by a third observation. In countries where an integrated system is prevalent, a greater reduction of inequality was observed between grade school (10 years of age) and high school (15 years of age). Thus, an integrated school system is likely to better reduce initial inequality, while a differenciated school system is likely to have the opposite effect.

In conclusion, the results of this study point to a school effect; however, caution is advised. The countries studied show slight initial income inequality that can, in the case at hand, minimize the society effect. According to the authors, the society effect is also to be found insofar as it is the cultural and political context of a society that makes a school structure possible and gives it meaning. Indeed, the will to establish an integrated school system recognized as enabling the mitigation of inequality is not sufficient if these changes are not backed by a global understanding of their meaning on a political and social level.

Links :
http://www.girsef.ucl.ac.be/

Key Words :
School effect, Society effect, School environment, Comparative education, School systems, GIRSEF, Quantitative analysis, PISA, PIRLS, Gini coefficient

Monitored Countries :
Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Netherlands, France, Italy, Greece, England, Scotland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland