The Effects of Upper-Secondary Education and Training Systems on Skills Inequality. A Quasi-Cohort Analysis Using PISA 2000 and the OECD Survey of Adult Skills

Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA

Y

24

Secondary Education; Quasiexperimental Design; Cohort Analysis; Achievement Tests; Foreign Countries; Secondary School Students; International Assessment; Surveys; Graduation Rate; Mathematics Education; Mathematics Instruction; Mathematics Curriculum; Comparative Analysis; Numeracy; Adults; Apprenticeships; Vocational Education

Austria; Belgium; Canada; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; France; Germany; Ireland; Italy; Japan; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Russia; South Korea; Sweden; United Kingdom (England); United States

10.1002/berj.3236

0141-1926

Research tells us much about the effects of primary and lower-secondary schooling on skills inequality, but we know less about the impact of the next stage of education. This article uses a differences-in-differences analysis of data on literacy and numeracy skills in PISA 2000 and SAS 2011/12 to assess the contribution of upper-secondary education and training to inequalities in skills opportunities and outcomes. It finds that greater parity of esteem between academic and vocational tracks, as found in German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, has some positive effects in mitigating skills inequality. However, the most important factors seem to be high completion rates from long-cycle upper-secondary education and training and mandatory provision of Maths and the national language in the curriculum.

As Provided

42

2016

EJ1115605