Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Economic achievements of nonacademic parents and patterns of enrollment in higher education of their children: the case of Israel

  • Published:
Higher Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper sheds new light on horizontal stratification in higher education by studying, in the Israeli context, the choice of institution and field of study of sons and daughters of nonacademic economically established parents. These youngsters wish to reproduce their parents’ economic capital, but also to legitimize their social position by acquiring higher education. They can achieve this by studying lucrative professions. We hypothesize that less able children of these parents will use their parents’ economic assets to study lucrative fields in the expensive but non-selective private colleges. Since underprivileged women tend to make instrumental choices of field of study, our hypothesis refers to both genders, despite women’s well-reported tendency to study non-lucrative fields. The sample consists of 8036 Israeli first-year students in 2014. The analysis is based on a multinomial logistic regression, with the combination of institution and field as the dependent variable. The major findings are as follows: (1) Daughters of nonacademic wealthy parents are unique in their tendency to study lucrative fields; (2) The private colleges enable academically disadvantaged sons and daughters of nonacademic wealthy parents to study business and law, two lucrative fields; (3) These colleges are these women’s only option to study a lucrative field, because they refrain from studying lucrative fields in the public colleges, which concentrate on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects; (4) When equipped with high credentials, children of nonacademic wealthy parents, men and women, prefer to study lucrative fields in the prestigious universities.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Because ethnic origin is less relevant to our study, as we will show later, we refer to this source of inequality, but do not focus on it.

  2. In Israel, students enroll in specific fields of study from the very beginning.

  3. About 94% of the first-year students study these fields in the colleges and 61% in the universities (Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, ICBS 2014).

  4. The original distribution is as follows: much below the average: 8.9%; below the average: 17.4%; average: 28.8%; above the average: 37.1%; much above the average: 7.9%.

  5. \( odds\left(j/J\right)(xi)=\frac{p\left({y}_i=j/ xi\right)}{p\left( yi=J/ xi\right)} \) where j represents the categories of the dependent variable; J represents the reference category; xi represents the explanatory variables. The multinomial regression coefficient (β) is the ratio of the odds of two different categories of xi (e.g., men versus women). It is estimated by Newton–Raphson maximum likelihood. The analyses used sampling weights to adjust for the sampling design.

  6. The probability of observing outcome m given x is expressed as: Pr(yi = m|xi) = exp.(xiβm)/(1+\( \sum \limits_2^J\exp \left({x}_i{\beta}_j\right)\Big) \) where βj is a vector of coefficients of the multinomial regression; xi: a vector of explanatory variables.

  7. In our sample, about 94% of the students of lucrative fields in the private colleges study business or law. Almost all students of lucrative fields in the public colleges study engineering or computer sciences.

References

  • Alon, S., & Gelbgiser, D. (2011). The female advantage in college academic achievements and horizontal sex segregation. Social Science Research, 40(1), 107–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ambler, J. S., & Neathery, J. (1999). Education policy and equality: Some evidence from Europe. Social Science Quarterly, 80(3), 437–456.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arum, R., Gamoran, A., & Shavit, Y. (2007). More inclusion than diversion: Expansion, differentiation, and market structure in higher education. In Y. Shavit, R. Arum, & A. Gamoran (Eds.), Stratification in higher education: A comparative study (pp. 1–35). Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayalon, H. (2003). Women and men go to university: Mathematical background and gender differences in choice of field in higher education. Sex Roles, 48(5), 277–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayalon, H., & Shavit, Y. (2004). Educational reforms and inequalities in Israel: The MMI hypothesis revisited. Sociology of Education, 77(2), 103–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayalon, H., & Yogev, A. (2005). Field of study and students’ stratification in an expanded system of higher education: The case of Israel. European Sociological Review, 21(3), 227–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayalon, H., & Yogev, A. (2006). Stratification and diversity in the expanded system of higher education in Israel. Higher Education Policy, 19(2), 187–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayalon, H., & Yuchtman-Yaar, E. (1989). Educational opportunities and occupational aspirations: A two-dimensional approach. Sociology of Education, 62(3), 208–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bastedo, M. N., & Jaquette, O. (2011). Running in place: Low-income students and the dynamics of higher education stratification. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 33(3), 318–339.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bastedo, M. N., Howard, J. E., & Flaster, A. (2016). Holistic admissions after affirmative action: Does “maximizing” the high school curriculum matter? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 38(2), 389–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blalock, H. M. (1967). Toward a theory of minority-group relations. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boudon, R. (1974). Education, opportunity, and social inequality: Changing prospects in western society. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J. C. (1990). Reproduction in education, society and culture (2nd ed.). Newbury Park: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, K. (2000). The incorporation of women into higher education: Paradoxical outcomes? Sociology of Education, 73(1), 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breen, R., & Goldthorpe, J. H. (1997). Explaining educational differentials: Towards a formal rational action theory. Rationality and Society, 9(3), 275–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brint, S., Riddle, M., Turk-Bicakci, L., & Levy, C. S. (2005). From the liberal to the practical arts in American colleges and universities: Organizational analysis and curricular change. The Journal of Higher Education, 76(2), 151–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charles, M., & Bradley, K. (2009). Indulging our gendered selves? Sex segregation by field of study in 44 countries. American Journal of Sociology, 114(4), 924–976.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, S., & Guppy, N. (1997). Fields of study, college selectivity, and student inequalities in higher education. Social Forces, 75(4), 1417–1438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, H. (1973). The sociology of sport. Homewood, Illinois: Dorsey Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • England, P. (2010). The gender revolution: Uneven and stalled. Gender & Society, 24(2), 149–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feniger, Y., Mcdossi, O., & Ayalon, H. (2015). Ethno-religious differences in Israeli higher education: Vertical and horizontal dimensions. European Sociological Review, 31(4), 383–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feniger, Y., Mcdossi, O., & Ayalon, H. (2016). Inequality in bachelor’s degree completion: Social background, previous achievement and institutional characteristics. Israeli Sociology, 18(1), 82–104 (in Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • Gabay-Egozi, L., Shavit, Y., & Yaish, M. (2010). Hedging risk in curricular choice: A test of a rational choice model of education. European Sociological Review, 26(4), 447–463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerber, T. P., & Schaefer, D. R. (2004). Horizontal stratification of higher education in Russia: Trends, gender differences, and labor market outcomes. Sociology of Education, 77(1), 32–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gill, A. M., & Leigh, D. E. (2000). Community college enrollment, college major, and the gender wage gap. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 54(1), 163–181.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goyette, K. A., & Mullen, A. L. (2006). Who studies the arts and sciences? Social background and the choice and consequences of undergraduate field of study. The Journal of Higher Education, 77(3), 497–538.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iannelli, C., Gamoran, A., & Paterson, L. (2011). Scottish higher education, 1987–2001: Expansion through diversion. Oxford Review of Education, 37(6), 717–741.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (ICBS) (2014). Statistical Abstract of Israel 2013, no. 64, table 8.49.

  • Jackson, M., Luijkx, R., Pollak, R., Vallet, L. A., & van de Werfhorst, H. G. (2008). Educational fields of study and the intergenerational mobility process in comparative perspective. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 49(4–5), 369–388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacob, B. A. (2002). Where the boys aren’t: Non-cognitive skills, returns to school and the gender gap in higher education. Economics of Education Review, 21(6), 589–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, J. A. (1999). Gender and the stratification of colleges. The Journal of Higher Education, 70(2), 161–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalmijn, M., & van der Lippe, T. (1997). Type of schooling and sex differences in earnings in the Netherlands. European Sociological Review, 13(1), 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karen, D. (2002). Changes in access to higher education in the United States, 1980–1992. Sociology of Education, 75(3), 191–210.

  • Lavie, M. (2008). Rich and less rich—Students’ finance in Israel. In A. Yogev (Ed.) Higher education expansion in Israel. Ramot in Hebrew.

  • Legewie, J., & DiPrete, T. A. (2014). The high school environment and the gender gap in science and engineering. Sociology of Education, 87, 259–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leppel, K., Williams, M. L., & Waldauer, C. (2001). The impact of parental occupation and socioeconomic status on choice of college major. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 22(4), 373–394.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, S. R. (2001). Effectively maintained inequality: Education transitions, track mobility, and social background effects. American Journal of Sociology, 106(6), 1642–1690.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma, Y. (2009). Family socioeconomic status, parental involvement, and college major choices—Gender, race/ethnic, and nativity patterns. Sociological Perspectives, 52(2), 211–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mann, A., & DiPrete, T. A. (2013). Trends in gender segregation in the choice of science and engineering majors. Social Science Research, 42(6), 1519–1541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mullen, A. L. (2014). Gender, social background, and the choice of college major in a liberal arts context. Gender & Society, 28(2), 289–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mullen, A. L., & Baker, J. (2015). Participation without parity in US higher education: Gender, fields of study, and institutional selectivity. NASPA Journal About Women in Higher Education, 8(2), 172–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perna, L. W. (2000). Differences in the decision to attend college among African Americans, Hispanics, and Whites. Journal of Higher Education, 71(2), 117–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Persell, C. H., Catsambis, S., & Cookson Jr, P. W. (1992). Differential asset conversion: Class and gendered pathways to selective colleges. Sociology of Education, 65(3), 208–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reimer, D., & Jacob, M. (2011). Differentiation in higher education and its consequences for social inequality: Introduction to a special issue. Higher Education, 61(3), 223–227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reimer, D., & Pollak, R. (2010). Educational expansion and its consequences for vertical and horizontal inequalities in access to higher education in West Germany. European Sociological Review, 26(4), 415–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Semyonov, M., Lewin-Epstein, N., & Mandel, H. (2000). Updated socioeconomic scale for occupations in Israel. Megamot, 40, 706–729 (in Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • Shavit, Y., Arum, R., & Gamoran, A. (Eds.). (2007). Stratification in higher education: A comparative study. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, E. (2011). Women into science and engineering? Gendered participation in higher education STEM subjects. British Educational Research Journal, 37(6), 993–1014.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swirski, S., & Swirski, B. (1997). Higher education in Israel. Tel Aviv: Adva Center (in Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • Triventi, M. (2013). Stratification in higher education and its relationship with social inequality: A comparative study of 11 European countries. European Sociological Review, 29, 489–502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van de Werfhorst, H. G., de Graaf, N. D., & Kraaykamp, G. (2001). Intergenerational resemblance in field of study in the Netherlands. European Sociological Review, 17(3), 275–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van de Werfhorst, H. G., Sullivan, A., & Cheung, S. Y. (2003). Social class, ability and choice of subject in secondary and tertiary education in Britain. British Educational Research Journal, 29(1), 41–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Volanski, A. (2005). Academy in a changing environment: Higher education policy of Israel 1952–2004. Hakibutz Hameuchad (in Hebrew).

  • Xie, Y., & Goyette, K. (2003). Social mobility and the educational choices of Asian Americans. Social Science Research, 32(3), 467–498.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuchtman-Yaar, E. (1986). Differences in ethnic patterns of socioeconomic achievement in Israel—A neglected aspect of structured inequality. Megamot, 29, 393–412 (in Hebrew).

    Google Scholar 

  • Yuchtman-Yaar, E., & Semyonov, M. (1979). Ethnic inequality in israeli schools and sports: An expectation-states approach. American Journal of Sociology, 85(3), 576–590.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The data collection was funded by a grant from the Israel Science Foundation to Hanna Ayalon and Abraham Yogev (grant 918/13).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Hanna Ayalon & Oded Mcdossi

Authors
  1. Hanna Ayalon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Oded Mcdossi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hanna Ayalon.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 2 Multinomial logistic regression of institution type and field of study (logarithmic coefficients)
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ayalon, H., Mcdossi, O. Economic achievements of nonacademic parents and patterns of enrollment in higher education of their children: the case of Israel. High Educ 77, 135–153 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0263-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-018-0263-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation