Skip to main content

Unequal Distribution of Educational Outcomes between Social Categories: ‘Children at Risk’ from a Sociological Perspective

Child Indicators Research volume 6, pages 737–751 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

This paper discusses the concept of ‘children at risk’ for poor educational outcomes from a sociological perspective. The broader concept of social inequality with its determinants and dimensions is introduced as a conceptual basis. The concept of ‘children at risk’ for adverse educational outcomes can be located within this framework: They are defined as children with an above-average risk of unfavourable educational outcomes because of their affiliation to a social category. The unequal distribution of educational outcomes between different social categories is a well-established research topic in sociology which is usually simply referred to as ‘educational inequality’. Its description and especially its explanation are the major tasks for sociologists in this field. The paper provides some selected examples for educational inequalities and introduces one exemplary theoretical explanation from a sociological perspective for this phenomenon. Furthermore, the concept of ‘children at risk’ is critically discussed in light of the usefulness as well as the complex of problems that may be associated with its application in sociology.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

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

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Notes

  1. If these people also interact with each other and have a common identity, one speaks of a social group (Barkan 2011, p.75). For the sake of simplicity and easier reading, we will only use the term social category in this paper to refer to social categories and social groups as a collection of people who share similar characteristics – independently of whether they interact with each other and have a common identity or not.

  2. Solga, Berger and Powell additionally distinguish ‘consequences’ of social inequality which is left out here. However, some dimensions of social inequality may also become a determinant for further inequality. ‘Consequences’ are therefore included in this simpler version if such temporal sequences are also regarded.

  3. There are various, partly competing theoretical and practical approaches regarding the definition of social positions. Within the major frameworks including concepts of socioeconomic indices, social class and prestige scales, there is a multitude of alternative measurements. The further description and discussion of these would be far beyond the scope of this paper (for an overview see Breen and Jonsson 2005, p. 224).

References

  • Ballarino, G., Bernardi, F., Requena, M., & Schadee, H. (2009). Persistent Inequalities? Expansion of Education and Class Inequality in Italy and Spain. European Sociological Review, 25(1), 123–138. doi:10.1093/esr/jcn031.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barkan, S. E. (2011). Sociology: Understanding and Changing the Social World. Brief Edition (Version 1.1 ed.). Irvington: Flat World Knowledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barone, C. (2006). Cultural Capital, Ambition and the Explanation of Inequalities in Learning Outcomes: A Comparative Analysis. Sociology, 40(6), 1039–1058. doi:10.1177/0038038506069843.

  • Becker, R., & Hecken, A. E. (2009a). Higher Education or Vocational Training? An Empirical Test of the Rational Action Model of Educational Choices Suggested by Breen and Goldthorpe and Esser. Acta Sociologica, 52(1), 25–45. doi:10.1177/0001699308100632.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker, R., & Hecken, A. E. (2009b). Why are Working-class Children Diverted from Universities? - An Empirical Assessment of the Diversion Thesis. European Sociological Review, 25(2), 233–250. doi:10.1093/esr/jcn039.

  • Boudon, R. (1974). Education, Opportunity, and Social Inequality. Changing Prospects in Western Society. New York: Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P. (1977). Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproduction. In J. Karabel & A. H. Halsey (Eds.), Power and Ideology in Education (pp. 487–511). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Breen, R., & Goldthorpe, J. H. (1997). Explaining Educational Differentials. Towards a Formal Rational Action Theory. Rationality and Society, 9(3), 275–305. doi:10.1177/104346397009003002.

  • Breen, R., & Jonsson, J. O. (2005). Inequality of Opportunity in Comparative Perspective: Recent Research on Educational Attainment and Social Mobilty. Annual Review of Sociology, 31, 223–243. doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.31.041304.122232.

  • Breen, R., Luijkx, R., Müller, W., & Pollak, R. (2009). Non-Persistent Inequality in Educational Attainment: Evidence from Eight European Countries. American Journal of Sociology, 114(5), 1475–1521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breen, R., Luijkx, R., Müller, W., & Pollak, R. (2010). Long-term Trends in Educational Inequality in Europe: Class Inequalities and Gender Differences. European Sociological Review, 26(1), 31–48. doi:10.1093/esr/jcp001.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bukodi, E., & Goldthorpe, J. H. (2012). Decomposing ‘Social Origins’: The Effects of Parents” Class, Status, and Education on the Educational Attainment of Their Children. European Sociological Review. doi:10.1093/esr/jcs079 (forthcoming).

  • Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF). (2010). Die wirtschaftliche und soziale Lage der Studierenden in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 2009. 19. Sozialerhebung des Deutschen Studentenwerks durchgeführt durch HIS Hochschul-Informations-System. Bonn: Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diefenbach, H. (2010). Bildungschancen und Bildungs(miss)erfolg von ausländischen Schülern oder Schülern aus Migrantenfamilien im Sytsem schulischer Bildung. In R. Becker & W. Lauterbach (Eds.), Bildung als Privileg. Erklärungen und Befunde zu den Ursachen der Bildungsungleichheit (pp. 221–245). Wiesbaden: VS-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, R., & Jonsson, J. O. (1996). Introduction. Explaining Class Inequality in Education: The Swedish Test Case. In R. Erikson, & J. O. Jonsson (Eds.), Can Education Be Equalized? The Swedish Case in Comparative Research (pp. 1–63). Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, R., & Rudolphi, F. (2010). Change in Social Selection to Upper Secondary School - Primary and Secondary Effects in Sweden. European Sociological Review, 26(3), 291–305. doi:10.1093/esr/jcp022.

  • Feinstein, L., Duckworth, K., & Sabates, R. (2004). A Model of the Inter-generational Transmission of Educational Success. Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report No. 10. London: Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ganzeboom, H. B. G., & Treiman, D. J. (1996). Internationally Comparable Measures of Occupational Status for the 1988 International Standard Classification of Occupations. Social Science Research, 25(3), 201–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ganzeboom, H. B. G., De Graaf, P. M., & Treiman, D. J. (1992). A Standard International Socio-Economic Index of Occupational Status. Social Science Research, 21(1), 1–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heath, A., & Brinbaum, Y. (2007). Explaining Ethnic Inequalities in Educational Attainment. Ethnicities, 7(3), 291–305. doi:10.1177/1468796807080230.

  • Jackson, M., Erikson, R., Goldthorpe, J. H., & Yaish, M. (2007). Primary and Secondary Effects in Class Differentials in Educational Attainment. The Transition to A-Level Courses in England and Wales. Acta Sociologica, 50(3), 211–229. doi:10.1177/0001699307080926.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirsch, I., de Jong, J., Lafontaine, D., McQueen, J., Mendelovits, J., & Monseur, C. (2002). Reading for Change: Performance and Engagement across Countries. Results from PISA 2000. Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kloosterman, R., Ruiter, S., de Graaf, P. M., & Kraaykamp, G. (2009). Parental Education, Children’s Performance and the Transition to Higher Secondary Education: Trends in Primary and Secondary Effects over Five Dutch School Cohorts (1965–99). British Journal of Sociology, 60(2), 377–398. doi:10.1111/j.1468-4446.2009.01235.x.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linton, R. (1936). The Study of Man. An Introduction. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

    Google Scholar 

  • Micklewright, J., & Schnepf, S. V. (2007). Inequality of Learning in Industrialised Countries. In S. P. Jenkins & J. Micklewright (Eds.), Inequality and Poverty Re-Examined (pp. 129–146). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mullis, I. V. S., Martin, M. O., Gonzalez, E. J., & Chrostowski, S. J. (2004). TIMSS 2003 International Mathematics Report. Findings From IEA’s Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study at the Fourth and Eighth Grades. Chestnut Hill: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Boston College.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neugebauer, M. (2010). Bildungsungleichheit und Grundschulempfehlung beim Übergang auf das Gymnasium: Eine Dekomposition primärer und sekundärer Herkunftseffekte. Zeitschrift für Soziologie, 39(3), 202–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neugebauer, M., & Schindler, S. (2012). Early Transitions and Tertiary Enrolment: The Cumulative Impact of Primary and Secondary Effects on Entering University in Germany. Acta Sociologica, 55(1), 19–36. doi:10.1177/0001699311427747.

  • Ogle, L. T., Sen, A., Pahlke, E., Jocelyn, L., Kastberg, D., Roey, S., et al. (2003). International Comparisons in Fourth-Grade Reading Literacy: Findings from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) of 2001. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, NCES.

    Google Scholar 

  • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2010). PISA 2009 Results: Overcoming Social Background – Equity in Learning Opportunities and Outcomes. Volume II. Paris: OECD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfeffer, F. T. (2008). Persistent Inequality in Educational Attainment and its Institutional Context. European Sociological Review, 24(5), 543–565. doi:10.1093/esr/jcn026.

  • Shavit, Y., & Blossfeld, H.-P. (Eds.). (1993). Persistent Inequality: Changing Educational Attainment in Thirteen Countries. Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shavit, Y., Arum, R., & Gamoran, A. (Eds.). (2007a). Stratification in Higher Education. A Comparative Study. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shavit, Y., Yaish, M., & Bar-Haim, E. (2007b). The Persistence of Persistent Inequality. In S. Scherer, R. Pollak, G. Otte, & M. Gangl (Eds.), From Origin to Destination. Trends and Mechanisms in Social Stratification Research (pp. 37–57). Frankfurt a.M: Campus.

  • Sirin, S. R. (2005). Socioeconomic Status and Academic Achievement: A Meta–Analytic Review of Research. Review of Educational Research, 75(3), 417–453. doi:10.3102/00346543075003417.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solga, H., Berger, P. A., & Powell, J. (2009). Soziale Ungleichheit – Kein Schnee von gestern! Eine Einführung. In H. Solga, J. Powell, & P. A. Berger (Eds.), Soziale Ungleichheit. Klassische Texte zur Sozialstrukturanalyse (pp. 11–45). Frankfurt a.M: Campus Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stocké, V. (2007a). Explaining Educational Decision and Effects of Families’ Social Class Position: An Empirical Test of the Breen–Goldthorpe Model of Educational Attainment. European Sociological Review, 23(4), 505–519. doi:10.1093/esr/jcm014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stocké, V. (2007b). The Motive for Status Maintenance and Inequality in Educational Decisions. Which of the Parents Define the Reference Point? Mannheim: SFB 504 Working Papers No. 07-20.

  • Stocké, V. (2007c). Strength, Sources, and Temporal Development of Primary Effects of Families’ Social Status on Secondary School Choice. Mannheim: Sonderforschungsbereich 504 Working Paper No 07-60.

  • Tieben, N. (2011). Parental Resources and Relative Risk Aversion in Intra-secondary Transitions: A Trend Analysis of Non-standard Educational Decision Situations in the Netherlands. European Sociological Review, 27(1), 31–42. doi:10.1093/esr/jcp053.

  • Treiman, D. J., & Yip, K.-B. (1989). Educational and Occupational Attainment in 21 Countries. In M. L. Kohn (Ed.), Cross-National Research in Sociology (pp. 373–394). Newbury Park: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van de Werfhorst, H. G., & Mijs, J. J. B. (2010). Achievement Inequality and the Institutional Structure of Educational Systems: A Comparative Perspective. Annual Review of Sociology, 36(1), 407–428. doi:10.1146/annurev.soc.012809.102538.

  • Wößmann, L. (2004). How Equal Are Educational Opportunities? Family Background and Student Achievement in Europe and the United States. IZA Discussion Paper No. 1284. Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Hessian initiative for the development of scientific and economic excellence (LOEWE).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Goethe University Frankfurt and Center for Research on Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk (IDeA), 60323, Frankfurt, Germany

    Birgit Becker & Julia Tuppat

Authors
  1. Birgit Becker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Julia Tuppat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Birgit Becker.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Becker, B., Tuppat, J. Unequal Distribution of Educational Outcomes between Social Categories: ‘Children at Risk’ from a Sociological Perspective. Child Ind Res 6, 737–751 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-013-9190-x

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-013-9190-x

Keywords

  • Children at risk
  • Educational inequality
  • Educational attainment
  • Social inequality