Social background and school track choice: An analysis informed by the rational choice framework

Abstract

We investigate social inequalities based on social background in the choice of the academic track among equally performing students, and how indicators derived from the rational choice framework contribute to account for such inequalities. We discuss the main theoretical concepts underpinning rational choice theory as applied to educational decisions: perceived costs, benefits, and risks of failure; relative risk aversion; and time-discounting preferences. In the empirical section, we use a unique dataset concerning the transition to different tracks in upper secondary school in a large Southern Italian region. By using various regression methods and the Karlson/Holm/Breen decomposition technique, we show that social inequalities in access to the academic track are considerable, even in recent cohorts, and that they are largely not explained by previous academic performance. Indicators linked to key concepts proposed by the rational choice theory—as measured in this study—account, as a whole, for 31% of the gap based on parental education, and for 40% of the gap based on parental occupation. The most important sources of inequalities among those this study examines are the expected benefits associated with the educational alternatives and the time-discounting preferences, while relative risk aversion and the perceived chances of success play negligible roles.

Diverging Educational Aspirations Among Compulsory School-Leavers in Switzerland

“…Research also suggests that students tend to stick to their aspirations when they are on track to attain the educational degree to which they aspire (Buchmann and Park 2009;Bittmann and Schindler 2021;Geven and Forster 2021). Furthermore, research provides evidence that students aspire to educational destinations they perceive to be most beneficial for later labour market prospects (Dumont et al 2017;Salazar et al 2020;Lievore and Triventi 2021). Recent studies that explicitly model the decisive factors of RCT buttress the assumption that educational aspirations reflect rational cost-benefit calculations (Gölz and Wohlkinger 2019;Jakob and Combet 2020;Zimmermann 2020;Lievore and Triventi 2021).…”