Gap in Attitudes Toward Higher Education Between Graduates and Non-graduates: Growing Educational Disparity in Younger Cohorts

In this chapter, I examine the relationship between adults’ educational background and their attitudes toward higher education. As the period of the post-expansion phase continues, parents’ educational level is catching up with children’s level. Consequently, second-generation college and university graduates are gradually becoming more common in younger cohorts. Using SSM2005 and SSM2015, I demonstrate that recent college and university graduates exhibit a positive attitude toward the attainment of higher education. I establish that this phenomenon is generated by the increasing number of second-generation graduates. These results imply that the difference of attitude toward higher education exists between graduates and non-graduates may also be enhanced through the increase in second-generation graduates. The gap in attitudes of adults’ presents a psychological basis for actual inequality of educational opportunity in the next generation. Thus, the possibility exists that exclusive reproduction of college or university education could become a social problem.