Intergenerational inequality in education

This chapter synthesises the international evidence on the impact of secondary and higher education expansion on intergenerational inequality in education. In high-income countries, the association between social origin (parental education, parental income, social class background) and educational outcomes (highest level of educational attainment, tertiary education) generally persisted then declined as national education systems expanded during the twentieth century, in line with the predictions of modernisation theorists. Nevertheless, levels of intergenerational inequality in education remained substantial into the twenty-first century, particularly in relation to parental education, suggesting the relatively greater importance of cultural over economic capital. Moreover, earlier trends towards equalisation appear to have ceased into the twenty-first century, with indications of a possible ‘U-turn’ ahead with respect to comparative rates of access to higher education. In lower-income countries, intergenerational inequalities in education are larger, have been slower to diminish, and are more strongly linked to economic inequality.