The Multilevel Effects of Background on Science Achievement: A Cross-National Comparison

It is argued that the effects of family background on science achievement are the result of different processes between schools and within schools; therefore, an examination of the multilevel effects of background is warranted. Between schools, variation in the effects of family background reflects social policies that govern the relationship of community characteristics to school resources and activities. Within schools, the effects of family background result from the structure of interpersonal allocations of rewards within an educational system. Examinations of science achievement data on 14-year-olds from the United States, England, and Sweden indicate that the between-school relation of background to achievement varies across countries while the within-school effects of background are similar. It is suggested that cross-national differences in social policies governing education can account for the between-school findings, but that within-school processes are apparently resistant to these differences.