The Reproduction of Privilege in Australian Education

This paper examines changes in the dimensions and sources of educational inequality in Australia. Data from a sample of the urban population is used, and divided into three education (rather than birth or age) cohorts in order to assess the effects of educational expansion over time. The results show that there has been some decline in the effect of social background on years of basic schooling and total years of education, and some increase in the effects of ability. However, the impact of social background remains important, while gender differences in qualifications and tertiary attainments are mostly undiminished. This suggests that while basic schooling has become more meritocratic with the expansion of educational opportunities, higher attainments still reflect and perpetuate systematic inequalities within the broader society. For some years now, the dimensions of educational inequality in advanced societies have been well documented, and there has been much discussion and debate about their sources. In part, inequalities have been attributed to variations within education systems which stratify the process of schooling and favour particular sections of the population in their quest for training and credentials. ' Further, access to education has been pinpointed as an important factor which, in the past, was constrained by limited educational provisions. This meant that in many countries participation in higher education, even in higher levels of secondary education, remained very much the prerogative of privilege and wealth well into the twentieth century. In part, too, a number of other factors have contributed to differences in attainments. Gender and race, and home and school environments, have all been identified as important sources of educational inequality, and all have helped to perpetuate systematic inequalities in attainments independently of individual ability or merit.2 The British Journal of Sociology Volume XXXIX Number 3 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.212 on Thu, 09 Jun 2016 06:25:19 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Privilege in Australian education 359 In more recent years, concerted policy efforts have been directed towards redressing imbalances in education systems and to dissolving entrenched privileges and constraints. In the post-war years in particular, various policies have been enacted with a view to lengthening the period of compulsory education, and expanding opportunities for participation in tertiary study. The latter has been achieved by increasing educational provisions, encouraging adult reeducation, and by providing financial assistance to students.3 In short, the aim has been to make education a right rather than a privilege, and to divorce educational outcomes from the constraints of social background. As a result of these efforts, there has been a substantial upgrading of educational attainments over recent decades. Between 1950 and 1965, for example, participation rates in college education more than doubled in countries such as Britain, Canada, the USA and Australia, while participation in tertiary education increased at an even higher rate.4 Such gains lent some credence to meritocratic explanations for educational outcomes. These suggest that the provision of educational opportunities resolves problems of inequality by allowing people to find their own level within the education process, and by enabling them to succeed to the best of their abilities. If true, ability and aspiration should now be the exclusive determinants of educational outcomes. Despite increases in attainments and the optimism of the meritocratic view, most research suggests that efforts to eradicate inequalities in educational opportunity, that is, to detach attainments from the influence of social origins, have not been entirely successful. Class, family wealth and other dimensions of social background are still important determinants of educational outcomes, and account for about half its explained variance.5 Although it is clear that educational inequalities persist, it is not so clear whether their sources have changed in response to the growth of more equitable participation in the education process. In particular, it is unclear to what extent the constraints of social background and class differences may have declined. In the USA, Bowles and Gintis6 suggest that while legislative changes have narrowed the gap in educational attainments, individual achievements still depend as much on social background as they did in the past. In contrast, Hauser and Featherman7 find some evidence of a decline in the influence of social background on the educational attainments of men, but less so for those with poorly educated fathers and those from large families. In Britain, Halsey et al.8 observe that prolonging the period of compulsory education by legislation has indeed enhanced the level of attainments throughout society, but at the expense of creating further inequalities at later stages of the education process. In France, Garnier and RaflalovichS conclude that educational expansion has This content downloaded from 157.55.39.212 on Thu, 09 Jun 2016 06:25:19 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms