Tackling Educational Inequality: Issues and Solutions

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section "Social Stratification and Inequality".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2025 | Viewed by 918

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 8PQ, UK
Interests: inequalities in educational outcomes for children and young people

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In contemporary societies, social inequalities in education remain a persistent issue, profoundly impacting graduate employment outcomes. This Special Issue aims to explore the multifaceted dimensions of how educational disparities, influenced by socioeconomic, racial, and geographic factors, affect the transition from higher education to the labour market. By examining the barriers faced by marginalised groups in accessing quality education and subsequent employment opportunities, we aim to highlight systemic issues and propose potential policy solutions. This Special Issue invites contributions that critically analyse the intersection of educational inequalities and graduate employment, using diverse methodological approaches and theoretical frameworks. The objective is to foster a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms that perpetuate social inequalities and to identify strategies that can promote equity in education and employment outcomes.

Dr. Pallavi Banerjee
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • educational inequality
  • graduate employment
  • socioeconomic status
  • access to education
  • labour market outcomes
  • marginalised groups
  • policy solutions
  • social mobility
  • intersectionality
  • higher education access

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 282 KiB  
Article
Plans, Progression and Post-Compulsory Education: Measuring the Success of a School–University Widening Participation Programme in Ireland
by Eilís Ní Chorcora, Joanne Banks and Aibhín Bray
Soc. Sci. 2025, 14(1), 39; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci14010039 - 14 Jan 2025
Viewed by 459
Abstract
It is widely recognised that addressing inequality in tertiary education is a complex and multifaceted issue. Studies involving students from lower socio-economic backgrounds consistently show that educational disparities exist at the post-secondary education level, with these students’ encountering obstacles in both accessing and [...] Read more.
It is widely recognised that addressing inequality in tertiary education is a complex and multifaceted issue. Studies involving students from lower socio-economic backgrounds consistently show that educational disparities exist at the post-secondary education level, with these students’ encountering obstacles in both accessing and completing tertiary education compared to their wealthier counterparts. Understanding how widening participation interventions may influence young people’s post-compulsory education is an important part of addressing the participation gap. This paper investigates longitudinal data from 227 students in Dublin, Ireland, who were attending post-primary schools located in areas that have low progression to tertiary education. The paper examines the extent to which students’ post-secondary plans, formulated in their final year of secondary school, are realised six months after graduation. The paper continues to examine the influence of external interventions provided by an Irish university’s widening participation (WP) programme on secondary school students’ progression to post-compulsory education. Taking into account contextual factors (e.g., gender, ethnicity, school type, parental education, parental support), this paper examines how WP programmes in secondary school impact post-school progression. Programme engagement (guidance outreach activities) was associated with 4.91-greater odds of post-secondary education once other contextual factors had been controlled for. Participating in mentoring programmes did not have a significant influence on post-secondary progression. Findings in relation to these are discussed, and recommendations for how practitioners and policy makers can approach widening participation outreach programmes with secondary school students are highlighted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tackling Educational Inequality: Issues and Solutions)
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