Department of Sociology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; SFI - The Danish National Centre for Social Research, Denmark.
Soc Sci Res. 2013 Nov;42(6):1431-42. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2013.06.001. Epub 2013 Jun 21.
This paper tests whether the existence of vocationally oriented tracks within a traditionally academically oriented upper education system reduces socioeconomic inequalities in educational attainment. Based on a statistical model of educational transitions and data on two entire cohorts of Danish youth, we find that (1) the vocationally oriented tracks are less socially selective than the traditional academic track; (2) attending the vocationally oriented tracks has a negative effect on the likelihood of enrolling in higher education; and (3) in the aggregate the vocationally oriented tracks improve access to lower-tier higher education for low-SES students. These findings point to an interesting paradox in that tracking has adverse effects at the micro-level but equalizes educational opportunities at the macro-level. We also discuss whether similar mechanisms might exist in other educational systems.
本文旨在检验传统学术导向的高等教育体系中是否存在职业导向轨道，是否会减少教育程度上的社会经济不平等。基于对教育过渡的统计模型以及丹麦两代青年的完整数据，我们发现：（1）职业导向轨道的社会选择性低于传统学术轨道；（2）就读职业导向轨道会降低进入高等教育的可能性；（3）从总体上看，职业导向轨道提高了低社会经济地位学生进入低层次高等教育的机会。这些发现表明存在一种有趣的悖论，即微观层面上的分层对学生产生了不利影响，但宏观层面上却均等了受教育机会。我们还讨论了在其他教育体系中是否存在类似的机制。
