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    The role of families and schools in the creation of education inequalities

    Abstract

    What is the role of families and schools in the creation of educational inequalities? Are schools a “great equalizer” (Mann, 1848), providing opportunities for children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families? Or, conversely, do schools amplify not opportunity but inequality, because children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families attend disadvantaged schools in terms of facilities, teachers, and peers, while children from better-off families attend high-quality schools? Are schools better able to open opportunities to children whose mother tongue is not the one of the country they live in than to socioeconomically disadvantaged children who are native speakers? Moreover, are there variations between education systems? Or is socioeconomic inequality between families and and schools at the root of the problem?

    Answering the question is not straightforward because the influence of families and schools is intertwined. One focus of the project is to take this into account in the research design.

    Main content

    Selected Publications

    Wzbaktiv
    Holtmann, Anne Christine (2014): "Wo hilft die Schule, wo die Familie? Kompetenzentwicklung in der Unterrichts- und Ferienzeit". In: WZB-Mitteilungen, H. 143, S. 33-35.
    Borgna, Camilla/Brzinsky-Fay, Christian/Dieckhoff, Martina/Holtmann, Anne Christine/Solga, Heike (2019): "Beyond Schools. The Social Embeddedness of Educational Inequality". In: Rolf Becker (Ed.): Research Handbook on the Sociology of EducationEdward Elgar, S. 575-589.
    Holtmann, Anne Christine/Bernardi, Fabrizio (2019): "The Equalizing Effect of schools and Its Limits". In: Rolf Becker (Ed.): Research Handbook on the Sociology of EducationEdward Elgar, S. 253-267.
    Holtmann, Anne Christine (2016): "Excellence through Equality of Opportunity. Increasing the Social Inclusiveness of Education Systems Benefits Disadvantaged Students without Harming Advantaged Students". In: Hans-Peter Blossfeld/Sandra Buchholz/Jan Skopek/Moris Triventi (Eds.): Models of Secondary Education and Social Inequality. An International Comparison. Series eduLIFE Lifelong Learning. Cheltenham/Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, S. 61-76.