WHILE EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES DECREASED, DID DOWNWARD MOBILITY DIMINISH BECAUSE GOVERNMENTS ENHANCE

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MORE UPWARD AND ALSO MORE DOWNWARD
MOBILITY? COMPULSORY SCHOOLING IN THE NETHERLANDS
DURING THE 20TH CENTURY
Wout Ultee - Radboud Universiteit
Nijmegen Presentation in the Department of
Sociology, Tel Aviv University February 24, 2005
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In the 1990s it was found that only in Sweden and
the Netherlands inequalities in education had
decreased Some doubted the quality of the Dutch
data leading to this conclusion New findings
indicate that with sufficient statistical power,
a trend towards smaller inequalities in education
is present in other (post)industrial countries
too
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Previous Research on the Netherlands

• Loglinear models with
• educational distributions for fathers and
  children (sons and daughters) fitted with
• trend constraints on
• relative chances
• Educational inequality decreased according to
• uniform association and
• diagonal densities

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Present research data

• Stacked file from 31 surveys
• 21,899 men/20,903 women age over 25
• Fifteen 5-year birth cohorts (1900-1974)
• Fathers education 4 categories (low high)
• Daughters/Sons education 4 categories (low
  high)

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Are questions about diagonal densities and
uniform associations, or even questions about
odds ratios, pertinent research questions given
the theories at issue?
A lower odds ratio may result from a higher odds
to climb and from a higher odds to fall. What
are current theories about?
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Present research hypotheses

• Four hypotheses from the field of stratification
• One from each generation of stratification
  studies

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Zero-generation non-hypothesis

• There is a linear downward trend in uniform
  association and diagonal density
• This hypothesis at best is about some unspecified
  macro force

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First-generation hypothesis

• A rising standard of living makes for lower
  uniform association and lower diagonal density
• This hypothesis is about the effect of a country
  characteristic, that is, about a macro force or
  factor

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Second-generation hypothesis

• State intervention makes for lower uniform
  association and diagonal density
• This hypothesis is about effects of states

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Third-generation hypothesis

• State intervention does not alter the density in
  the diagonal cell for the highest level of
  education
• This hypothesis is about the fate of elites in
  the hands of states

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Embedding the four hypotheses in general
sociology

• How to derive macro hypotheses from micro
  hypotheses?

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Zero generation hypothesis derived (post)industria
lization requires more and more mobility, and
this functional prerequisite is met Or the
increasing demand of employers for highly
educated employees makes it worthwhile for
employees to educate themselves and they
therefore do so
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First-generation hypothesis derived

• Persons differ in financial resources and the
  relation between a countrys average income and
  its educational inequalities is an aggregate
  result of a general rise in income

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Second-generation hypothesis derived

• Apart from individual actors there is an all
  powerful corporate actor the state
• (Coleman about corporate actors)

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Two possible derivations from the assumption of
an intervening state The implicit old one
and The explicit new one
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The implicit old one
States provide stipends etc. for children of low
backgrounds and with outstanding intelligence to
attend university
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My explicit new one
States gradually raise the age until which
schooling is compulsory for everyone first only
primary school, now also a long period in
secondary school
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Third-generation hypothesis derived

• Highly educated parents deploy strategies
  compensating for state policies raising the age
  at which compulsory schooling ends
• States are not all-powerful
• (Elias about a spiraling process as a
  competitive outcome)
• (Bourdieu about compensatory strategies)
• (Hout Raftery about maximally maintained
  inequality)

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All in all, the odds to move up for persons at
the lower end of the social scale increase, While
at the time these odds increase, the odds for
persons at the upper end of the social scale do
not fall, but increase too.
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Theoretical lesson Deriving macro hypotheses from
micro hypotheses, makes clear that worthwhile
alternatives are around
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The age until which schooling was compulsory in
the Netherlands changed as follows
Since 1900 until the age of 12 years After
1948 until the age of 14 years After
1969 until the age of 16 years After the mid
1970s until the age of 18 years
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Stipends etc. in the Netherlands
Not only for keen working class boys Also for
upper class girls, They are for everyone
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Testing the third-generation hypothesis more
severely

• How do macro variables influence uniform
  association and diagonal densities?
• Few states ever sought to increase the odds for
  moving down.
• Uniform association and diagonal densities
  derived from odds ratios
• Odds ratios made up from an odds for moving up
  and an odds for moving down

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Hypotheses about odds

• Raising the age at which compulsory schooling
  ends, increases the odds for moving up.
• But what does it do to the odds for moving down?

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• upward trend

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• no trend or a downward trend

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• Dutch questions,
• Dutch theories,
• Dutch data collection

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Dutch questions

• Two large questions about societies
• Various inequalities
• Several aspects of cohesion

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Dutch questions serach for wrong ones, enrich
existing ones

• Questions should not be about odds ratios
• Questions should be about separate odds

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Dutch theories Not factor sociology Versus Actor
sociology
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Dutch theories Not factor sociology Versus Actor
sociology There is a third alternative
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Dutch theories

• Actor or individual sociology
• Individuals
• One goal
• One shot decisions
• (all powerful) state

• Factor or macro forces sociology
• Industrialization
• Technology
• Ideology
• - Average income
• General rise in education

• ActorS sociology
• Egos and their networks
• Several goals
• Sequential decision processes
• (intermediate) collective actors

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Dutch data collection

• Family Survey Dutch Population
• 1993
• 1998
• 2000
• 2003

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Dutch data collection

• Harry Ganzeboom
• Nan Dirk de Graaf
• Paul de Graaf
• Gerbert Kraaykamp
• Marcel Lubbers
• Ariana Need
• Wout Ultee

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Dutch data collection

• Multi-Moment data
• Multi-Actor data
• Multi-Context data

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Dutch data collection

• Multi-Moment data
• Multi-Actor data
• Multi-Context data
• 3 MAC data

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Dutch data collection

• Series moments primary respondents
• Job history
• Educational history
• Income history
• Housing history
• Religious history
• Smoking history
• Sport club history

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Dutch data collection

• Point moments primary respondents
• Parental, material, and cultural resources
• Leisure activities at age 18
• Weight at age 25 and now
• Relation with boss at every job spell
• Relation with co-workers at every job spell

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Dutch data collection

• Past and present attitudes of the primary
  respondent
• Abortion
• Foreigners
• Homosexuals

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Dutch data collection

• Actors
• Primary respondent
• Partner
• Parent
• Child
• Sibling

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Dutch data collection

• Actors
• Partner same questionnaire as respondents to
  answer questions about the extent to which
  partner similarity is more than a byproduct of
  educational homogamy, and whether spouse effects
  are present

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Dutch data collection

• Actors
• Parental questionnaire as a check upon
  retrospective answers of the primary respondent
• Additional questions about upbringing of primary
  respondent

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Dutch data collection

• Actors
• Child
• Questionnaire attuned to the issue of first
  generation upon third generation effects

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Dutch data collection

• Actors
• Sibling
• Questionnaire in main aspects the same as
  questionnaire for primary respondents, so that
  family effects can be estimated and the
  statistical power of models can be increased

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Dutch data collection

• Contexts
• Municipalities
• Neighborhoods
• Schools
• Employers
• Economic sectors
• Sport clubs

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Dutch data results

• Wim Bernasco
• Koen van Eijck
• Tamar Fischer
• Maurice Gesthuizen
• Christiaan Monden
• Hester Moerbeek
• Inge Sieben
• Wilfred Uunk
• Herman van der Werfhorst
• Maarten Wolbers