Relationship Between Levels of Education and Social Inequality Through an Analysis of Household-level Data -Term Paper

8/6/2019 Relationship Between Levels of Education and Social Inequality Through an Analysis of Household-level Data -Term

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ForewordSocial inequality is one of Bangladesh s core socioeconomic problems. From the mid-1980s to early

1990s the situation of the lower class worsened, especially in rural areas. In recent years, different

measures indicate some improvement partly due to acceleration in economic growth. However, the

positive impact of economic growth on reducing social and economic disparity has remained limited due

to increased inequality in the access to secondary education and agricultural land.

Recent statistics indicates that while the access to primary education has improved, the access to

secondary education of male children has deteriorated especially among the landless households. In

Bangladesh, non- farm activities generate higher income than farm activities, and the level of education

determines the ability of households to engage in such activities. Unequal access to education has,

therefore, serious implications - it perpetuates income inequality, and limits the impact of economic

growth on social equity.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between levels of education and social

inequality through an analysis of household-level data. The relationship between education and

inequality is a circular one: the lack of secondary-level education may force low-income households to

engage in low-productivity activities, and results in social reproduction of the lower class. On the other

hand, low income leads to low investment in education. The substantial inequalities in educational

attainment, and its role in social reproduction of our society.

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Lit era tu re Rev i ewSociologists have attempted to account for social inequalities in education in a number of different

ways. They can all be seen as concerned with social reproduction, in and through education, but in

rather different ways. Ivan Illich stresses the effects of informal processes at work through what he calls

the hidden curriculum ; Basil Bernstein emphasizes the significance of language; Pierre Bourdieu

examines the relationship between the cultures of school and home.

Ivan Ill ich: th e hi dden cu rr icu lum Illich (1973) argued that the very notion of compulsory schooling, now accepted throughout the word,

should be questioned. He stressed the connection between the development of education and the

requirements of the economy for discipline and hierarchy. He argued have developed to cope with four

basic tasks: the provision of custodial care, the distribution of people among occupational roles, the

learning of dominant values, and the acquisition of socially approved skills and knowledge.

Much is learnt in school which has nothing to do with the formal content of lessons. Schools tend to

inculcate what Illich called passive consumption - an uncritical acceptance of the existing social order-

by the nature of the discipline and regimentation they involve. These lessons are not consciously taught;

they are implicit in school procedures and organization. The hidden curriculum teaches children that

their role in life is to know their place and to sit still in it (Illich 1973).

Illich suggested that a system should be established that makes it possible for knowledge to be widely

diffused and shared, not confined to specialists. Learners should not have to submit to a standard

curriculum, and they should have personal choice over what they study.

Bas i l Berns t e i n : lang u age c odesLike Illich, sociologist Basil Bernstein (1924-2000) was interested in the way in which education

reproduces inequalities in society. Drawing on conflict theory, Bernstein examined inequality in

education through and analysis of linguistic skills. In the 1970s Bernstein argued that children from

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varying backgrounds develop different codes, or forms of speech, during their early lives, which affect

their subsequent school experience. He was not concerned with differences in vocabulary or verbal

skills; his interest was in systematic differences in ways of using languages, particularly in the contrast

between poorer and wealthier children.

The speech of working-class children, Bernstein contended, represents a restricted code- a way of using

language containing many unstated assumptions that speakers expect others to know. A restricted code

is a type of speech tied to its own cultural setting. Many working-class people live in a strong familial or

neighborhood culture, in which values and norms are taken for granted and not expressed in language.

Parents tend to socialize their children directly by the use of rewards and reprimands to correct their

behavior. Language in a restricted code is more suitable for communication about practical experience

than for discussion of more abstract ideas, processes or relationships. Restricted code is thus

characteristic of children growing up in lower-class families, and of the peer groups in which they spend

their time. Speech is oriented to the norms of the group, without anyone easily being able to explain

why they follow the patterns of behavior they do. represent

Bernstein s ideas help us understand why those from certain socioeconomic backgrounds tend to be

under-achievers at school. The following traits have been associated with restricted code speech, all of

them inhibiting a child s educational chances:

1. The child probably receives limited responses to questions asked at home and therefore is likely

to be both less well informed and less curious about the wider world than those mastering

elaborated codes.

2. The child will find it difficult to respond to the unemotional and abstract language used in

teaching, as well as to appeals to general principles of school discipline.


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3. Much of what the teacher says is likely to be incomprehensible, in language used in a way the

child is not accustomed to.

4. While the child will experience little difficulty with rote or drill learning, s/he may have major

difficulties in grasping conceptual distinctions involving generalization and abstraction.

P i erre Bo u rd i e u: ed uc a ti on and cu ltu ral reprod ucti onPerhaps the most illuminating way of connecting the themes of these theoretical perspectives is through

the concept of cultural reproduction. Cultural reproduction refers to the ways in which schools, in

conjunction with other social institutions, help perpetuate social and economic inequalities across the

generations. The concept directs our attention to the means whereby, via what Illich called the hidden

curriculum schools influence the learning of values, attitudes and habits. Schools reinforce variations in

cultural values and outlooks picked in early life; when children leave school, these have the effect of

limiting the opportunities of some, while facilitating those of others. Cultural reproduction often results

in social reproduction, or the process of transferring aspects of society, such as class, from generation to

generation.


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A n Overv i ew of th e Banglades h Ed uc a ti on Sys t e m The constitution of Bangladesh directs the state to adopt effective, correct measures for extending

compulsory and free education for all children "to such stage as may be determined by law." Recent

years have recorded some advances in the education sector in Bangladesh. Given the scale of the

development problem faced by Bangladesh, however, these improvements are inadequate.

After three decades and many education commission reports, Bangladesh has yet to attain the goal of

providing free primary education to all children. One reason for this is the failure of politicians and

members of the education commissions to commit themselves firmly to the vision of basic education as

a fundamental human right and an instrument of social and economic change. Studies have shown that

cost recovery as a percentage of unit costs in Bangladesh is higher in primary education than in either

secondary or higher education.

Recent Trends and Statistics

Public expenditure on education has been low. The distribution of the overall public-sector budget

among the various educational sectors has remained stable in recent years. Primary education has

received roughly 47 percent, secondary education 22 percent, and higher education 33 percent of

government spending on education over the years. Primary education has gained at the expense of

secondary education, while the tertiary sector has maintained its position. Among institutions that teach

scientific and technical subjects, only medical colleges have gained in real terms.

According to Tan and Mignot's World Bank study:

y the share of cumulative subsidies accruing to the best-educated 10 percent in a generation in

Bangladesh stands at 72 percent, compared with the Asian average of 37 percent, and

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y the education gini coefficient 1 is a highly unequal 82 for Bangladesh compared with the Asian

average of 43.

The school-age population at the end of the twentieth century expanded at the rate of roughly 1 million

each year, putting enormous pressure on the entire school system. Non-governmental organizations

took up the challenge of opening and running primary schools in areas where government schools did

not exist.

I Primary and Secondary Schooling

Enrollment data in the primary schools show some positive trends, including a rise in female enrollment.

The overall enrollment according to official statistics is 80 percent of the age cohort, although gross

enrollment rates are close to 100 percent, because of inclusion of older children in the count. An

estimated 20 million students are enrolled in primary schools today. The goal of achieving full

enrollment in the six-to-eleven-year age cohort poses major public-policy challenges, due to a shortage

of classrooms and teachers. In general, the quality of education in the primary sector is low, with a poor

learning environment. Problems include high student-teacher ratios, inadequately trained teachers, and

lack of proper books, supplies, and facilities such as laboratories.

The secondary education level also has been severely neglected by policy makers in Bangladesh.

According to a survey by the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, overcrowding at the

secondary level is common. The number of secondary schools has simply not expanded to

accommodate all those graduating from primary schools. The enrollment rate has increased to about 30

to 35 percent of the age cohort.

1 the gini coefficient is a measure of inequality of distribution of education funds. Zero equals complete equality, and oneequals complete inequality. The higher the value within this range, the greater the proportion of education funds spent on thefew, and the greater the inequality.


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I I Public and Private Tertiary Education

Public higher education in Bangladesh is nearly free. Access and equity continue to be major problems in

the entire education sector but especially in tertiary education. Until the early 1990s, university

education was provided only by public universities (including the highly specialized medical colleges,

engineering universities, and polytechnic institutes and colleges). Today, vocational secondary schools,

training centers, and on-the-job training opportunities in the private sector are springing up to serve the

labor market. The rapid increases in population, urbanization, and incomes have created an enormous

demand for good schools at all levels. Parents generally believe that a good education is the ticket to

social and economic success.

P rogress of ed uc a ti on i n Banglades h Two indicators are used to measure progress in education - the proportion of children and youths

enrolled at different levels and the proportion of the adult population having different levels of

education. According to an earlier survey, substantial progress has been made in terms of enrollment in

primary school that went up from 66 per cent to 101 per cent 2 (Table 3).

The achievement of female children is especially noteworthy, and the fact that the total enrollment rate

in secondary schools has gone up from 50 per cent to 61 per cent mainly due to the high enrollment rate

among girls. Actually, the enrollment of boys has declined from 60 to 58 per cent. Progress has also

2 gross enrollment rates are close to 101 percent, because of inclusion of older children in the count


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been made in college education - from a low 15 per cent to 24 per cent. Here again, the rate of increase

in the participation rate is higher among girls than boys. These results are consistent with national the

level achievement on education as evident from Table 4.

It should be mentioned that the above estimates are gross enrollment rates that include repetition in the

same grade. Achievement in net enrollment rates must have been lower as indicated by other estimates.

According to the UNDP Report on South Asia 2000, the net enrollment rates (1997) for boys and girls at

primary level are 80 and 70 per cent respectively, and the corresponding figures for the secondary level

are 27 and 16 per cent (UNDP. P. 105).

Greater progress of girls than boys reflects both the recent education policies of the government as well

as the socio-economic reality in rural areas. First, the government of Bangladesh has, supported by

donors, invested in girls education for more than a decade. Secondly, the opportunity costs of sending

girls to school are lower than for boys because of limited participation of girls in market activities

specially in rural areas of Bangladesh.

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Relationship Between Levels of Education and Social Inequality Through an Analysis of Household-level Data -Term Paper