教育机会均等的理念和现实

Equality of Opportunity in Education——Concept and Reality

本论文首先概述了关于大学入学的个体选择的概率模型,并基于这一模型,根据收入阶层其实效成本的不同,对教育机会均等的概念重新定义。通过这一模型进行的运算表明,当整体升学率上升到一定水准时,阶层间的升学率差异将扩大,而非缩小。因此“大众化”的高等教育未必意味着更大的均等。就教育机会均等问题而言,从学生生活调查这一标准数据源中得出的学生分布的假设的信赖性亦存有疑问。

This paper first outlines a conceptual model of individual choice about entering college, and on the basis of this model redefines the concept of inequality of educational opportunity as the difference in effective cost of education by income class. The model is then operationalized to show that the disparity in attendance rate across income classes will widen, rather than diminish, as the over-all attendance rate increases up to a certain level. “Mass” higher education, therefore, does not necessarily imply greater equality. Also a serious question is raised about the reliability of the estimates about the distribution of students from the Student Living Status Survey the standard data source for the equality issue.