Elucidating the Process of Generating Educational Inequality by Focusing on Parental Expectations

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K13085
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 09020:Sociology of education-related
• Research Institution: Gunma University
• Principal Investigator: Tobishima Shuji 群馬大学, 情報学部, 准教授 (30708350)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 教育格差 / 進学期待 / パネル調査

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study investigated the process of educational inequality caused by family background through a quantitative analysis focusing on parents' educational expectations for their children. Although children's educational expectations are more strongly related to their mothers' expectations than to their fathers' expectations, the findings of this study indicate that fathers' educational expectations cannot be ignored as a determinant of children's educational expectations. It was also shown that the relationship between children's academic achievement and their mothers' educational expectations differed by the children's school grades, as well as by the children's gender and their mothers' educational background. It is suggested that this may lead to gender and socioeconomic inequalities in the educational attainment of the children.

Free Research Field

教育社会学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

子ども本人はどのような家庭で生まれ育つかを選択することができない。そのため、教育達成（到達学歴）が出身家庭背景などの属性的な（本人には変えることが難しい）要因によって左右されることは望ましくない。しかし、日本社会にはこのような教育達成格差が存在している。教育格差の縮小に取り組む上では、格差が生み出されるプロセスやメカニズムについて理解を深めることが必要である。本研究の知見はこの点に貢献するものであると考えられる。