A Study on the Psychological and Sociological Mechanisms of Class and Gender Inequalities in Educational Attainment

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25885007
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Sociology of education
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: TOBISHIMA Shuji 東北大学, 教育学研究科(研究院), 助教 (30708350)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-08-30 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 教育機会の不平等 / 社会階層 / ジェンダー

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this research is to examine how class and gender inequalities in education are generated in contemporary Japan. Using data from Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the 4th Basic Research on Academic Performance, I conducted quantitative analyses concerning the effects of gender and socio-economic background on students' educational expectations in Japan. The main findings are as follows: First, the effects of gender and socio-economic background on tenth grade students' educational expectations are partially mediated by mathematics self-efficacy. Second, the effects of parents' educational certificates on eighth grade students' educational expectations are partially mediated by self-evaluation of school grades and expected academic achievement with a lot of effort.

Free Research Field

教育社会学