Gender-specific effects of attending college: Comparing ex-ante return with ex-post return

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K17388
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Sociology of education
• Research Institution: Taisho University
• Principal Investigator: HIGETA Takeshi 大正大学, その他部局等, 専任講師 (30734454)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 高校生 / 進路選択 / 母子調査 / 追跡調査 / ライフコース / 事後的収益率 / 期待便益 / 進学希望の断念

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aims to investigate the determinant factors that affect the course selection of high school students. Listed below are the results from a questionnaire survey of high school students and their mothers. First, we observed that the mothers’ estimation of the return to education was subjective and was directly related to the academic background of the mothers, i.e., the higher the academic background of the mothers, the higher their estimated return to education, and the lower the academic background, the lower the estimated return to education. Second, it was not the lifetime income of the mothers but the annual income and academic background of their spouses that was reflected in the mothers’ estimated return to education. Third, the high school students whose mothers estimated a higher return to education were more inclined to have a desire to go to college.

Free Research Field

教育社会学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究が調査対象とした高校生の母親は主に、短大進学が主流だった世代である。そうした世代の母親にとって、大学進学が結果的にどのような意味をもったのかを議論するためのデータを得ることができた。本研究を通じて、女性が高校を卒業した後の進路選択に対して母親の学歴が影響する理由の1つが示された。