SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC-INEQUALITY IN THE EDUCATIONAL CAREER - DO THE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS DECLINE

This paper studies the influence of social and economic background on educational decisions during the complete career in the Norwegian educ ational system. The data consists of a sample of Norwegians between th e age of 30 and 34 in 1990 from the population censuses. Studies of th e development of social inequality in educational attainment often use a sequential binary choice model. The model used here seeks to provid e a more realistic representation of the structure of educational choi ce facing students, which involves multiple as well as binary choices. The results support those of previous studies in that social class wa s found to have the greatest impact in the first transition, from comp ulsory school to secondary education. However, the main impression is of continuing social inequality throughout the educational career. Tho se originating in the higher social classes are more likely than other s to choose prestigious tracks of tertiary-level education. Parental i ncome affects the choice of track and the level of the university degr ee for those who choose academic studies with graduate and undergradua te degrees.