EDUCATIONAL-REFORM IN THE NETHERLANDS - DID IT CHANGE THE IMPACT OF PARENTAL OCCUPATION AND EDUCATION

This article compares three critical transitions at the end of primary school and during secondary education of two cohorts of Dutch male pu pils: those born around 1953 and those born around 1965. The first coh ort participated in an old educational system and the second, in a ref ormed system. Although significant increases in the survival ratios fo r these three transitions were found, the effects of parental occupati on and education on these increasing survival ratios did not change si gnificantly. This conclusion contradicts the results of earlier Dutch intercohort comparisons that used linear models. The contradiction can be explained by the increased educational participation (reflected by the increasing survival ratios) that decreased the correlations betwe en parental background and educational attainment. The educational ref orm promoted more equal educational opportunities, not by changes in t he selection and allocation of pupils, but by the increased educationa l participation of pupils.