Learning and Work Hybrid Seminars, Maastricht University, SBE, Autumn 2024

When: September 3
Time: 12h00 – 13h00
Where: TS53: room A1.23 / Zoom

Presenter: Marita Jacob (University of Cologne) 
Title: Unlocking Equal Opportunities - Social inequality in university enrollment and how it can be reduced.

Abstract: Research extensively addresses persistent social disparities in higher education access. Recent attention focuses on mitigating these inequalities by e.g. providing information or counseling to students. Such interventions often aim to promote the enrollment of students from low social backgrounds. However, these interventions may also affect students from high social backgrounds. Furthermore, within the low social origins group, there is notable heterogeneity. For example, students with migrant backgrounds exhibit a stronger inclination towards higher education for intergenerational status advancement compared to non-migrant students. In the presentation, I present findings from the "Future and Career Plans before Leaving High School" project, a randomized controlled trial involving over 1000 German students who were offered individual guidance counseling before high school completion. Results indicate that the program can reduce social inequalities in higher education access. In the specific German context, we observe divergent effects for students from low and high social backgrounds. Upon closer examination of low socioeconomic status students, non-migrants show a more positive impact of counseling on enrollment. Though, this migration-related heterogeneity does not align with the status-gain motive. The discussion extends to how the scale of program implementation affects aggregate social inequality, moving beyond individual-level effects.

July 2