United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

 Geneva, 3 July 2001

Inequality and Education

 

"We are now beginning to understand the root causes of growing inequality," said Mr. T. Scott Murray, Director General for Social and Institutional Statistics at Statistics Canada, at a seminar jointly organized by United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the University of Geneva and the Swiss Federal Statistical Office in Geneva. "The reason is that we have more and better data on how education systems work, what skills they produce, and how they interact with family background, individual ability, institutional arrangements and the labour market".

In the past, the key assessment of educational performance was the number of students enrolled in school in relation to the population of corresponding ages. This is now supplemented by measurement of competency in reading, writing and arithmetic. However, these competency ratings do not accurately represent skills demanded by the labour market, or other educational outcome.

"We found out that a great deal of economic scepticism toward human resources was mainly due to the lack of data or inaccurate data. ‘Market for skills’ seems to work much better in reality than many economic studies in the past had predicted. The results of educational investment are clearly demonstrated by higher wages and more opportunities in the labour market," stated Mr. Murray. Recent studies in Canada, based on detailed and in-depth data analyses, showed that as the level and number of skills increased, wages increased proportionately. Thus, the labour market appears to be more self-regulating than previously thought. It also seems to possess the capacity to recognize available resources.

The Canadian system of educational measurement consists of longitudinal studies, large sample surveys, and psychometric and individual micro data. The data collection methods, based on administrative files and special surveys, allow analyses of different relationships and trends across and between educational, social, institutional factors and the labour market. The surveys include:

• International Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey (ALL). Using a direct assessment approach, this survey evaluates factors that determine skill profiles and their relationship to economic successes;
  
  

• National Graduates Survey (NGS) is a longitudinal survey targeted at graduates of post-secondary schools two or five years after their graduation. This survey investigates employment, debt levels, and the fit between education and the labour market;
  
  

• Youth in Transition (YITS) and OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a longitudinal survey targeted at people between the ages of 15 and 30. This biannually conducted survey allows extensive and direct assessment of literacy, as well as the impact of skills and socio-economic status on access to post-secondary education and on the attainment of skills related to success in the labour market;
  
  

• National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) biannually follows the development of children between the ages of zero to 12 until the age of 30. This survey focuses on motor, social and cognitive development, and how development processes vary with respect to socio-economic status (SES). This survey attempts to find out how early experiences influence professional advancement in adulthood.

Having data at the micro level allows different factors to be analysed and tabulated, which in turn provides policy makers with specific information about the existing situation. Although educational data and indicators are enlightening more than ever, there is still a lack of comparable data. Policy makers need to have access to the missing data to make changes in and redesign educational policies. Evaluation measures will then show which area and population are most influenced by the policy changes.

The institutional framework is also bringing important changes. While education used to be exclusively a matter of national and local interest before, there is now a growing concern for international comparisons of educational performance, and a demand for international indicators for success. This is due to the increasing international mobility of skilled labour and students, as well as the growing concern for the ‘digital divide’ created by globalization.

"We need a framework for national and international players to promote policy discourse on educational reform," said Mr. Norberto Bottani, head of the Educational Research Department of the Canton of Geneva. "UNECE, in cooperation with other major players in the field like the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and European Statisticians (EUROSTAT) should promote an international dialogue in the field of education. Collaboration with research groups or institutions such as the Siena Group of Social Statisticians and the University of Geneva could provide a powerful force for success. Education does not belong to governments only; it belongs to the civil society."

 

For further information, please contact:

Ms Juliette Hyde
Statistical Division
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Phone: (+41 22) 917 27 59
Fax: (+41 22) 917 00 40

E-mail: Juliette.Hyde@unece.org

Website: http://www.unece.org/stats/

 

Ref:  ECE/STAT/01/08