This article examines the role of effort in the process of educational attainment. First, I analyze the impact of effort on future tertiary educational attainment. Then, I test two sociological theories that argue that effort transmits educational inequality across generations. According to the first theory, parental background shapes the effort that children exert in education-related activities. The second theory argues that the drivers of effort in this context are educational expectations. I use a variable for effort that is measured directly over the course of the Programme for International Student Assessment test. Using a longitudinal data set from Australia, I estimate different hierarchical and structural equations models. I find that the measure of effort is positively and significantly associated with the probability of having obtained a tertiary degree 10 years later. Furthermore, the results show partial support for the second theory but not for the first one.

本文探讨了努力在教育素养过程中的作用。首先，我分析了努力对未来高等教育学历的影响。然后，我测试了两种社会学理论，这些理论认为努力在几代人之间传播了教育不平等。根据第一种理论，父母的背景决定了儿童在与教育有关的活动中所付出的努力。第二种理论认为，在这种情况下努力的驱动力是教育期望。我使用的努力变量是在“国际学生评估计划”测试过程中直接衡量的。使用来自澳大利亚的纵向数据集，我估计了不同的层次和结构方程模型。我发现努力的程度与10年后获得大专学位的可能性成正相关且显着相关。此外，结果表明部分支持第二种理论，但不支持第一种理论。