ABSTRACT

This study examines how access to the academic curriculum creates patterns of inequality in Australian schools. Examining students’ access to the academic curriculum gives an indication of how schooling is structured to support students in pursuing higher education opportunities. To date, little research attention has been given to the opportunities schools offer students to access the academic curriculum in order to enter university. Using administrative data on students and schools, we find that there are fewer average curriculum subjects, and less complexity in the subjects offered, in schools with low levels of socio-educational advantage. We argue that curriculum differentiation across schools is a systemic constraint that students in schools with higher levels of socio-educational disadvantage face in progressing to university because these schools are less able to provide students with access to core academic curriculum subjects in the final year of secondary school. Previous research has highlighted the social differences reflected in both educational access and outcomes due to the marketisation of schools and policies of school choice. Our findings indeed demonstrate that there are relationships between access to the academic curriculum, school socio-educational advantage and the social composition of schools, and these factors have important educational policy implications.

摘要

本研究调查了学习学术课程的机会如何在澳大利亚学校中造成不平等模式。检查学生对学术课程的访问情况可以表明学校教育的结构如何支持学生追求高等教育机会。迄今为止，很少有研究关注学校为学生提供的进入学术课程以进入大学的机会。使用学生和学校的行政数据，我们发现在社会教育优势水平较低的学校中，平均课程科目较少，所提供科目的复杂性较低。我们认为，学校之间的课程差异是社会教育劣势程度较高的学校的学生在升读大学时面临的系统性限制，因为这些学校在中学最后一年无法为学生提供核心学术课程科目学校。先前的研究强调了由于学校市场化和择校政策而在教育机会和教育成果中反映出的社会差异。我们的研究结果确实表明，获得学术课程、学校社会教育优势和学校的社会构成之间存在关系，这些因素具有重要的教育政策影响。