{"title":"Access to senior secondary science and mathematics: examining the evidence for stratification in an Australian school system","authors":"Jenny Dean, Philip Roberts, Steve Murphy","doi":"10.1007/s12564-023-09908-3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This research investigates access to senior school science and mathematics subjects offered in the final year of secondary schooling. Using data from the most populous Australian state of New South Wales, we examine whether stratification occurs in access to science and mathematics curricula. We find that the opportunity to study these subjects differs by key school characteristics, including location, socioeconomic composition and school sector. We find that while some science subjects and entry level mathematics are offered in most schools, substantial inequalities exist in access to the most advanced level of mathematics and chemistry. School location, socioeconomic composition, enrolment size and the availability of teachers predict the probability of whether a school offers the least and most advanced science and mathematics subjects. The findings highlight that stratification in curricula offerings occurs systemically and may intensify educational inequalities.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":47344,"journal":{"name":"Asia Pacific Education Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12564-023-09908-3.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Asia Pacific Education Review","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12564-023-09908-3","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This research investigates access to senior school science and mathematics subjects offered in the final year of secondary schooling. Using data from the most populous Australian state of New South Wales, we examine whether stratification occurs in access to science and mathematics curricula. We find that the opportunity to study these subjects differs by key school characteristics, including location, socioeconomic composition and school sector. We find that while some science subjects and entry level mathematics are offered in most schools, substantial inequalities exist in access to the most advanced level of mathematics and chemistry. School location, socioeconomic composition, enrolment size and the availability of teachers predict the probability of whether a school offers the least and most advanced science and mathematics subjects. The findings highlight that stratification in curricula offerings occurs systemically and may intensify educational inequalities.
期刊介绍:
The Asia Pacific Education Review (APER) aims to stimulate research, encourage academic exchange, and enhance the professional development of scholars and other researchers who are interested in educational and cultural issues in the Asia Pacific region. APER covers all areas of educational research, with a focus on cross-cultural, comparative and other studies with a broad Asia-Pacific context.
APER is a peer reviewed journal produced by the Education Research Institute at Seoul National University. It was founded by the Institute of Asia Pacific Education Development, Seoul National University in 2000, which is owned and operated by Education Research Institute at Seoul National University since 2003.
APER requires all submitted manuscripts to follow the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA; http://www.apastyle.org/index.aspx).