{"title":"Elite schools and educational inequality: Evidence from a private university in Kazakhstan","authors":"Kemelbayeva Saule , Bakhytzhan Kurmanov","doi":"10.1016/j.ijer.2024.102413","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Neoliberal reforms in education led to the creation of elite schools which resulted in educational inequality that later often channels into economic and social inequalities. This research aims to deepen the understanding of the impact of elite secondary education on inequality in a post-Soviet context. The study empirically examines the gain in academic performance achieved by graduates of better-funded, better-quality, elite public secondary schools in Kazakhstan during their studies at a university, with a sequential mixed-method approach. Our quantitative analysis documents that they indeed perform better than their peers who have studied at mainstream public schools. The qualitative analysis underscores that elite schools in Kazakhstan, with superior infrastructure and academic standards, prioritize soft skill development, yet exacerbate educational inequality by limiting access to students without resources or means to relocate. This work has important policy implications most crucial of which is the efficiency of public funding policy that anchors educational inequalities. Our research highlights how neoliberal reforms in Kazakhstan have exacerbated educational inequality through the emergence of state-sponsored elite and private schools, echoing broader concerns about the negative impact of education marketization on equity in post-socialist contexts.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48076,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Educational Research","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Educational Research","FirstCategoryId":"95","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883035524000995","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
Neoliberal reforms in education led to the creation of elite schools which resulted in educational inequality that later often channels into economic and social inequalities. This research aims to deepen the understanding of the impact of elite secondary education on inequality in a post-Soviet context. The study empirically examines the gain in academic performance achieved by graduates of better-funded, better-quality, elite public secondary schools in Kazakhstan during their studies at a university, with a sequential mixed-method approach. Our quantitative analysis documents that they indeed perform better than their peers who have studied at mainstream public schools. The qualitative analysis underscores that elite schools in Kazakhstan, with superior infrastructure and academic standards, prioritize soft skill development, yet exacerbate educational inequality by limiting access to students without resources or means to relocate. This work has important policy implications most crucial of which is the efficiency of public funding policy that anchors educational inequalities. Our research highlights how neoliberal reforms in Kazakhstan have exacerbated educational inequality through the emergence of state-sponsored elite and private schools, echoing broader concerns about the negative impact of education marketization on equity in post-socialist contexts.
期刊介绍:
The International Journal of Educational Research publishes regular papers and special issues on specific topics of interest to international audiences of educational researchers. Examples of recent Special Issues published in the journal illustrate the breadth of topics that have be included in the journal: Students Perspectives on Learning Environments, Social, Motivational and Emotional Aspects of Learning Disabilities, Epistemological Beliefs and Domain, Analyzing Mathematics Classroom Cultures and Practices, and Music Education: A site for collaborative creativity.