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Research Programs / Projects

Social Differentiation of Higher Education

Coordinator: N. Kanatova

As a continuation of the project "Accessibility of Higher Education for Socially Disadvantaged Groups" the Independent Institute for Social Policy in cooperation with Analytical Levada-Center and experts from leading research centers has made the analysis of the differentiation process of Russian higher education.

The project is aimed at the following tasks:

1. Analysis of public demand for mass general education.
2. Quantification of functional differentiation of the Russian system of higher education along the "mass - elite" and "general - professional" lines.
3. Analysis of accessibility of higher education for different social groups in various subsystems of higher education.
4. Analysis of relations between the character of accessibility of higher education and accessibility of upward social mobility channels.
5. Identification of the consequences of the large-scale introduction of the National Exam for the accessibility of higher education for different social and demographic groups.
6. Analysis of the influence of educational grants and credits on accessibility of higher education.

To obtain the data necessary to implement tasks 1-4, a sociological survey on the basis of a sample representing Russia's population aged 15 to 35 - 1325 respondents has been conducted. 1175 respondents made up an additional sample (university graduates or those being higher school students during the present survey). Total coverage of sampling made 2500 respondents.

Questionnaires for the survey and results analysis were developed by the Independent Institute for Social Policy in cooperation with the Analytical Levada-Center, that undertook the sampling scheme formation and interviewing. The survey was conducted in April, 2005.

Higher educational institutions and lines of profession where the respondents covered by the sampling have studied, are studying or are going to study were divided into two groups: "elite" and "non-elite”. The combination of three ratings for higher educational institutions was used for this purpose (rating developed by the RF Ministry of Education and Science, rating of educational quality, developed on the base of experts’ evaluation; rating of higher educational institutions status value, developed on the base of explication of notions about the prestigious education).

To obtain the data necessary to implement task 5 (influence of introduction of the National Exam for the accessibility of higher education), a survey was conducted on the basis of a 560 people sample that would include family members of 2002-2004 school-leavers – in the constituent entity of the Russian Federation where the National Exam approbation was held during 2003-2004. The present survey was also conducted on the base of cooperation between the IISP and Levada-Center.

For implementation of task 6 the international experts in the field of higher education financing were involved.

The paper “Increasing Accessibility to Higher Education: A Role for Student Loans?” was prepared by A. Ziderman (Bar-Ilan University, Israel).

The paper of Adrian Ziderman in PDF

The report “Student Grants and Access in Higher Education. A seven-country study” was prepared by H.Vossensteyn Center for Higher Education Policy Studies, University of Twente, Netherlands

The paper of Hans Vossensteyn in PDF

Accomplishment of the present project allowed concluding the following main findings:

The necessity of higher education becomes not just the norm but real value, shared by the majority of citizens. Among those who have received or are receiving elite education the majority are representatives of prosperous families: 39% belong to quintile group with the maximum income and merely 8% - with the minimum. The structure of factors, significantly affecting the probability to enter higher educational institutions in general and probability to enter elite higher educational institution specifically, differ. The last decade a social differentiation of probabilities to enter “mass” and “elite” higher educational institutions is significantly increasing.

As yet there are no insurmountable handicaps towards “elite” education for certain social groups. But more chances to receive elite education have those who invest more material and intangible resources in this task solution: more funds, social capital, more individual efforts in school study and out-of-school education in order to enter higher educational institutions.

Higher education accomplishes instrumental function of providing arising social dynamic of educated persons: acquisition of larger income and achievement of higher social status in comparison with those who didn’t receive higher. But at the same time, the significant distinctions in social dynamic between graduates of two selected groups of higher educational institutions and lines of profession (elite and mass) were not distinguished.

Hypothesis about higher education subsystems existing (mass and elite, general and professional) are proved out partly. The indicated differentiations exist, but in social and functional aspects. There is no considerably distinct institutional differentiation.

Conducted by the example of Voronezh oblast analysis of changes, distinguished in educational behavior of school-leavers during two years after the National Exam was introduced, doesn’t allow to make simple conclusions that this experiment lead to the accessibility of higher education including elite higher education for groups being earlier in vulnerable situation regarding the possibilities of its receipt (rural population, small towns’ population, lower-income families, families with parents’ low educational potential, basic vocational education graduates).

Apparently deepening differences in accessibility of elite and mass higher education should act as a subject of more active governmental policy. The accomplished research project allowed conceiving a number of recommendations for governmental policy in the sphere of higher education.

In the course of the project realization three public seminars and seven experts’ workshops on the discussion of social differentiation of higher education problems were conducted.

The research results made in the course of the project were discussed at the IISP seminars were presented at the IV IISP Annual Academic conference "Social Policy: Challenges of the XXIst Century" held on 8, December, 2005, in Moscow.

The research results made in the course of the project were generalized in monograph: “Social Differentiation of Higher Education” / S. Shishkin (Ed.). Independent Institute for Social Policy. Moscow, 2005.