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Most research on online education compares student performance across online and in-person formats. We provide the first evidence that online education affects the number of people pursuing education by studying Georgia Tech’s Online MS in Computer Science, the earliest model offering a highly ranked degree at low cost. A regression discontinuity in admission shows that program access substantially increases overall educational enrollment. By satisfying large, previously unmet demand for midcareer training, this program will boost annual production of American computer science master’s degrees by at least 7%.Online options may open opportunities for populations who would not otherwise pursue education.

We present evidence from a series of field experiments in college coaching/mentoring. We find large impacts on college attendance and persistence, but only in the treatments where we use an intensive boots-on-the-ground approach to helping students. Our treatments that provide financial incentives or information alone do not appear to be effective. For women, assignment to our mentoring treatment yields a 15 percentage point increase in the college-going rate while treatment on the treated estimates are 30 percentage points (against a control complier mean rate of 43 percent). We find much smaller treatment effects for men, and the difference in treatment effects across genders is partially explained by the differential in self-reported labor market opportunities. We do not find evidence that the treatment effect derives from simple behavioral mistakes, student disorganization, or a lack of easily obtained information. Instead our mentoring program appears to substitute for the potentially expensive and often missing ingredient of skilled parental or teacher time and encouragement.

The UK government has expressed a desire to increase social mobility, with policies to help achieve this aim focused on reducing inequalities in educational attainment. This paper draws together established and new information about the contribution that higher education can make to social mobility using a life-course approach, considering differences by family background in terms of university attendance and achievement, as well as occupation and earnings following graduation. We find substantial socio-economic differences at each stage. Young people from poorer backgrounds are, on average, less likely to go to university than their richer peers. Even among the selected group who do go to university, they are less likely to attend the highest status institutions, less likely to graduate, and less likely to achieve the highest degree classes. These differences in degree outcomes contribute to the lower average earnings of graduates from poorer families, but earnings differentials go well beyond those driven purely by degree attainment or institution attended. The evidence strongly suggests that, even after taking these factors into account, graduates from affluent families are more likely to obtain a professional job and to see higher earnings growth in the labour market. We discuss the implications of these findings for the prospects of higher education as a route to greater social mobility.

On the basis of theories of cultural reproduction and rational choice, we examine whether access to study-abroad opportunities is socially selective and whether this pattern changed during educational expansion. We test our hypotheses for Germany by combining student survey data and administrative data on higher education entry rates. We find that studying abroad was socially selective during the entire observation period. Selectivity increased between 1991 and 2003 and hardly changed thereafter. Unexpectedly, the expansion of higher education does not explain this development. We also find that students from a high social background are more likely to choose exclusive types of stays abroad, that is, prolonged stays and stays funded through study-abroad scholarships. Regarding access to scholarships, social inequality increased as studying abroad became less exclusive. High-background students thus seem to replace their prior practices with more exclusive study-abroad practices.

This paper reviews existing policies related to anti-racism and anti-discrimination at five major universities in Canada and assesses the equity initiatives undertaken by university authorities to promote greater access and inclusion of different ethnic minority groups. The study is based on secondary data sources. Therefore, policy papers, documents, study reports available in those universities, government policy and legislation, journals, and similar were consulted to construct the piece. Findings reveal that although the universities have some sort of anti-racism and anti-discrimination policies to combat racism and discrimination in their educational setting, they face challenges or limitations in adopting holistic and inclusive measures for the different ethnic and diverse minority groups studying there. The study argued for promoting discussions and responses to specific policies, programmes, and practices, including behaviours and attitudes in the institutional and professional contexts, for combating racism and discrimination. The findings may be helpful for academics, policymakers, and administrators to develop their understanding of institutional racism, identify challenges, and adopt policy measures to address it. (DIPF/Orig.).

Purpose: To better prepare young people for the increasingly complex world of work in the global knowledge economy, apprenticeships are receiving renewed attention in countries without a strong history of vocational education. One of the strategies to promote and modernize apprenticeships in these countries is to offer apprenticeships integrated into degree programs, known as degree apprenticeships at the tertiary level. However, little research has been done to explore this new degree pathway. The purpose of this study is to explore the rationales and recent development of degree apprenticeships in the U.S. and to present a conceptual framework for designing and delivering such programs. Approach: Through an extensive literature review, this study examines the underlying justifications for the integration of apprenticeships into degree programs. Subsequently, it delves into the current progress of degree apprenticeships in the U.S., substantiating the rationales. Finally, it explores multiple facets of degree apprenticeships, offering a conceptual framework for higher education institutions to consider when implementing such programs. Findings: This study discusses two rationales for degree apprenticeships. First, they enable permeability of vocational education credentials, one of the features of a robust apprenticeship system. Second, they also equip higher education institutions to effectively prepare young people for work in response to globalization. For these reasons, recently, community colleges, the primary vocational education providers in the U.S., have actively been implementing apprenticeships within degree programs. This study also outlines four interconnected dimensions of apprenticeships - occupational, pedagogical, relational, and aligned - as a conceptual framework for implementing degree apprenticeships. Conclusion: By providing a useful context and framework for degree apprenticeships, this study contributes to the growing body of research on apprenticeships and provides a foundation for on-going research to advance the theory and practice concerning degree apprenticeships. Future studies can explore the process of implementing degree apprenticeships using the suggested framework and develop strategies to further modernize apprenticeships based upon this study. (DIPF/Orig.).

Persistent inequalities in educational expectations across societies are a growing concern. Recent research has explored the extent to which inequalities in education are due to primary effects (i.e., achievement differentials) versus secondary effects (i.e., choice behaviors net of achievement). We explore educational expectations in order to consider whether variations in primary and secondary effects are associated with country variation in curricular and ability stratification. We use evidence from the PISA 2003 database to test the hypothesis that (a) greater between-school academic stratification would be associated with stronger relationships between socioeconomic status and educational expectations and (b) when this effect is decomposed, achievement differentials would explain a greater proportion of this relationship in countries with greater stratification. Results supported these hypotheses.

This thematic issue investigates vocational schools as pathways to higher education (HE) across several countries, analyzing their potential to enhance educational and social mobility. With rising global demand for HE, vocational education and training (VET) systems offer alternative routes to HE, with vocational schools playing a crucial role, providing opportunities for students from less privileged backgrounds. The issue examines how vocational schools in various countries affect the permeability between VET and HE, highlighting the diverse narratives across different educational settings, including the DACH countries, China, the Czech Republic, Japan, Norway, and the United Kingdom. Despite vocational schools' potential to act as bridges to HE, findings remain mixed. Although vocational schools have expanded university access, they often reproduce social inequalities. Analyses suggest that these schools could improve their impact in more targeted ways through stronger teacher engagement, better preparation of students, and structured pathways that acknowledge and address students' diverse needs. The necessity for clear, common terminology and concepts, as well as for appropriate survey data to understand vocational pathways to HE in vocational school research, is emphasized, acknowledging significant research gaps, particularly in Eastern Europe and the Global South. Overall, this thematic issue calls for a new research agenda that includes diverse international perspectives, advocating for the recognition and enhancement of vocational schools as vital components to feed the HE landscape.

In this article, I propose and estimate a dynamic model of education, borrowing, and work decisions of high school graduates. I examine the effect of relaxing borrowing constraints on educational attainment by simulating increases in the amount students are permitted to borrow from government-sponsored loan programs. My results indicate that borrowing constraints have a small impact on attainment: the removal of education-related borrowing constraints raises bachelor’s degree completion by 2.4 percentage points. Tuition subsidies are necessary to obtain larger increases: I find that higher subsidies for average-ability students are the most cost effective targeted tuition subsidies.