Educational Opportunity within and between Holland and Sweden: The Semi-Experimental Approach

Samenvatting

Investigated is inequality of educational opportunity (IEO) by means of a sequence of matched group experiments. An experiment was conducted in the Netherlands over 15 years (1958-1973). Higher & lower social class children (number of cases = 224) were matched on sex, age, & IQ at the end of primary school. An 11- to 26-year follow up of their educational careers showed substantial IEO. The experiment was replicated for the period 1970-1976 (number of cases = 310) with the same results. Hence, IEO has not diminished in the Netherlands despite educational reform. The same procedure was applied to Swedish data for the period 1938-1972 (number of cases = 258 males) shows that IEO within Sweden has scarcely diminished. A comparison with the Netherlands shows that IEO in both countries is about the same despite differences in educational policy. 7 Tables, 4 Figures. Modified HA.