Anna Vignoles - Why education inequalities matter and how they can be reduced

Education systems are unequal in most societies around the world in that we see big gaps in achievement levels.

About Anna Vignoles

"Formerly Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge, I am the Director of the Leverhulme Trust and an economist of education.

I’m an economist of education, which means I apply economic principles to the study of education. I do lots of work on trying to understand the effectiveness of different education systems, of understanding the causes of inequality in our education systems, and I try to come up with practical solutions to how we can narrow these inequalities."

Key Points

• There are very few systems in the world that don't have education inequalities. Pupils who experience them are more likely to suffer once they join the labour market. • There are two types of education inequality: the first is the difference in achievement levels that you see in the system. The second is inequality between children within schools. • One solution is targeted spending, where the State deliberately spends more on children who are likely to be otherwise at a disadvantage.

Most education systems are unequal

Education systems are unequal in most societies around the world in that we see big gaps in achievement levels, particularly between children from more advantaged families and children from more impoverished families. The inequalities that we see in educational achievement are ubiquitous. There are very few systems in the world that don't have them – some systems just have more significant inequalities than others.

The reason why education inequality matters so much is that education is an investment. In other words, those who don't get the skills that you get from investing in education, then suffer when they join the labour market. They end up having more inferior quality jobs, and they earn less. You’re more likely to be employed if you have higher levels of education. Conversely, if you haven't invested in education, you’re more likely to be unemployed.

Being unemployed is associated with a whole range of poor outcomes, ranging from poor well-being to poor physical health. It goes beyond just being about education inequalities. Education inequalities map onto many other disparities that last a lifetime, particularly labour market inequality and inequalities related to well-being. As a society, we should be very concerned about education equity. It matters, and although we see inequalities in educational achievement across the board, some systems have done a far better job at abating those inequalities.