Reaching the marginalized: EFA global monitoring report, 2010; 2010

REACHING THE MARGINALIZEDMeasuring marginalization in educationalso reinforce them. Many of those with the lowesteducation levels come from families characterizedby social disadvantage.Getting a good education can create a virtuouscircle of life chances. There is extensive evidencethat education improves prospects not just forearnings and employment but also for health, civicengagement and social mobility (Lochner, 2004;Machin et al., 2006). Conversely, low levels ofeducation are associated with entrenchedemployment disadvantage, restricted socialmobility and a wide range of social problems.When individuals and groups emerge fromeducation systems with low levels of achievement,they and their children face a heightened risk ofmarginalization in many aspects of their lives.Education systems provide a mechanism foroffsetting social disadvantage, but whenopportunities and outcomes are skewed theycan reinforce social divisions.There are obvious differences in the experienceof education marginalization in rich and poorcountries. One is in the degree of absolutedeprivation. Almost nobody in the rich world entersadulthood with fewer than four years of education,let alone fewer than two years. Relative deprivationis another matter. Many education systems inrich countries have entrenched patterns ofmarginalization linked to poverty, the socialand economic status of parents, ethnicity, raceand other factors.Marginalization in education in France, Germany,the United Kingdom or the United States is clearlynot the same as in Cambodia or Mali. Yet there aretwo parallels. First, the playing field for opportunityis highly uneven: some groups and individuals entereducation systems facing a heightened risk offailure. Second, education systems themselvesoften reinforce and perpetuate wider socialdisadvantages.Dropping out of schoolLeaving school too early is strongly linked withmarginalization. Young people with only a lowersecondary education have limited opportunities torealize their potential and develop their learningskills. They face disadvantages in employment andare at greater risk of poverty and social exclusion.School dropouts represent a significant educationunderclass in many countries. In the EuropeanUnion, 15% of people aged 18 to 24 in 2006 leftschool with only lower secondary education andwere not in further education or training. Theshare affected ranged from just over 10% insome countries, including France and the UnitedKingdom, to 20% in Italy and 30% in Spain.Cross-country research has identified parentalwealth, child poverty, ethnicity and gender asmajor factors influencing dropout rates(European Commission, 2008).Evidence from the United States illustrates thepattern of risk factors associated with being outof school. In 2006, about 8% of people aged 16 to19 were neither enrolled in school nor working.Family poverty contributed strongly to being outof school. Some 17% of youth from poorhouseholds were out of school, compared with5% from non-poor households. Race and ethnicitywere also important, with 11% of African-Americanand Hispanic youth reported as out of school –double the share for white and Asian youth(US Department of Education, 2007).These data reflect underlying social disadvantageslinked to school dropout. One high-profile nationalreport documented a secondary school dropoutepidemic in the United States (Bridgeland et al.,2006), with around 1 million school leavers eachyear lacking a diploma. The epidemic is unequallyspread. African-American and Hispanic youth arehighly disadvantaged. Whereas the graduation ratefor white students is 84%, it falls to 72% for Hispanicand 65% for African-American students (Heckmanand LaFontaine, 2007). Parental poverty and lowlevels of education are other major risk factors.Among student characteristics, low test scoresand pregnancy contribute strongly to dropout rates.While the factors behind dropout are varied andcomplex, the consequences are uniformly severe.Students who drop out typically earn 30% to 35%less than students with a secondary school diploma(Tyler and Lofstrom, 2009).Learning achievementIn a country with equal opportunities for learning,it would be impossible to predict educationoutcomes on the basis of individual or groupcharacteristics. No country has achieved this state,but countries differ markedly in the degree towhich social circumstances shape educationopportunity and in the degree to which educationsystems counteract marginalization.Students from more advantaged socio-economicbackgrounds generally perform better in tests ofIn the UnitedStates, thegraduation ratefor white studentsis 84%, but fallsto 65% forAfrican-Americanstudents155