The DemoSoc seminars at Universitat Pompeu Fabra aims to gather all researchers at UPF and beyond working on the fields of demography and sociology (social stratification).

Next DemoSoc Seminar of this course will take place on:

February, 19th

10.30 h 

Room 40.257 Roger de Llúria

The Fairness Paradox of Educational Inequality? Institutional Stratification and Public Beliefs in Fair Educational Opportunities in Europe

Simone Maria Schneider, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Abstract: This study examines how educational stratification – commonly referred to as tracking or ability grouping – relates to how Europeans assess the fairness of their own and others’ educational opportunities. Guided by neo-institutionalist theory, this study proposes three competing functions of tracking: as ‘institutional barrier’, ‘cognitive constraint’, or ‘ideational source’. Drawing on cross-national survey and institutional data on 29 European countries, findings support the ‘ideational source’ argument rooted in historical neo-institutionalism and policy feedback. The results identify a ‘fairness paradox’: on average, educational opportunities in more stratified systems are viewed as fair as educational opportunities in more inclusive systems. This points to the power of institutionally embedded norms; for self-related beliefs, this pattern also partly reflects the strong vocational orientation of more stratified systems. Overall, findings suggest that systems at both ends of the tracking spectrum – those most in need of public support – are most effective in generating public consent for their own actions. The study advances policy feedback research by demonstrating how institutionalised ideas and practices are reflected in public understandings of educational fairness in Europe. 

Project: The presentation and study is part of the PERGAP project “The (Mis)Perception of Economic Inequality: The Impact of Welfare State Institutions on Social Perception and Preference Formation” (ERC-STG-101042125)

DemoSoc Seminars 2025-26