Determinants of Access and Equity in Tertiary Education: The Case of Indonesia

Abstract

How does an individual choose to pursue tertiary education in Indonesia in an era of mass tertiary education? What factors affect this decision? In thisarticle, we analyze the determinants of access to tertiary education in Indonesia from the demand side using household survey data. We also examine theimpact of regional and family background factors on inequity of access to tertiary education. In order to analyze the demand side factors for tertiaryeducation, we use a multi-nominal logit model to examine what factors influence an individual’s decision to pursue a sarjana (bachelor’s) program,diploma program, or work after s/he graduates from high school. The data used is from the fourth Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS4) which wasconducted by the RAND Corporation and others between 2007 and 2008. Key findings of the analysis are as follows: (1) the education level of the head ofhousehold and family income per household member have significant positive effects on the choice of pursuing tertiary education; (2) in urban areas, theeducation level of household spouse and students’ test scores in high school are positively significant; (3) living in urban areas per se does not have acorrelation with entry into tertiary education; (4) access to bachelor’s programs for urban residents is most likely affected by the family backgroundfactors; (5) holding everything else constant, the tendency is for females to enroll in diploma programs, but not for bachelor’s programs.

The impact of parents’ education and attending vocational high school to college entrance

“…Chen (2009) and Ogawaa & Iimuraa (2010) have a similar finding with us. They find that head of households' education have a positive and significant effect to the probability of the children pursuing tertiary education.…”

The Factors of Decision in Taking Tertiary Education

“…For family who can't afford, it will give the confidence for the high intelligence individual by hoping that they can give return after tertiary education. The result of this research is similar with previous research which was done by Hansen et et al (1989), Ogawa and Iimura (2010) and Jimenez and Velasco (2000).…”

“…The occupational status while taking secondary education has a positive and significant impact on the demand for diploma education. The results of the study found by Ogawa and Iimura (2010) are in contrast to the hypotheses that have been compiled. The occupational status variables have a positive impact on the demand for undergraduate education in urban or urban models.…”

Enseignement supérieur et équité en Afrique subsaharienne: Elargir l'opportunité au-delà de l'élite

“…Il existe un important corpus de recherche, qui mesure l'inégalité du degré d'instruction à tous les niveaux de l'enseignement. Clancy et Goastellec (2007), Ogawa et Iimura (2010) et Koucky, Bartusek et Kovarovic (2010) -quelques auteurs parmi d'autres qui se sont penchés sur la question de l'équité dans l'enseignement supérieur -affirment qu'une analyse comparative des définitions données à l'accès et à l'équité et des politiques fondées sur ces définitions permet de faire ressortir les différences et les points communs entre les pays. Cependant, les études comparatives de l'inéquité entre pays en rapport à l'accès à l'enseignement supérieur et aux niveaux d'instruction atteints dans l'enseignement supérieur sont rares, avec seulement quelques études notables, telles que celles de Thomas, Wang et Fan (2001), Zhang et Li (2002), Barros et al (2009), et Koucky, Bartusek et Kovarovic (2010).…”