Talent, Effort or Social Background?

Abstract

Little research has been conducted into the way citizens explain educational outcomes today. This is remarkable because scholars have always claimed that education as an institution contributes to a representation of society in which success is 'achieved' on strictly meritocratic grounds. This paper attempts to fill this gap by examining public opinion on three explanations for educational success and failure -namely talent, effort and social background -in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium). Survey data (N = 1693) revealed that people are much more inclined to attribute educational success to effort and dedication when compared to educational failure. Contrary to the expectations derived from the literature on symbolic capital, 'talent' was not deemed very important by our respondents as an explanation for educational outcomes. In addition, higher educated people supported an explanation for school success or failure in terms of social background more than the less educated. The implications of our findings are discussed.

Social mobility and political distrust: cults of gratitude and resentment?

“…Upward social mobility, on the other hand, may be largely perceived from a meritocratic perspective. From this perspective, mobility is evaluated as being the result of effort and commitment, and educational success is subsequently framed as self-praise (e.g., Sharone 2013;Spruyt 2015). These individualistic narratives are less likely to influence attitudes regarding politics.…”

Combating corruption in the educational environment as a condition for improving the quality of education

“…Busemeyer, P. Lergetporer, L. Woessmann [16], полагая, что от степени государственных инвестиций в образовательный процесс зависит развитие образовательной системы, качество оказываемых услуг и коррумпированность представителей образования. Как отмечают R. Jacobson и A. Saultz эффективность государственного управления влияет на качество образования и развитие образовательной среды путем применения государственных механизмов, а также применение системы общественного надзора [25].…”

“…Исследование, проведенное B. Spruyt, F.V. Droogenbroeck, L. Kavadias, на соотношение качества, справедливости и коррупции в образовательной системе, показало взаимозависимость трех обозначенных элементов, а именно высокое восприятие качества и справедливости образования и низкий уровень восприимчивости коррупции в образовании [25]. Ученые установили взаимосвязь между наличием образования и уровнем восприятия коррупционных деяний, чем выше уровень образования, тем выше уровень правосознания и возможность противодействия коррупции.…”

Belief in School Meritocracy and the Legitimization of Social and Income Inequality

“…Educational institutions—both overtly and more implicitly—encourage students to believe in school meritocracy: educational institutions’ structure, discourse, and selection practices contribute to the institutionalization of an individualistic self-concept where talent and effort are seen to be the key factors of academic success ( Beauvois, 2003 ; Bourdieu & Passeron, 1990 ; Deutsch, 1979 ; Spruyt, 2015 ). This idea is supported by dozens of field studies and experiments that explored this “norm of internality” ( Beauvois & Dubois, 1988 ).…”