Does Education Prevent Job Loss during Downturns?: Evidence from Exogenous Schools Assignments and COVID-19 in Barbados

Canonical human capital theories posit that education, by enhancing worker skills, reduces the likelihood that a worker will be laid off during times of economic change. Yet, this has not been demonstrated causally. We link administrative education records from 1987 through 2002 to nationally representative surveys conducted before and after the onset of COVID-19 in Barbados to explore the causal impact of improved education on job loss during this period. Using a regression discontinuity (RD) design, Beuermann and Jackson (2020) show that females (but not males) who score just above the admission threshold for more selective schools in Barbados attain more years of education than those that scored just below (essentially holding initial ability fixed). Here, in follow-up data, we show that these same females (but not males) are much less likely to have lost a job after the onset of COVID-19. We show that these effects are not driven by sectoral changes, or changes in labor supply. Because employers observe incumbent worker productivity, these patterns are inconsistent with pure education signaling, and they suggest that education enhances worker skill.

CONTENT-PROCEDURAL FOUNDATIONS OF STEM EDUCATION IN THE USA

The article reveals content-procedural foundations of STEM education in the USA. On the basis of using a number of theoretical research methods (analysis, synthesis, generalization, comparison) the essence of the studied phenomenon was revealed. The types of high schools, that provide educational services in the field of STEM, are characterized, namely: selective schools, which admit gifted students who have outstanding abilities in the field of STEM; inclusive schools that serve students from all backgrounds, targeting lowincome youth, minorities and other traditionally under-represented categories of student youth; STEM-Focused Career and Technical Education (CTE) Schools, which help a wide range of high school students gain insight into the practical application of knowledge in STEM disciplines and prepare for work in the field of STEM.

Under the Law: The legal battle over high school entrance exams

New York City has sought to revise the admissions policies at its eight selective schools so that these schools will be less segregated and better reflect the demographics of the boroughs where they are located. These efforts have led to a lawsuit alleging that the policies discriminate against Asian American students. Robert Kim discusses the arguments in the McAuliffe PTO v. de Blasio case and what it signifies for schools’ efforts to provide more access to advanced education.

The attitudes, perceptions and experiences of medical school applicants following the closure of schools and cancellation of public examinations in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic

ObjectiveTo describe medical applicants’ experiences of education and their views on changes to medical school admissions, including the awarding of calculated grades, following the 2020 closure of schools and universities, and the cancellation of public examinations in the United Kingdom due to the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic. To understand how applicants from diverse social backgrounds might differ in these regards.DesignCross-sectional questionnaire study forming part of the longitudinal United Kingdom Medical Applicant Cohort Study (UKMACS).SettingUnited Kingdom medical school admissions.Participants2887 participants (68% female; 64% with at least one degree-educated parent; 63% with at least one parent in the highest socioeconomic group) completed an online questionnaire between 8th and 22nd April 2020. To be invited to complete the questionnaire, participants had to have registered to take the University Clinical Admissions Test (UCAT) in 2019 and to have agreed to be invited to take part in the study, or they needed to have completed one or more previous UKMACS questionnaires. They also need to have been seriously considering applying to study medicine in the UK for entry in 2020 between May and October 2019, and be resident in the UK or Islands/Crown Dependencies.Main outcome measuresViews on calculated grades, views on potential changes to medical school admissions and teaching in 2020 and 2021, reported experiences of education following the closure of educational institutions in March 2020.ResultsRespondents had concerns about the calculated grades that will replace A-level examinations, especially female applicants and applicants from Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who felt teachers would find it difficult to grade and rank students accurately, as well as those from non-selective state schools and those living in deprived areas who had some concerns about the grade standardisation process. Calculated grades were not considered fair enough by a majority to use in the acceptance or rejection of medical offer-holders, but several measures - including interview and aptitude test scores - were considered fair enough to use in combination. Respondents from non-selective state (public) schools reported less use of and less access to educational resources compared to their counterparts at private/selective schools. In particular they reported less online teaching in real time, and reported spending less time studying during the lockdown.ConclusionsThe coronavirus pandemic will have significant and long term impacts on the selection, education and performance of our future medical workforce. It is important that the views and experiences of medical applicants from diverse backgrounds are taken into consideration in decisions affecting their futures and the future of the profession.

Do Socio-Economic Separations Add to Ethnic Segregation?

Most of the focus of this book has been on ethnic segregation, reflecting the discourse found in the media and prominent in government policy documents. However, there is a strong intersectionality between social and ethnic dis-/advantage, which means processes of socio-economic separation are linked to patterns of ethnic segregation in ways that are not easily disentangled. The purpose of this chapter is not to try and do so but, instead, to look for evidence that within ethnic groups, and within a system of constrained school choice, the more or less affluent have different amounts of segregation from other ethnic groups, with this being related to the different types of school they attend. That evidence is found with those of the White British who are not eligible for Free School Meals generally the most segregated from / least exposed to other ethnic groups, with the effects of academically selective and some religiously selective schools contributing to the differences.

Shifting Gears: Re-framing the International Discussion about Inclusive Education

Kauffman, Felder, Ahrbeck, Badar, and Schneiders (this issue) call for a more temperate approach to inclusion, arguing against its use in educating all students with disabilities. We argue in response that the issue should not be framed as “inclusion versus non-inclusion,” asserting that our field would benefit by examining the alternatives that actually exist across the globe for educating children with and without disabilities. We first provide four concepts that are central to understanding how education is conceptualized and practiced on a global scale: (a) education for all (EFA), interpreted as nations valuing an educated citizenry; (b) primary and secondary education, discussed to make clear real differences in how these two periods of schooling are handled across nations; (c) tracking, the worldwide practice of ability grouping that affects the education of all students; and (d) comprehensive local schools, regionally centralized facilities educating all children, which offer the potential for greater equity. We follow the latter with five schooling “models” that represent the major educational options worldwide: (a) the selective schools model, which controls educational access, often with academic criteria; (b) the separate schools model, which tracks students into different facilities; (c) the tracked schools model, which stratifies students within the same facility; (d) the multi-tiered schools model, which starts with general education settings and curriculum, then provides interventions or programs as needed; and (e) the equity schools model, which uses general education settings and curriculum, providing supports as needed. We conclude with four points: (a) neither resource scarcity nor presumed limitations in general education capacity should preclude inclusive education; (b) the comprehensive local school provides a good base for enhancing equity in educational opportunity for students with and without disabilities; (c) special education is tracking, seriously impacting equity; and (d) inclusive schooling provides the best approach to EFA in the long run.

It’s Not Only Who You Are but Who You Are With: High School Composition and Individuals’ Attainment Over the Life Course

We examined life-course effects of attending selective schools using a longitudinal study of U.S. high school students begun in 1960 ( Ns ranging from 1,952 to 377,015). The effects, measured 11 and 50 years after the initial assessment, differed significantly across the two indicators of school selectivity that were used. School average socioeconomic background was positively related to students’ educational expectations, educational attainment, income, and occupational prestige at the 11-year follow-up (0.15 ≤ β ≤ 0.39; all ps < .001). Conversely, schools’ average achievement at the 11-year follow-up was negatively related to students’ expectations, attainment, income, and occupational prestige (−0.42 ≤ β ≤ −0.05; all ps < .05) when schools’ socioeconomic background was controlled for. All associations were mediated by students’ educational expectations. With the exception of income, these effects were consistent 50 years after high school, pointing to the long reach of beneficial learning resources and negative social comparison processes when attending selective schools.