Suban Biixi
In Switzerland attributed criteria that are unrelated to academic performance like gender, ethnic background and social origin lead to different outcomes of educational pathways. According to the Swiss science council, this concern needs to be addressed.
In Switzerland equity of opportunity is written down in the federal constitution (Art. 41, n.d.). In terms of education this means that attributed criteria such as gender, ethnic background or social origin should not determine the fate of one’s educational pathway.
But how are these goals actually met in reality? To what extent does gender, ethnic background and social origin influence the chances of getting a higher education in Switzerland?
Equity of opportunity vs gender segregation
When it comes to equal opportunities in education for the genders, women benefit today from greater equity of opportunity. Women are even more successful when it comes to attaining a swiss maturity diploma. And there are more women studying at swiss universities then men.
What persists, however, is gender segregation. There is gender segregation by field of study at university level and segregation in vocational training. Regardless of interests and skills the genders are sorted into different fields. There are for example a lot more men than women studying informatics and mechanical engineering – both fields that have good career prospects. What fuels social inequity is the fact that men are sorted into occupations that have higher social chances of success (Schweizerischen, 2018). Measures that can be taken to resolve this issue of gender segregation is discussed in a paragraph bellow.
Biggest hurdles for equity of opportunity
According to the swiss science council the acquisition of qualifications can be predicted with high probability solely from the information about socio-economic resources and the education level of parents. For the swiss science council this phenomenon of social selectivity in Switzerland has been a concern for several years.
In Switzerland learning skills and educational success is relatively hereditary, which becomes especially clear when comparing it to other countries.
One reason for this social selectivity is based in the structure of the swiss educational system. There is early and strong selection into different “ability groups” e.g. the Langzeitgymnasium at secondary level 1. This early selection solidifies the separation of underprivileged and privileged students to the disadvantage of the underprivileged.
What also solidifies the separation of underprivileged and privileged students is the fact, that educational decisions on what educational pathway to follow is also strongly influenced by the socio-economic background. Generally speaking, educational decisions are made after considering risk and benefit. The probability of success when following higher education are estimated to be lower in families with a low socio-economic status.
Privileged children also have a startup advantage when beginning school. They are generally better prepared for the demands of learning at school and are more likely to meet the social requirements of daily school life – this leads to them achieving better grades. The reasons for this startup advantage lie in the privileged conditions of their upbringing and socialization in their parental home (Schweizerischen, 2018).
In summary the educational level of the household the child grows up in plays a huge role in the educational pathway a child can take. Compared to other countries Switzerland has a low educational mobility, that means not a lot of children that come from a household with a low socio-economic status are able to get a degree in higher education. According to Robert Fluder Professor at the University of applied sciences in bern, poverty and wealth are inherited in Switzerland which goes against liberal thinking (Bondolfi, 2019).
Double disadvantage due to migration background
In addition to a low socioeconomic status a migration background can also be a disadvantage in the swiss educational system. Children with a migration background are doubled disadvantaged, not only do they often come from a more poorly-educated household with a low socio-economic status but the performance difference goes beyond the effects of the socio-economic status. They encounter language problems and discrimination in everyday school life and on a structural level (Annkatrin & Samuel, 2015).
The discrimination on a structural level is for example seen in the special education procedure. Usually there should be a test for the linguistic qualifications of children before they are put into special education. This is important to ensure that a child actually needs special education and that leading problem of the childs problems in school is not based on a language barriere. But currently linguistic qualifications are often ignored during the evaluation if a child should be put in special education. In addition, the provision to protect children from unjustified transfers are often bypassed (Gomolla, n.d.).
What can be done?
To overcome the gender segregation in education and to ensure that everyone can develop their full potential in education regardless of gender the Swiss science council has proposed some measures. They emphasize the importance of broad education about the problem on an individual level and on the level of public opinion formation. On an institutional level they propose to increase the targets for the percentage of women and men in the affected areas (Schweizerischen, 2018).
Measures that focus on overcoming the educational gap between low income and high income households have also been proposed by the Swiss science council. To support children with a less privileged background – whether they have a migration background or not – they propose specific language development support. To make sure the early selection on secondary level doesn’t solidify educational inequity there should be regular checks on how many children from what socio- economic background enter what “ability group”. The checks should focus on the issue of social selectivity. It is also proposed that there should be monitoring done by the Swiss Coordination Office for Educational Research. The swiss government should generally support the research on how to reduce social selectivity.
Teachers also play an important role in assessing the potential of students. Therefore, it’s also very important to sensitize them of the issue of social selectivity (Schweizerischen, 2018). There are also non-governmental initiatives to promote equity of opportunity. Other than financial support they need organizational support.
An example of such an initiative is ChagALL – the name stands for” Chancengerechtigkeit durch arbeit an der Lernlaufbahn”, which roughly translates to “Equal opportunities through work on the learning pathway”. The project ChagALL of the gymnasium Unterstrass supports young less privileged students with a migration background to master the entrance exam for the Gymnasium (Schweizerischen, 2018).
Picture of students studying. Source https://www.chagall.ch/
The Swiss science council has made it clear that they see an urgent need for action. Their concern is that, despite the clear data given, the issue of low equity of opportunity and social selectivity in Switzerland is still not adequately addressed at the policy level (Schweizerischen, 2018).
Sources:
Annkatrin, E., & Samuel, K. (2015). Chancengleichheit für Kinder und Jugendliche mit Migrationshintergrund im schweizerischen Schulsystem. Retrieved from https://www.soziothek.ch/chancengleichheit-fuer-kinder-und-jugendliche-mit-migrationshintergrund-im-schweizerischen-schulsystem
Art. 41. Bundesverfassung.
Bondolfi, S. (2019). So schlecht steht es in der Schweiz um die Chancengleichheit. Retrieved from https://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/serie–soziale-ungleichheit_so-schlecht-steht-es-in-der-schweiz-um-die-chancengleichheit/45416526
Gomolla, M. (n.d.). Institutionelle Diskriminierung im Bildungs- und Erziehungssystem: Theorie, Forschungsergebnisse und Handlungsperspektiven.
Rutter, S. (2021). Soziale Ungleichheit im Bildungssystem. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-32065-2_1
Becker, R., & Schoch, J. (2018). Soziale Selektivität. Retrieved from https://wissenschaftsrat.ch/images/stories/pdf/de/Politische_Analyse_SWR_3_2018_SozialeSelektivitaet_WEB.pdf