Educational Inequalities Among School Leavers in Ireland 1979-1994

EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES AMONG SCHOOL LEAVERS

Table 8: Logit Model of Third-Level Participation Among those Completing
the Leaving Certificate, 1979-1994

All Leaving Certificate Leavers

Note: *** p<.001, ** p<.01, * p<.05

requesting precision in recording parental occupation (Clancy, 1995, pp. 45-46).
The 1992 survey would, therefore, appear to provide more precise information
on socio-economic background than the earlier surveys. In this respect, it is
interesting to note that the distribution of participation rates by socio-economic
group from the School Leavers’ Survey for the same year-group is very similar
to that found in the 1992 HEA survey. In contrast, the HEA and school leavers’
surveys provide very different estimates of changes in participation by socio-
economic group between 1980 and 1986, and between 1986 and 1992. For
example, HEA data indicate only very slight increases between 1980 and 1986
in third-level participation among those from a manual background but rapid
expansion in rates between 1986 and 1992. In contrast, the school leavers’ surveys
indicate a steady increase in participation over the early 1980s, in line with
expanding third-level provision, within all social class groupings. In the absence
of substantive changes (such as a rapid decrease in income inequality) and more

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