Searching of the Source of Educational Inequality

Various approaches to investigating the sources of inequality in education are discussed in the paper. It is noted that data on the representation of students from families with various parental status at levels of education do not give a full picture of what is happening. Full-fledged interpretation requires to turn to a much larger amount of information, primarily because an influence of the family and the environment during the period of primary socialization is of decisive importance for the formation of chances in the educational sphere. The social experience of the family, the models of social behavior based on it, the developed cultural patterns, strategies, and tactics are important. At the same time, the orientations towards education are not fixed once and for all; they can be transformed if the general situation changes (for example, economic) or a directed influence is made (for example, pedagogical). The formed orientations are, as it were, a starting position and later sets the direction and speed of possible reflection on certain influences. The pandemic and the resulting intensification of distance learning have sharply increased the importance of motivation and other students’ qualities, formed during the period of primary socialization: they are critical for academic success. The accompanying growth of inequality in education has actualized the search for its sources to find means to overcome or at least reduce it. Equalization of opportunities for young people from all social groups is especially important for the growth of human potential.