Aspects of Education and Division of Labour. Concluded Project. Swedish Research on Higher Education, 1985:5.

The relationship between higher education and the division of labor was studied. The objective was to evaluate whether the establishment of affiliated universities has had the intended effects in terms of efficiency and equality. A main focus of "established educational research" has been the relationship between education and employment. Education has been viewed as both an investment in human capital and as a grading or filtering mechanism. Theories of selection and grading are based on the following assumptions: (1) individuals in the educational system are rated by achievement or other criteria; (2) those selected/graded for noncompulsory education differ from those who are rejected; and (3) selection/grading benefits society, since schools match personal qualities with positions requiring the qualities. If equality in society is primarily a question of equality among individuals who perform equally, educational policy becomes a question of identifying the economic, social, and cultural impediments to the manifestation of individual capacity. The system of student financial aid is based on the objective of promoting educational equality. Research on education and equality, and particularly Swedish research, is reviewed. (SW)