Inequality in Ethiopian higher education: reframing the problem as capability deprivation

The revitalization of Ethiopian higher education (HE) has been underway since the early 2000s. As well as the economic optimism evident in the ‘knowledge-driven poverty reduction’ discourse, social equity goals underscore the reform and expansion of the system. Notwithstanding the widening participation and the equity policy provisions put in place, the problem of inequality has persisted along the lines of ethnicity, gender, rurality and socio-economic background. This paper reviews major equity policy instruments and highlights the enduring inequalities in Ethiopian HE. It argues that this persistence is related in part to the ways in which the problem is represented in policy, and that redressing the problem necessitates framing inequality as capability deprivation rather than as issues of access and disparities in enrolment.     

Residence-based priorities and school choice

Many countries use centralized school choice procedures to assign pupils to schools. To address excess demand for a particular school, ties are broken according to priority points granted based on various criteria, such as proximity to the school. Using a unique reform undertaken in Madrid (Spain), we estimate the impact of abolishing residence-based priorities on families’ school choices, the stated motivation for choosing a school, and the final school allocation. Utilizing several administrative datasets on school applications, we find that the reform increases families’ out-of-district school assignments and assignments to schools further away from their home address. Parents of immigrant children did not change their application behavior in the first years of the reform but caught up with natives three years after its implementation. Children generally accessed slightly better-performing schools, particularly those from lower-educated backgrounds.     

广义实正定矩阵与稳定矩阵

在［１－５］的基础上进一步讨论了广义实正定矩阵与稳定矩阵的性质与关系，较全面地解决了它们关于Ｋｒｏｎｅｃｋｅｒ乘积和Ｈａｄａｍａｒｄ乘积的正定性问题。     

区间广义系统的θ_∞鲁棒控制

首先讨论了非受限区间广义系统的容许性问题 ,用广义 Riccati不等式给出该系统容许的充要条件 ;再讨论了区间广义系统的鲁棒控制问题 ,并且用广义 Riccati不等式给出状态反馈下的闭环系统容许且传递函数矩阵的 H∞ 范数小于给定的正常数γ的充分条件 ,最后用数字例子来验证此方法的有效性     

Ahead of the pack? Explaining the unequal distribution of scholarships in Germany

This article investigates to what extent scholarships are unequally distributed among students in Germany and how these inequalities can be explained. Following sociological theory, the article argues that elites seek qualitative ways of distinguishing themselves in a mass higher education system. Using student surveys, we demonstrate that class effects cannot merely be explained with reference to class differences in academic achievement but that higher classes have better access to scholarships independent of earlier school performance. Class differences were particularly persistent when the intermediate classes were compared with higher classes with more education. These findings illustrate that social classes have different strategies when it comes to participating in higher education and suggest that information about and access to scholarships is important in gaining a class advantage.     

The operation of grade retention and educational inequality: who gets retained in Macao and why?

While the existence of a class, gender, or ethnic gap in educational attainment is well documented for many societies, how the practice of grade retention contributes to these patterns of educational inequality has been inadequately addressed. Given that grade retention is commonly practised in Macao, Macao is used as a case for illustration. Using data from PISA 2009 and a qualitative research project, we seek to demonstrate how inadequate state regulation could make possible the manipulation of grade retention institutionally and individually in Macao. This, in turn, illustrates how the specific contextualized structural operation of grade retention could serve as a mechanism for social differentiation and thus play a role in contributing to the observed educational inequality.     

我国各地区农村基础教育财政投入的比较分析

本文对于农村基础教育财政投入进行比较分析。用舒尔兹系数、基尼系数等描述并分析全国各地区农村基础教育的财政投入。从公平和效益两个方面比较客观地评价我国农村基础教育的实际。对于分析结果的经济、社会意义给予一种科学的解决,进而对于国家的财政政策、基础教育政策提出建议,为政府有关部门决策提供有益的参考。     

两阶段相结合的广义投影类算法

讨论了非线性不等式约束最优化问题，利用一种新的广义投影技术建立问题的一类算法，该算法的初始点可任意选取，且能自动地将初始化和最优化两阶段统一起来。算法不但无需作任何转轴运算，而且只采用ε－约束集内函数梯度确定广义投影阵，方法结构简单，计算量小，具有普遍意义。     

我国居民收入差距:解析与措施

近年来我国居民收入差距不断扩大,收入分配领域中的矛盾也日益突出,成为社会普遍关注的焦点。本文通过分析中国居民收入分配差距的现状,并对造成这种现状的原因进行了解析,最后提出四点政策建议。     

Social exclusion and inequality in higher education in China: A capability perspective

Following calls for further research in education inequality beyond input and output measures, especially with a qualitative approach, and building on the implications of capability deprivation on equality (0375 and 0380), we extend the findings of 0305, 0310, 0315 and 0320 capability approach to higher education (HE). This article employs social exclusion theory as the analytical framework to examine educational inequalities in China posed by the HE admission system in Post-Mao era. This paper is driven by certain key motivations and makes a significant contribution to the extant literature. Firstly, the paper seeks to outline a usable definition of social exclusion in the context of HE enrolment. Following this, 0305, 0310, 0315 and 0320 capability approach is adopted for the first time as a theoretical construct to examine the situation facing HE in China. Sen's approach facilitates an appraisal of the process of exclusion in HE enrolment. The importance of the capability approach is that it allows one to recognize different needs and choices confronting different social groups by distinguishing between different types of social exclusion in this area. Finally, this information is used to evaluate responses which are available to the existing issues within the current Chinese HE enrolment mechanism i.e. that the mechanism is fundamentally flawed and risks reducing, rather than enhancing, capability by excluding certain groups of students from fair competition in terms of access.