I: The Effects of Background Variables on Transition to Higher Education

Abstract: Reuterberg, S.‐E. & Svensson, A. 1987. Student Financial Aid and Participation in Swedish Higher Education. I: The Effects of Background Variables pn Transition to Higher Education. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 31, 139‐150. The effects of social background, sex and achievement on transition rate to higher education are studied in three nationally representative samples of the Swedish population (born in 1948, 1953 and 1963, respectively). Social background and achievement are shown to have about the same effect on transition rate within the oldest cohort, while sex has relatively little effect. During the period of the study, achievement was seen to become progressively more important and therefore to exert greatest influence on the transition rate of the youngest cohort. Sex, too, becomes progressively more important but at the same time its effect changes. For the 1953 cohort, sex is reflected in a higher transition rate among men than among women, but for the youngest cohort the transition rate of women is higher than that of men. Part II of the study describes how these effects are influenced by student financial aid.