Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review 2009, 45(5): 993-1032 | DOI: 10.13060/00380288.2009.45.5.05

Student Financial Aid and Inequalities in Access to Higher Education in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands

Petr Matějů, Tomáš Konečný, Simona Weidnerová, Hans Vossensteyn
1 Sociologický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i., Praha
2 Institut pro sociální a ekonomické analýzy, Praha 3 Centrum pro studium vysokoškolské politiky, University of Twente, Enschede

This article focuses on the connection between financial aid systems in higher education and the development of inequalities in access to higher education. Although the student financial aid system is just one of a number of factors that influence a person's chances of studying in higher education, its role in a person's decision to pursue higher education may be of fundamental significance for those with lower socio-economic status. Therefore, the authors of this article focus on the effect of the financial conditions of study on the chances that individuals from families with low socio-economic status have obtained higher education. The analysis looks at developments in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, because Czech and Dutch student financial aid systems have been evolving in very different directions over the last two decades, while their secondary school systems continue to share very similar features. The analysis reveals that student financial aid based primarily on direct financial support (as in the Netherlands) was accompanied by a decline in inequalities in access to education, even though students had to pay tuition, while a system of financial aid primarily involving indirect support (as in the Czech Republic) applied over the same period did not inhibit increasing inequalities, despite the fact that during the period under observation students were not required to pay tuition.

Keywords: higher education, accessibility, inequality, student financial aid, Czech Republic, Netherlands.

Published: October 1, 2009  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Matějů, P., Konečný, T., Weidnerová, S., & Vossensteyn, H. (2009). Student Financial Aid and Inequalities in Access to Higher Education in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review, 45(5), 993-1032. doi: 10.13060/00380288.2009.45.5.05
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. Andrews, L. 2001. The Effects of HECS on Interest in Undertaking Higher Education. Canberra: Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs.
    2. Blöndal, S., S. Field, N. Girouard. 2002. "Investment in Human Capital Through PostCompulsory Education and Training: Selected Efficiency and Equity Aspects." OECD Economics Department Working Papers 333. Paris: OECD, Economics Department.
    3. Boguszak, M., P. Matějů, J. Peschar. 1990. "Educational Mobility in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and the Netherlands." Pp. 211-262 in J. L. Peschar (ed.). Social Reproduction in Eastern and Western Europe: Comparative Analyses on Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the Netherlands and Poland. Nijmegen: OOMO-REEKS.
    4. Bound, J., S. Turner. 2006. "Cohort Crowding: How Resources Affect Collegiate Attainment." NBER Working Papers 12424. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Go to original source...
    5. Callender, C. 2006. "Access to Higher Education in Britain: The Impact of Tuition Fees and Financial Assistance." Pp. 105-132 in P. N. Teixeira, D. B. Johnstone, M. J. Rosa, J. J. Vossensteyn (eds.). Cost-sharing and Accessibility in Higher Education: A Fairer Deal? Dordrecht: Springer. Go to original source...
    6. Chapman, B. J. 1997. "Conceptual Issues and the Australian Experience with Income Contingent Charges for Higher Education." The Economic Journal 107 (442): 738-751. Go to original source...
    7. Chapman, B. J. 2006a. "Income Related Student Loans: Concepts, International Reforms and Administrative Challenges." Pp. 79-104 in P. N. Teixeira, D. B. Johnstone, M. J. Rosa, H. Vossensteyn (eds.). Cost-sharing and Accessibility in Higher Education: A Fairer Deal? Dordrecht: Springer. Go to original source...
    8. Chapman, B. J. 2006b. Government Managing Risk. Income Contingent Loans for Social and Economic Progress. Abingdon, UK, New York: Routledge. Go to original source...
    9. Dynarsky, S., J. Scott-Clayton. 2006. "The Cost of Complexity in Federal Student Aid: Lessons from Optimal Tax Theory and Behavioural Economics." Faculty Research Working Papers Series RWP06-013. Cambridge, MA: John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Go to original source...
    10. EU-SILC. 2005. EU Survey on Income and Living Conditions. Luxemburg: Eurostat.
    11. Hermans, Loek. 1999. Flexibele studienfinanciering. Een stelsel dat past. Den Haag: Sdu Grafisch Bedrijf.
    12. Hossler, D., J. Schmit, N. Vesper. 1999. Going to College. How Social, Economic and Educational Factors Influence the Decisions Students Make. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
    13. Hupe, P. L., A. I. T. van Solm. 1998. "Het Zoetermeerse labyrint." Beleidsgerichte studies Hoger onderwijs en Wetenschappelijk ondezoek 55. Den Haag: Sdu Grafisch Bedrijf.
    14. Johnstone, B. 2008. "Cost-sharing and the Cost-effectiveness of Grants and Loan Subsidies to Higher Education." Pp. 51-78 in P. N. Teixeira, D. B. Johnstone, M. J. Rosa, H. Vossensteyn (eds.). Cost-sharing and Accessibility in Higher Education: A Fairer Deal? Dordrecht: Springer. Go to original source...
    15. Kane, T. J. 2003. "A Quasi-Experimental Estimate of the Impact of Financial Aid on College-Going." NBER Working Papers 9703. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Go to original source...
    16. Kerckhoff, A. C. 1976. "The Status Attainment Process: Socialization or Allocation?" Social Forces 55 (2): 368-381. Go to original source...
    17. Kerckoff, A. C. 1977. "The Realism of Educational Ambitions in England and the United States." American Sociological Review 42 (4): 563-571. Go to original source...
    18. Kerckhoff, A. C. 2001. "Education and Social Stratification Processes in Comparative Perspective." Sociology of Education 74 (Extra Issue): 3-18. Go to original source...
    19. Kirkpatrick, C., D. Parker (eds.). 2008. Regulatory Impact Assessment. Towards Better Regulation? Cheltenham, Northampton: Edward Elgar Publisher. Go to original source...
    20. Linting, M., J. J. Meulman, P. J. Groenen, A. J. van der Koojj. 2007. "Nonlinear Principal Components Analysis: Introduction and Applications." Psychological Methods 12 (3): 336-358. Go to original source...
    21. Meulman, J. J., A. J. Van der Kooij, W. J. Heiser. 2004. "Principal Component Analysis with Nonlinear Optimal Scaling Transformations for Ordinal and Nominal Data." Pp. 49-70 in D. Kaplan (ed.). The SAGE Handbook of Quantitative Methodology for the Social Sciences. London: Sage. Go to original source...
    22. Meulman, J. J., W. J. Heiser, SPSS Inc. 2004. "Categorical Principal Components Analysis (CATPCA) ." Pp. 31-48 in J. J. Meulman, W. J. Heiser, SPSS Inc. SPSS Categories 13.0. Chicago, IL: SPSS.
    23. Mankiw, N. G. 2004. Principles of Economics. Stamford: Thompson South-Western.
    24. Matějů, P. 1990. "Family Effect on Educational Attainment in Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands and Hungary." Pp. 187-210 in J. L. Peschar (ed.). Social Reproduction in Eastern and Western Europe: Comparative Analyses on Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the Netherlands and Poland. Nijmegen: OOMO-REEKS.
    25. Matějů, P. 1993. "Who Won and Who Lost in a Socialist Redistribution." Pp. 251-272 in Y. Shavit, H. P. Blossfeld (eds.). Persistent Inequality. Changing Educational Attainment in Thirteen Countries. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
    26. Matějů, P., J. L. Peschar. 1990. "Family Background and Educational Attainment in Czechoslovakia and the Netherlands." Pp. 121-145 in M. Haller (ed.). Class Structure in Europe. New Findings from East-West Comparison of Social Structure and Mobility. New York: Sharpe. Go to original source...
    27. Matějů, P. 2005. "Ke kořenům sociálně psychologického modelu sociální stratifikace." Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review 41 (1): 7-30. Go to original source...
    28. Matějů, P., M. L. Smith, P. Soukup, J. Basl. 2007. "Determination of College Expectations in OECD Countries: The Role of Institutional and Structural Factors." Sociologický časopis / Czech Sociological Review 43 (6): 1121-1148. Go to original source...
    29. New Zealand Ministry of Education. 1999. Student Loan Scheme Report. Wellington: Ministry of Education.
    30. OECD. 2007. Education at a Glance. Paris: OECD.
    31. OECD. 2008. Tertiary Education for the Knowledge Society. OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education: Synthesis Report. Paris: OECD.
    32. Rijken, S., I. Maas, H. B. G. Ganzeboom. 2007. "The Netherlands: Access to Higher Education - Institutional Arrangements and Inequality of Opportunity." Pp. 266-293 in Y. Shavit, R. Arum, A. Gamoran (eds.). Stratification in Higher Education. A Comparative Study. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Go to original source...
    33. Schwarzenberger, A. (ed.). 2008. Public / Private funding of Higher Education: A Social Balance. Hannover: Hochschul Informations System GmbH.
    34. Shavit, Y., H. P. Blossfeld (eds.). 1993. Persistent Inequality. Changing Educational Attainment in Thirteen Countries. Boulder, CO, San Francisco, Oxford: Westview Press.
    35. Shils, E. 1980. The Calling of Sociology and Other Essays on the Pursuit of Learning. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
    36. UCAS. 2000. Statistical Bulletin on Widening Participation. Cheltenham: University and Colleges, Admissions Services.
    37. Universities UK. 2007. "Variable Tuition Fees in England: Assessing their Impact on Students and Higher Education Institutions." [online]. London: Univerties UK [cit. 14. 10. 2009]. Dostupné z: <http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/Publications/Documents/Variable%20Tuition3.pdf>.
    38. Vossensteyn, H. 1997. Student Financial Assistance in the Netherlands. A Contextual Report. Enschede: CHEPS (Center for Higher Education Policy Studies).
    39. Vossensteyn, H. 2002. "Shared Interests, Shared Costs: Student Contributions in Dutch Higher Education." Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management 24 (2): 145-154. Go to original source...
    40. Vossensteyn, H. 2005. Perceptions of Student Price-responsiveness. A Behavioural Economics Exploration of the Relationships between Socio-economic Status, Perceptions of Financial Incentives and Student Choice. Disertační práce. Enschede: CHEPS (Center for Higher Education Policy Studies), University of Twente.
    41. Vossensteyn, H., E. Canton. 2001. "Tuition Fees and Accessibility: The Australian HECS." Pp. 53-66 in Higher Education Reform: Getting the Incentives Right. Den Haag, Enschede: CHEPS (Center for Higher Education Policy Studies), CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    42. Vossensteyn, H., U. de Jong. 2006. "Student Financing in the Netherlands: A Behavioural Economic Perspective." Pp. 214-240 in P. N. Teixeira, D. B. Johnstone, M. J. Rosa, H. Vossensteyn (eds.). Cost-sharing and Accessibility in Higher Education: A Fairer Deal? Dordrecht: Springer.
    43. Vossensteyn, H. 2008a. "Student Financing in the Netherlands. From Generosity to Cost-sharing: Facts, Perceptions and Effects." IB Revija 42 (1): 41-45.
    44. Vossensteyn, H. 2008b. "Country report for the Netherlands." Pp. 53-67 in A. Schwarzenberger (ed.). Public/private Funding of Higher Education: A Social Balance. Hannover: Hochschul-Informations-System GmbH.

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content