International vs. national classifications of education: Advantages and limitations in explaining values and attitudes Zbyszek Sawiński Educational Research Institute Poland www.ibe.edu.pl
Problem The cross-country differences in survey results have two sources: o the actual differences between countries; o the differences in quality of measurement. The measurement instruments which are not properly designed cannot identify important details of what is being measured. o As Willem Saris demonstrated in his Keynote Speech, it decreases the correlations between variables. When you find no effect of education on values and attitudes in your country, please check whether the measurement of education has been made properly. o My presentation is about how to overcome some limitations connected with measuring education in surveys. 2
ESS 2010: Ten selected questions on attitudes variable ppltrst sclact gincdif imdfetn freehms mnrgtjb wmcpwrk rlgdgr stflife happy question wording / answers A8. Would you say that most people can be trusted, or that you can t be too careful in dealing with people? Scale: 00=You can t be too careful......... 10= Most people can be trusted C4. Compared to other people of your age, how often would you say you take part in social activities? Scale: 1=Much less than most, 2=Less than most, 3=About the same, 4=More than most, 5=Much more than most. B30. The government should take measures to reduce differences in income levels. Scale: 1=Disagree strongly, 2=Disagree, 3=Neither agree nor disagree, 4=Agree, 5=Agree strongly. B36. How about people of a different race or ethnic group from most [country] people? Scale: 1=Allow none, 2=Allow a few, 3=Allow some, 4=Allow many to come and live here. B31. Gay men and lesbians should be free to live their own life as they wish. Scale: 1=Disagree strongly, 2=Disagree, 3=Neither agree nor disagree, 4=Agree, 5=Agree strongly. G5. When jobs are scarce, men should have more right to a job than women. Scale: 1=Disagree strongly, 2=Disagree, 3=Neither agree nor disagree, 4=Agree, 5=Agree strongly. G4. A woman should be prepared to cut down on her paid work for the sake of her family. Scale: 1=Disagree strongly, 2=Disagree, 3=Neither agree nor disagree, 4=Agree, 5=Agree strongly. C21. Regardless of whether you belong to a particular religion, how religious would you say you are? Scale: 00=Not at all religious......... 10=Very religious B24. All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life as a whole nowadays? Scale: 00=Extremely dissatisfied......... 10=Extremely satisfied C1. Taking all things together, how happy would you say you are? Scale: 00=Extremely unhappy......... 10=Extremely happy 3
ESS 2010: Six values from Schwartz Human Values Scale OPENNESS TO CHANGE Self-direction Universalism SELF- TRANSCENDENCE Stimulation Benevolence Hedonism Conformity Achievement Tradition From: Shalom H. Schwartz. 2007. Value orientations: measurement, antecedents and consequences across nations. Pp. 169-203 [in:] Roger Jowell, Caroline Roberts, Rory Fitzgerald and Gillian Eva, Measuring Attitudes Cross- Nationally. Lessons from the European Social Survey. Sage Publications. SELF- ENHANCEMENT Power Security CONSERVATION 4
Three measures of education in the ESS 2010 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 The EISCED classification common for all countries I II IIIb IIIa IV V1 V2 Less than lower secondary Lower secondary Lower tier upper secondary Upper tier upper secondary Advanced vocational, sub-degree Lower tertiary education, BA level Higher tertiary education, MA+ level The number of years of education F16. About how many years of education have you completed, whether full-time or part-time? Please report these in full-time equivalents and include compulsory years of schooling. % 12 18 15 23 12 9 11 The national classifications specific for countries United Kingdom 3 variables Ukraine 14 Switzerland 23 Sweden 20 Spain 25 Slovenia 12 Slovakia 19 Russia 11 Portugal 17 Poland 14 Norway 14 Netherlands 17 Israel 18 Ireland 18 Hungary 14 Greece 15 Germany 3 variables France 26 Finland 14 Estonia 15 Denmark 12 Czech Republic 12 Cyprus 12 Croatia 14 Bulgaria 12 Belgium 18 5
Differences in explaining attitudes and values by EISCED (average Eta 2 for 16 attitudes and values) Cyprus Spain Poland Slovakia Sweden Slovenia Bulgaria Greece Portugal France Belgium Croatia Netherlands Denmark Finland Hungary UK Ukraine Norway Germany Switzerland Israel Ireland Czech Rep. Russia Estonia 0,026 0,025 0,025 0,068 0,063 0,062 0,060 0,057 0,055 0,053 0,052 0,051 0,050 0,046 0,045 0,045 0,043 0,042 0,039 0,038 0,036 0,035 0,034 0,032 0,032 0,082 6
Three methodological pitfalls when measuring education 1. Categories of classification are too internally diverse; 2. Distinct types of education are classified to the same category; 3. Too narrow levels of education are defined, which are not represented in a sample. 7
1 INTERNAL HOMOGENEITY OF EISCED CATEGORIES 8
Internal homogeneity of EISCED categories (Eta 2 for a number of years of schooling) Bulgaria Greece Portugal Poland Israel Cyprus Russia Hungary Croatia Spain Slovenia Ukraine Czech Rep. Sweden Finland Estonia Slovakia Ireland Norway France Switzerland Belgium Germany Netherlands UK Denmark 0,446 0,578 0,577 0,535 0,535 0,507 0,920 0,886 0,876 0,815 0,809 0,800 0,795 0,789 0,788 0,779 0,770 0,754 0,748 0,738 0,715 0,695 0,692 0,683 0,657 0,646 9
BULGARIA: Number of years of education in EISCED categories I. Less than Sec. II. Lower Sec. IIIb. Upper Sec-1 IIIa. Upper Sec-2 IV. Advanced voc. V1. Tertiary, BA level V2. Tertiary, MA+ 10
DENMARK: Number of years of education in EISCED categories I. Less than Sec. II. Lower Sec. IIIb. Upper Sec-1 IIIa. Upper Sec-2 IV. Advanced voc. V1. Tertiary, BA level V2. Tertiary, MA+ 11
Homogeneity of categories and explanatory power of EISCED 0,090 explanatory power of EISCED (eta 2 for 16 attitudes and values) 0,080 Cyprus r = 0,63 0,070 Spain 0,060 Slovakia Poland Sweden Slovenia Greece Bulgaria 0,050 0,040 0,030 Belgium France Denmark Netherlands UK Switzerland Germany Portugal Croatia Finland Hungary Norway Ukraine Ireland Israel Czech Rep. r = 0,28 0,020 Estonia Russia homogeneity of EISCED categories (eta 2 for years of schooling) 0,010 0,400 0,500 0,600 0,700 0,800 0,900 1,000 12
ATTITUDES Do the school years matter? GERMANY R 2 (eisced only) R 2 (eisced + years of education) B30. Gov t should reduce inequalities 0.031 0.035 1.12 B36. Allow immigrants of a different race 0.093 0.106 1.13 B31. Tolerance for homosexuals 0.030 0.047 1.56 G5. Men more right to jobs than women 0.073 0.099 1.36 G4. Women ready to cut down on paid work 0.013 0.021 1.67 C21. How religious you are? 0.003 0.006 2.13 VALUES self-direction 0.061 0.072 1.19 achievement 0.010 0.018 1.82 stimulation 0.010 0.029 2.82 tradition 0.012 0.031 2.59 conformity 0.036 0.058 1.61 security 0.059 0.085 1.44 Index 13
The R 2 increment when the EISCED is supplemented by years of schooling Estonia Germany Portugal Finland Norway Poland Spain Netherlands Russia France Israel Bulgaria Belgium Sweden Denmark Ireland UK Hungary Croatia Greece Switzerland Cyprus Slovenia Czech Rep. Slovakia Ukraine 1,12 1,12 1,11 1,09 1,09 1,08 1,07 1,07 1,06 1,06 1,06 1,06 1,06 1,04 1,04 1,04 1,04 1,03 1,03 1,02 1,15 1,20 1,18 1,25 1,35 1,34 1,0 1,1 1,2 1,3 1,4 1,5 14
2 CAN WE BENEFIT FROM NATIONAL CLASSIFICATIONS? 15
SLOVENIA: The overlap between EISCED and the national classification Basic or secondary vocational Secondary general categories 12 overlap 89.9% 4,7 Secondary technical Primary Post-secondary Higher vocational Without education Incomplete primary 0,8 4,0 18,2 24,4 26,2 7,1 Higher academic 3,6 8,8 PhD degree 0,3 0,8 1,1 Masters degree Specialization I. Less than Secondary II. Lower Secondary IIIb. Upper Secondary-1 IIIa. Upper Secondary-2 IV. Advanced Vocational V1. Tertiary BA level V2. Tertiary MA+ 16
The overlap between EISCED and national classifications in ESS 2010 Slovenia Denmark Slovakia Croatia Russia Czech Republic Cyprus Hungary Estonia Norway Bulgaria Greece Poland Israel Portugal Ukraine Ireland Finland Belgium Switzerland France Netherlands Sweden Spain 55,5 58,5 57,9 66,0 64,8 69,3 67,4 73,8 73,7 73,6 71,8 74,2 77,3 81,7 79,7 83,5 83,3 87,6 86,7 86,1 89,9 89,8 88,9 88,3 % of respondents in overlapped categories 17
PORTUGAL: The overlap between EISCED and the national classification 62% 0,2 8,9 Primary, courses Without education categories 17 overlap 73.7% 13,3 Primary, 6 grades Primary, 4 grades 40,0 0,3 0,2 1,5 14,8 11,7 0,7 0,3 0,1 0,8 1,4 0,3 2,3 3,5 I. Less than Secondary II. Lower Secondary IIIb. Upper Secondary-1 IIIa. Upper Secondary-2 IV. Advanced Vocational V1. Tertiary BA level V2. Tertiary MA+ 18
PORTUGAL: tolerance for homosexuals 4,50 original EISCED category I. Less than Sec. subdivided categories II -- V combined 4,00 V2. Tertiary MA+ V1. Tertiary BA level IIIa. Upper Sec: upper II. Lower Sec IV. Advanced Voc Ic. Primary: 5-6 gr. II-V combined 3,50 3,00 I. Less than Sec Ib. Primary: 4 gr. Ia. No education 2,50 2,00 Eta 2 0.087 Eta 2 0.131 Index 1.50 Eta 2 0.126 Index 1.44 B31. Gay men and lesbians should be free to live their own life as they wish (variable freehms). Scale: 1=Disagree strongly, 2=Disagree, 3=Neither agree nor disagree, 4=Agree, 5=Agree strongly. 19
SPAIN: The overlap between EISCED and the national classification 16 38 categories 26 overlap 55.5% 66 72 9 60 1 Too small sample sizes for most national categories 159 71 72 23 217 183 28 55 9 25 2 49 63 78 6 27 122 211 I. Less than Secondary II. Lower Secondary IIIb. Upper Secondary-1 IIIa. Upper Secondary-2 IV. Advanced Vocational V1. Tertiary BA level V2. Tertiary MA+ 20
3 WHETHER THE EISCED CATEGORIES REFLECT THE MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LEVELS OF EDUCATION? 21
Diagram of the education system corresponding to EISCED V2 Tertiary, MA+ Transfer: from V1 to V2 Transfer: from IIIa to V1 V1 IIIa Tertiary, BA level IV Advanced vocational Transfer: from IIIa to IV Upper Secondary-2 Transfer: from IIIb to IIIa IIIb Upper Secondary-1 Transfer: from II to III II Lower Secondary Transfer: from I to II I Less than Secondary 22
Percent of statistically significant differences between education levels: 16 attitudes and values (all countries) p=0.01 V2 Tertiary, MA+ 9 23 V1 IIIa Tertiary, BA level IV Advanced vocational 7 Upper Secondary-2 20 IIIb Upper Secondary-1 24 II Lower Secondary 32 I Less than Secondary 23
Percent of statistically significant differences between education levels: 16 attitudes and values (selected countries) p=0.01 GERMANY (average 16) PORTUGAL (average 21) V2 Tertiary, MA+ V2 Tertiary, MA+ 0 0 V1 Tertiary, BA level V1 Tertiary, BA level 0 IIIa IV Advanced vocational Upper Secondary-2 0 0 IIIa IV Advanced vocational Upper Secondary-2 0 50 IIIb Upper Secondary-1 19 13 II Lower Secondary II Lower Secondary 31 88 I Less than Secondary I Less than Secondary 24
Percent of statistically significant differences between education levels: 16 attitudes and values (selected countries) p=0.01 SLOVENIA (average 26) GREECE (average 29) V2 Tertiary, MA+ V2 Tertiary, MA+ 0 13 V1 Tertiary, BA level V1 Tertiary, BA level 63 IIIa IV Advanced vocational Upper Secondary-2 0 63 IIIa IV Advanced vocational Upper Secondary-2 6 38 13 IIIb Upper Secondary-1 IIIb Upper Secondary-1 44 13 II Lower Secondary II Lower Secondary 13 63 I Less than Secondary I Less than Secondary 25
Conclusions The EISCED classification provides a limited picture of how education shapes the values and attitudes in the ESS countries. Two main shortcomings of EISCED: o combining distinct levels of education within the same category (too internally diverse categories); o maintaining the same set of categories in all countries, even if some categories are not well matched to the actual education system. National classifications can help to reach a better insight into the bottom categories of education, but not in all countries. Combining ISCED categories may be a solution when you can not identify the differences between the education levels due to the small sample size. 26
Thank you for your attention. Comments are welcome! www.ibe.edu.pl
Enter my recent articles on this topic Zbigniew Sawiński. Pursuit of Validity in Comparing Education Across Countries: Insights from Polish Experiences. In. Jürgen H. P. Hoffmeyer- Zlotnik and Uwe Warner (eds.), Demographic Standards for Surveys and Polls in Germany and Poland: National and European Dimension. GESIS Series, Volume 10. Köln, 2012: GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, pp. 103-121. ISBN 978-3-86819-019-9. Zbigniew Sawiński. The International Standard Classification of Education ISCED: The Standard from Sevrès or Satan's trick? Edukacja, no 3/2013 [will be published in September 2013 and available online]. www.edukacja.ibe.edu.pl 28