Equality of Educational Opportunity

This chapter discusses recent empirical work in the sociology of education which emerged from a widespread concern about equality of educational opportunity. Four bodies of empirical work can be linked to this concern: status attainment studies, school effects studies, research on the organization of schools and instruction, and research on school and classroom processes. The chapter discusses how these bodies of research are linked to an interest in social equality and how they have developed beyond that initial concern. While some comparative, cross-national and cross-cultural research exists in these traditions, this review is limited to work conducted in the United States.