The geography of tertiary education inequalities over time

This study explores the geography of social inequality and intergenerational mobility in European tertiary education attainment. Analysing data from the European Social Survey (waves 1-10), this study aims to describe the potential role of national as well as regional and sub-regional contexts in shaping individual tertiary education opportunities. Results show substantial cross-country disparities, as well as a sharp divide in inequalities in tertiary education attainment within European countries. In parallel, we observe a general decline in educational inequalities over time, even if this decline is not followed by a convergence in the levels of Inequalities in Educational Opportunities (IEOs) across countries: the differences in educational inequalities between countries remain stable over time, and European countries show great variation in their trends of inequalities in tertiary education attainment over time.