Equalising political participation through upper secondary education? The impact of type of education and tracking

Project title

Equalising political participation through upper secondary education? The impact of type of education and tracking

Project summary

The relationship between education length and political participation is one of the most well-studied in political science. However, there are much fewer studies on the effects of education type, especially when it comes to upper secondary school where students are usually divided into vocational and academic tracks in Europe. This is a serious shortcoming because it is at this stage people are expected to acquire the ability to discuss political issues. Since most students attend upper secondary school, it is also at this level the largest educational reforms have been implemented to create equal opportunities for participation.

The aim of our project is to study the effects of different educational tracks on political participation at the upper secondary level. Since almost all previous research is based on survey data, it has not been possible to isolate effects caused by the education tracks from the students' background. By combining methods that provide good causal evidence with world-unique registry data, we will move the research field forward theoretically and empirically. Specifically, we intend to utilize the so-called discontinuities that the admission process to upper secondary school in Sweden gives rise to in order to isolate effects from the educational orientation on voting and being nominated. By utilizing variation in course content caused by reforms we will also analyse the mechanisms behind the effects. Two researchers will carry out the project 2020-23.

Project duration

2020-2022

Main applicant

Marcus Österman

Co-applicant

Jonas Larsson Taghizadeh

Funder

Amount received

2 946 901 kr