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Impact of parental education on their children's achievements A comparison of Israel to the leading countries in PISA exams, 2006-2018
Topic:
Israel Literacy
Principal Investigators:
Dan Ben-David, Ayal Kimhi, Ariela Savin
Study Date:
2023
Source:
Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research
Key Findings:
This paper examines how parental education levels influence children's academic performance in Israel compared to top-performing countries in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) exams. There are critical needs for systemic reforms in Israel's education system to reduce the impact of parental education on children's academic achievements and promote greater social mobility.
In Israel, students with at least one parent who graduated high school scored 16% higher on average than those whose parents did not complete high school. This disparity is twice as high as that observed in leading countries.
The academic gap widens to 25% between children with at least one parent holding an academic degree and those whose parents did not complete high school, compared to a 14% gap in leading countries.
Israel ranked 37th out of 51 countries in average PISA scores across reading, mathematics, and science. The achievement gaps based on parental education levels are significantly larger in Israel than in top-performing countries, indicating a stronger correlation between parents' education and children's academic success.
The pronounced influence of parental education on children's academic outcomes in Israel suggests limited intergenerational mobility. The education system's reduced capacity to mitigate these disparities may perpetuate socioeconomic inequalities.
Recommendations:
-Enhance Educational Quality: Improve teacher quality, reduce class sizes, and address disciplinary issues to create a more equitable learning environment.
-Support Disadvantaged Students: Implement targeted programs to assist students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, aiming to bridge the achievement gap.
-Promote Early Childhood Education: Invest in quality early childhood education, especially for children from less educated families, to lay a strong foundation for future academic success.
Methodology:
The brief pulls data from PISA, Israel Central Bureau of Statistics and others.