This thesis explores the role of social networks in determining adolescents’ outcomes in schools. The thesis consists of three papers that seek to empirically test how characteristic of friendship networks and peers affect adolescents’ choices and performance in education. The main goal of the first paper is to estimate the effects of ego’s friends age diversity on academic performance. The findings provide evidence that having an age diversified friendship network results in significantly worse academic outcomes. Contrary to the previous research, no evidence is found that having a best friend of a different age, or a group of friends of average age that differs from an individual’s age is associated with worse outcomes in education. This paper addresses concerns about self-selection into networks and unobserved school level differences by using within-school variation and instrumental variable methods. The findings remain robust after the sample is limited to students with no criminal background and those that are in the expected grade for their given age. In the second paper a hypothesis that more interconnected networks (those with high density of friendships) positively impact on adolescents’ school performance due to more scope for norms and sanctions, is tested. The findings provide evidence that for an individual having a close network during high school results in significantly better academic outcomes. Individuals with friends that know each other are found to be more likely to go to college. This examination addresses concerns about self-selection into networks and unobserved school level differences. Instrumental variable approach is used to investigate the effects of closure on college attendance. The effects of closure on years of schooling are found to persist for both low and high quality networks. The findings remain robust for samples consisting of non-white and white individuals. The last paper takes a closer look at participation in extracurricular activities, a factor that is likely to influence network formation. In this chapter, the role of community composition in determining participation outcomes is examined. This investigation provides evidence suggesting that racial composition of communities affects adolescents’ participation in school extracurricular activities. The main contribution of this chapter is that problems related to sorting within communities and selection into schools, are carefully addressed.

Using the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS) conducted in 1987/88 and 1998/99, this thesis examines two thematic areas of non-monetary returns to education in Ghana. One of the primary aims is to find the differences in the effects of education over the decade (1987/88–1998/99), using standard and non-standard econometric analysis. In addition, the later survey year serves as a robustness check on the first. The first theme examines health status; measured as illness and its duration, as well as the use of anthropometric indicators. The study finds that parental education is positively associated with child’s reported illness and its duration. Further verification of this outcome using an instrumental variable (2SLS) approach that assumes possible endogeneity of parental education supports the results relating to maternal education in both survey years. In contrast, paternal primary education tends to reduce children’s reported illness; but this is only statistically significant in GLSS 1. These outcomes, although perverse are not uncommon in developing countries, and may be the result of systematic reporting bias. The analysis also reveals inconsistent results regarding adults’ health status between the two survey years. For example, we find that illness and its duration increase with personal education in GLSS 1, but the converse is true in GLSS 4, ceteris paribus. The mixed results of this study imply that the relationship between education and health status varies across health measures, and probably over time. Hence caution should be exercised before broad conclusions are drawn and policies made regarding these two vital socioeconomic indicators (education and health). The last theme analyses fertility in both structural and reduced form functions. The structural function involves a two-stage process. The first stage estimates the effect of education on three proximate determinants of fertility - the duration of breastfeeding, contraceptive use and age at cohabitation. The second stage subsequently models the fertility function by estimating three measures: the probability of having at least one birth; the unconditional number of births; and the number of births conditional on one having occurred, using the predicted values of the proximate determinants as inputs similar to the conventional production function. The reduced form fertility model estimates the impact of women’s education on the number of live births. The findings are that (1) education increases the use of contraception, delays age at cohabitation and shortens the duration of breastfeeding, as anticipated; (2) contraception and age at cohabitation subsequently tend to reduce the overall number of live births, though we observe an ambiguous outcome regarding breastfeeding; (3) education, in a fuller and direct way, also shows a strong negative association with fertility in both surveys; and finally (4) fertility appears to have declined over the period studied. We also find a structural shift in respect of the influence of women’s education from post-primary to primary level on fertility, ceteris paribus.

This thesis is an ethnographic study of the informal realm in a North London comprehensive school. Although situated within, and formed by, an institutional context, this network of peer relations is largely unmanaged by adults. Pupils are in charge. They exert influence, manifest social definitions, create their own hierarchies and negotiate their differences. My focus of study is a cohort of 15 to 16 year-olds in Year 11. They come from a diversity of backgrounds, in terms of religion, parental occupation, academic attainments and ethnicity. Through close attention to the pupils’ words and actions in the day-to-day workings of the informal realm in this school, I explore the constitution and consequences of this impressive phenomenon. Anthropological studies of the informal realm are few and far between, and ones in British schools even rarer. Yet, the informal realm offers valuable contributions to three areas in anthropology: the emerging anthropology of youth; the little-studied everyday realities of Western personhood; and an application of Munn’s theory of value production (1986). Munn’s model has not yet been applied to the informal realm. However I argue her theory of value production serves to illuminate the entire realm. It is intrinsically relational and involves subjective transformation. Centrally, action is the primary unit of analysis, as it is for my analysis. There are no structures or formal roles in the informal realm, so pupils must continuously maintain their arena with a constant flow of transactions. I argue that in the process of creating and maintaining this realm, pupils come to value themselves as particular kinds of people (Evans 2006). Different groups engage in different modes of value production. Through these actions, their subsequent evaluations, and the daily debate over what constitutes positive and negative value, pupils collaboratively establish a constellation of differences. They organise their world, enabling them to share the same social space yet define themselves as very different kinds of people. In this constellation of differences, ethnicity, gender and sexuality are particularly salient categories of distinction, subject to pupils’ collaboratively set conventions. In order to ‘fit in’ pupils have to conform to these conventions. Thus this ethnography delineates what is involved in becoming an appropriately ethnic, sexual and gendered person in school. The application of an intrinsically relational model of subjective formation challenging Western ideals of the autonomous individual. These processes of differentiation occur at the same time as processes of unification. Throughout their time as a community, Year 11 pupils are producing communal value through which they can define themselves worthwhile as a group. They end their time of compulsory schooling with a celebration of this communal value.

This thesis is an ethnographic investigation into the ‘bringing about’ of the Danish welfare citizen as observed through everyday values and practices in the Danish folkeskole. The thesis takes as its starting point the notion of dannelse, which is the ’holistic formation of social human beings who can manage their own lives, who know how to behave properly in society, and how to fit in with each other’ (Jenkins 2011:187) and hygge (cosiness), as the primary frameworks through which Danishness can be understood. While trying to unravel what these values/practices are and how they were expressed and inculcated in the everyday lived reality at the Danish folkeskole, I observed the importance of several other key concepts, including lighed (equality as expressed through sameness), and medborgerskab (co-­‐citizenship). This thesis will attempt to understand the importance of these concepts in relation to wider Danish society, and as defining features on the ‘citizenship-­‐journey’ that the Danish folkeskole in this thesis represents. I will argue that the Danish folkeskole to some degree exemplifies a ‘playpen of democracy’ (Korsgaard 2008) as it exists as a liminal sphere, both in terms of providing a space in which students can practice ‘being’ and ‘becoming’ welfare citizens, but more crucially also as a space in-­‐between the public and the private sphere, a home-­‐ away-­‐from-­‐home. This is achieved through notions of hygge to provide the safe and bounded space that is necessary to secure a conducive learning environment in which students can obtain a shared ideological understanding of the world, and hence an equal starting point. Finally, my thesis will focus on the interaction between and value connotations of concepts such as diversity, difference, individuality, inequality and heterogeneity. I am principally interested in demonstrating how these exist in a dynamic relationship with concepts such as equality, similarity, homogeneity and a sense of ‘we/us’ as Danish, and subsequently as democratic welfare citizens.

Η παρούσα μεταπτυχιακή διπλωματική εργασία με θέμα «Αντιλήψεις των εκπαιδευτικών Π.Ε. Αχαρνών Αττικής σχετικά με τον τρόπο αντιμετώπισης από τους ίδιους τους εκπαιδευτικούς, των παιδιών που προέρχονται από διαφορετικά κοινωνικά στρώματα γενικά και ειδικότερα στα σχολεία που υπηρετούν» διενεργήθηκε στο πλαίσιο του Π.Μ.Σ. «Λόγος, Τέχνη και Πολιτισμός στην Εκπαίδευση» του Πανεπιστημίου Πατρών. Σκοπός ήταν να μελετηθεί η συμβολή των εκπαιδευτικών Π.Ε. στην αναπαραγωγή του φαινομένου των κοινωνικών ανισοτήτων μέσα στο σχολείο. Προς αυτή την κατεύθυνση διενεργήθηκε έρευνα με τη χρήση ερωτηματολογίου σε δείγμα το οποίο αποτελεί μικρογραφία του πληθυσμού των εκπαιδευτικών Π.Ε. του Δ. Αχαρνών. / This present postgraduate study is titled: ''Believes of kindergarten teachers in public schools of the Municipality of Acharnes in Attica, relatively to the ways that teachers themselves affront in general children from different social classes and in particular in the schools that they work'' and has been held in the limits of the Postgraduate Program Studies ''Utterance, Art and Culture'' of the University of Patras. The main aim was to be studied how and if infant school teachers contribute to the phenomenon of inequality reproduction in schools. For this reason, a research was carried out by questionnaire in a miniature sample of teacher population of Acharnes

In this thesis, I use mixed methods to present four interdisciplinary essays on education, caste and collective action in rural Pakistan. In the first essay, I undertake a conceptual analysis of the nature of the Pakistani kinship group, locally referred to sometimes as biraderi (brotherhood), quom (tribe, sect, nation) or zaat (ancestry, caste). By systematically comparing the features of the kinship group with modern interpretations of caste, I argue that the Pakistani kinship group is much closer to a caste than is commonly acknowledged in a lot of the research. In the second essay, I document the extent of educational inequalities based on this kinship group, henceforth also referred to as caste. Using a unique dataset that I collected for approximately 2500 individuals from rural Pakistan, I show that low caste individuals on average are 7% less likely to be literate and 5% less likely to attend school than their high caste counterparts. Strikingly, these differences rise to over 20% for certain low caste groups. Even though caste-based inequalities are not statistically significant for the youngest cohort in my sample, my qualitative analysis of over 65 in-depth interviews with key informants confirms that caste remains not only a critical marker of identity, but also an important source of fragmentation in the country. In the third essay, I focus on the fragmentary nature of the kinship group and develop a theoretical framework in which caste fractionalization, land inequality and the imbalance in power between various castes – or what I refer to as caste power heterogeneity – jointly influence the level of collective activity for rural education provision. I test this framework using a blend of quantitative analysis of original data for over 2500 individuals, and qualitative comparative case studies of a total of eight rural communities in Pakistan. The analysis I present both confirms the interdependence of my three proposed dimensions of social heterogeneity, as well as highlights the salience of caste power heterogeneity in predicting the level of collective activity for education provision. In the final essay, I turn to studying the role of social capital in enhancing educational outcomes. I perform statistical analysis of data from over 350 households and combine it with a micro-level comparative case study of social capital and collective action surrounding education in two rural communities from Pakistan. My results in this final paper indicate that there are weak associations between my two parameters of interest. They also highlight the importance of understanding the downside of social capital, and of recognizing that rather than being driven by social capital alone, collective action is often embedded in a wider system of village politics and patronage.

This thesis explores why a group of young people with level 3 qualifications, living within traditionally working-class communities, choose not to participate in HE. It discusses their expectations, motivations and aspirations and the social, cultural and personal factors that contribute to their decision making. The findings are drawn from a set of semi-structured interviews with 36 sixth form students. The research adapts a Bourdieuian framework and utilises a three-level methodology. Though the analysis considers the subjective points of view of the participants, with respect to their non-participation, it also pays attention to factors which appeared to have shaped and moulded decisions. Participants’ decisions appeared to be shaped by their place of study, their friends and family and, most importantly, by their parent(s) and this impacted on their aspirations and how motivated they were to participate in HE. The importance of academic-related support is evidenced throughout. It seemed to instil a sense of belonging and solidarity and was motivational. Without a guarantee of similar support, participants were not prepared to participate in HE. A particularly complex attitude to debt was also highlighted. Not incurring debt appeared to be a cultural rule, particularly when there was no guaranteed financial and employment related benefit to participation. This thesis argues that similar outlooks, backgrounds, interests, lifestyles and opportunities resulted in the adoption of shared practices, common patterns of reactions and accepted ways of doing things when it came to HE participation. This thesis helps us to understand why a particular group of young people has not been influenced in the same way as some others by the change in attitude towards HE. More specifically, it enhances our understanding of the complex, yet subtle influences that can lead young people to choose not to participate in HE.

Cette recherche qualitative se base sur une triangulation des méthodes : un recueil d’une soixantaine de questionnaires, une observation de près de quatre ans dans une école en zone urbaine sensible et des entretiens semi-directifs auprès d'une quinzaine de professeurs des écoles de la région Lorraine. Le professeur est confronté dans l’exercice de son métier à une ethnicisation des relations à la fois au niveau des savoirs et des savoir-être. Certains enseignants se considèrent comme les derniers défenseurs des valeurs de la République ; ils expriment leur malaise devant certaines affirmations et revendications communautaires. Pourtant, ils occultent souvent leur propre implication dans ce processus d’ethnicisation. Ils peuvent avoir recours à des catégorisations qui débouchent parfois sur des discriminations qui vont alimenter la spirale de l'ethnicité. La religion est une véritable pierre d'achoppement pour l'enseignant. Des expériences marquantes professionnelles et personnelles ont façonné le vécu ethnique du professeur qui influence sa façon d'enseigner mais aussi celle de percevoir la diversité culturelle et la laïcité. Nous avons établi des profils professoraux basés sur leurs conceptions de l'ethnicité et de la laïcité : - Les laïcistes : pacifiste / laïcard - Les indifférentialistes : nihiliste / universaliste - Les patriotes : nationaliste / républicain- Les modernistes : paternaliste / humaniste. L’identité et les postures professionnelles de l’enseignant résultent d’une construction évolutive imbriquée de son rapport à l’ethnicité avec son éthique. / This qualitative research is based on a triangulation of methods which involved compiling around sixty questionnaires, observing what happens in a school situated in an urban hotspot over a period of nearly four years and interviewing thanks to semi-leading questions, approximately fifteen primary-school teachers in the Lorraine region of France. While carrying out their duties, teachers are confronted with a process of “ethnicization” in their relationships concerning both knowledge and social skills. Some teachers see themselves as the last defenders of our republican values: they express their discomfort in the face of a number of assertions and demands which originate from different communities. Yet, they often hide their own involvement in this process of “ethnicization”. They can resort to categorizations that sometimes lead to discrimination which ends up fuelling the spiral of ethnicity. Religion is also a real stumbling block for teachers. Memorable professional and personal experiences have shaped teachers’ day-to-day reality in terms of ethnicity, and this has an influence on their teaching methods, and also on their perception of cultural diversity and laïcité. We have drawn up teachers’ profiles based on their perception of ethnicity and laïcité : - The secularist type : pacifist / atheist or anti-religion - The indifferentialist type : nihilist / universalist - The patriot type : nationalist / republican - The modernist type : paternalist / humanist. The teachers’ identities and professional positions are the result of a progressive construction in which their connection to ethnicity overlaps with their own personal sense of ethics.

Στην συγκεκριμένη εργασία γίνεται απόπειρα να διερευνηθούν κάποιες πτυχές των κοινωνικών ανισοτήτων και της σχέσης που έχουν με την λεγόμενη σχολική αποτυχία. Έτσι, επιχειρείται μια θεωρητική προσέγγιση των συγκεκριμένων θεμάτων κάτω από το πρίσμα της δομολειτουργιστικής και της αλτουσεριανής οπτικής ενώ γίνεται εκτενής αναφορά και στη θεωρία του πολιτιστικού κεφαλαίου. Γίνεται προσπάθεια να εξεταστεί το ζήτημα της ισότητας των εκπαιδευτικών ευκαιριών και η σχέση που μπορεί να έχει με την έννοια της κοινωνικής ισότητας ενώ επιχειρείται να συνδεθεί η μορφή κοινωνικής οργάνωσης με την «ιδεολογία των χαρισμάτων». Τέλος η θεωρητική προσέγγιση που υιοθετείται συνδέεται με την σχολική πραγματικότητα μέσα από την μελέτη στοιχείων που σχετίζονται με τη Πρόσθετη Διδακτική Στήριξη Για τον σκοπό αυτό εξετάζονται στοιχεία που αντλούνται μέσα από συνεντεύξεις ωρομισθίων εκπαιδευτικών που εργάζονται σε αυτή και αφορούν την δυσκολία να ξεπεραστούν οι κοινωνικές ανισότητες μέσα από τον σχολικό θεσμό, το πώς αυτές συνδέονται και δικαιολογούνται με/από την σχολική αποτυχία, την προσπάθεια του ελληνικού κράτους να θεσπίσει θεσμούς υποστηρικτικούς των μαθητών καθώς και την άποψη και την γενικότερη στάση των καθηγητών για την λειτουργία των θεσμών αυτών, μέσα στις διαμορφωμένες κοινωνικές συνθήκες. / The present work is an attempt to be explored some aspects of the social inequality and the relationship it has with the so-called school failure. So, there is a theoretical approach to the specific issues under the light of functionalism and Althusser’s point of view and is also made an extensive reference to the theory of cultural capital. It’s an attempt to address the issue of equal educational opportunities and the relationship it may has with the notion of social equality while there is an attempt to link the form of social organization with the "ideology of gifts”. The theoretical approach that is adopted is then connected to the school reality through the study of factors associated with Additional Teaching Support and through the thoughts of some hourly-paid teachers employed there. These factors are related to the difficulty of overcoming the social inequalities within the educational institution, how these are justified from school failure, the attempt of the Greek state to establish institutions supportive of students and the view and the general attitude of teachers for the operation of these institutions, within the specific social context.

Cette thèse décrit et analyse les liens entre les inégalités sociales de compétences à 15 ans et l’organisation du système éducatif. C’est en en investiguant les données de PISA 2000 à 2009 d’une vingtaine de pays européens que j’étudie la manière dont les caractéristiques institutionnelles des systèmes d’enseignement affectent l’ampleur et la structure des inégalités sociales de compétences en fin de scolarité obligatoire. La variété des configurations institutionnelles en Europe et une importante réforme du système éducatif polonais au début des années 2000 permettent d’analyser comment l’organisation du système éducatif module les effets de l’origine sociale de l’élève et de la composition sociale de l’établissement sur les compétences de l’élève. Mes analyses multiniveaux tendent à montrer que les politiques éducatives favorisant la différenciation du système éducatif et de son réseau d’établissements sont associées à de plus fortes inégalités sociales de compétences, essentiellement dues à l’amplification de l’effet de la composition sociale de l’établissement. La hausse des inégalités de compétences qui s’observe en France au cours de la décennie 2000 est analysée à l’aune des changements dans la composition des cohortes d’élèves et dans leurs conditions de scolarisation. Les analyses de décomposition quantile suggèrent que l’augmentation de la part d’élèves en difficulté découle moins de modifications dans la population d’élèves que d’une détérioration du fonctionnement du système éducatif et de l’engagement des élèves dans les apprentissages. / This research describes and analyses the links between social inequalities in skills and the organization of the education system. Investigating data from PISA 2000 to 2009 of more than twenty European countries, I study how institutional characteristics of education systems affect the magnitude and the structure of social inequalities at the end of compulsory schooling. The variety of institutional configurations in Europe as well as an important reform of the Polish education system allows to analyse how the organization of the educational system shapes the effects of student’s social origin and school social composition on student’s skills. Multilevel analyses tend to show that educational policies that foster school differentiation are associated with higher social inequalities in skills, mainly because of a greater school composition effect. The rise in skills inequalities across the 2000 decade in France is analyzed with regards to changes in the composition of the student population and in their schooling conditions. Results of the quantile decomposition suggest that the increasing share of low-achieving students stems less from changes in the student intake than to an impaired functioning of the education system and a lower learning engagement among students.