The inequality of opportunity to participate in higher education in Thailand

Abstract

Previously, the understanding of changes in educational opportunity among differences households in Thailand is an undiscovered knowledge. Most studies usually focus to an enrollment rate, equality of education attendance, educational resources distribution and equality of income distribution. For the first time in Thailand, this study aims to understand the family background factors that affect participation in higher education and analyze the inequality of participation opportunity in university education. The conceptual framework employed in this study is based on the concept of educational participation which associates with the educational demand influencing by individual ability, tastes, endowment, information, socioeconomic factors and others. The relationship of probability to participate in university education and its influencing factors were analyzed through both nonparametric and parametric method by using the Labor Force Survey data set in various years. Additional framework is the concept on equality of educational opportunity in term of expected value individual probability calculating by share of university attendance and through various measures such as Gini coefficient, Lorenz curve and Atkinson index. The empirical findings show that the distribution of participants amounted ranked by family income in kernel density distribution for university participants has longer tails to the right than that for university non-participants. It reflects those students come from relatively high-income family decide to involve with university education more than those from low-income family. The kernel regressions present the strong relationship between university participation and family income. It expresses that the changes of family income greatly affect individual probability in 1996-1999 but lesser in 2000-2003. For probit estimation, the results reveal that family income has a strong positive influence on individuals’ opportunity to participate in university education while place of residence had the most impact on the opportunity. It is found that Bangkok and urban residents have a higher probability than other region residents. Also, family size exerts a positive factor, but weak influence on. Parental schooling has no impact on their children’s probability. Father’s occupation as an employer has the least marginal effect on their children’s probability to university education. Students from single parent homes are more likely to participate in university education than whom from married families. The findings show that the inequality of opportunity to participate in university education is improved over time but not in the beginning of the student loans policy (1996-1997). During 1998 to 2000, there is no improvement of university attendance among various family income deciles but slightly increasing in probability for some groups. The great improvement occurred during 2001 to 2003. The 40% poorest got higher opportunity to participate in university education and the rest declined. The gains from improving the inequality circumstance become lesser over time, rising from 83.27% of university attendance for all range of income deciles in 1997 to 73.94% in 2003. This study shows the academic advancement in the study of equality of opportunity which expands to include individuals who do not participate as well. It is the first time, in Thailand, to estimate education opportunity in term of individual’s probability. It is similar to many studies in Australia such as Chapman and Ryan (2005); Miller and Volker (1989) but difference in social factors. It provides the understanding on influence factors to individual opportunity to participate in university education and implies to consider more on the disadvantage groups.