Author: Sobolevskaya, Olga

Undergraduates’ anxieties at the onset of online learning

Being part of a very capable class at school can undermine some students' self-esteem and academic achievement.

The more books in the family and the richer and more educated the parents, the more likely it is that the children will do well at school.

Families' limited cultural capital can hinder social mobility for their school-age childern and 'doom' them to a particular educational path. Academic performance being comparable, the chances of continuing studies in high school (grades 10 and 11) after nine years of secondary school are unequal for teenagers from families of different socioeconomic status. While children of well-educated and affluent parents usually go on to high school and then to college, their peers from working-class families often switch to vocational school despite good academic performance, thus maintaining socioeconomic inequality.