Paving the Path: Effort, Expectations, and College Access

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 9:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Understanding Needs Based on Generation Status, Class, Race/Ethnicity, and Disability (Table 5)

Abstract

Access to college in developing contexts remains highly inequitable, and financial measures alone are insufficient to address this issue. In the context of Chile, I document longitudinal trends across multiple cohorts to identify non-financial barriers to higher education that emerge during high school. Then, I evaluate the impact of an unconditional free college tuition policy, targeted at the poorest 60% of families, on parental expectations regarding their children's educational attainment and their exerted effort throughout their school life. I find significant, persistent socioeconomic disparities in learning levels, college enrollment, effort, and expectations. My results also suggest that the free college tuition policy significantly increased parental expectations for their children's educational attainment.

Author

• Joaquin Esteban Farina, Harvard University