22 level of education according to social background

Children whose parents work as managers or in the intermediate professions are more likely to succeed in their studies. They are proportionally more likely to obtain a Baccalaureate, enrol in higher education and achieve higher education qualifications. However, inequalities have been reduced by the fact that access to higher education has improved most significantly for those from the most disadvantaged social backgrounds, although they still remain marked.

Secondary and higher education made strong progress up until the mid-1990s. This is reflected in the fact that they became increasingly accessible to people from all social backgrounds. Despite this, variations between children from different social backgrounds remain.

In 2014, 72% of young people aged between 20 and 24 held a Baccalaureat (chart 22.01). The democratisation of education over the course of the 20th century meant that people from all social backgrounds were more likely to obtain a Baccalaureate. 60% of those aged 20-24 whose parents are manual workers or office workers passed the Baccalaureate. This percentage is twice that recorded for previous generations: only 29% of those now aged 45-49 whose parents were manual workers or office workers hold this qualification. This increase in the number of young people obtaining a Baccalaureate is also found among children whose parents are at the top of the social ladder, although the increase was less marked (87% compared to 67%, i.e. a factor of 1.3, as compared with 2.1 for the children of manual workers and office workers), leading to a shrinking gap between children from different social backgrounds. However, for all ages, children whose parents work as managers or in the intermediate professions remain the most likely to obtain a Baccalaureate.

As a result of continuing efforts to broaden access to secondary education, higher education institutions accepted many more students in the early 1990s. In 2014, 60% of young people aged between 20 and 24 had or had had access to higher education (regardless of whether they graduated), compared with only 33% of those now aged between 45 and 49 (chart 22.02). This improved access to higher education was again most significant for children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, to such an extent that the gap between those from different social backgrounds was reduced. As a result, among young people aged between 20 and 24, children whose parents work as managers or in the intermediate professions were nearly twice as likely to be studying or have studied at a higher education institution as children whose parents are manual or office workers (78% compared to 45%). People aged between 45 and 49 were three times more likely to be studying or have studied at a higher education institution (58% compared to 21%).

For the 2012-2014 period, 66% of young people aged 25-29 whose parents work as managers or in the intermediate professions obtained a higher education qualification, compared to 30% of children whose parents are manual or office workers (chart 22.03). The former group was also more likely to achieve a higher level of education: for the 2012-2014 period, 32% of them obtained a Master’s degree, Diploma of advanced studies (DEA), specialised graduate diploma (DESS), PhD or qualification from a Grande École, as opposed to only 7% of those whose parents are manual or office workers. However, there was little variation between children from different social backgrounds in the case of vocational higher education short courses: 14% of children whose parents work as managers or in the intermediate professions obtained a higher technical certificate (BTS), university technology diploma (DUT) or equivalent qualification, compared to 12% of children whose parents are manual or office workers.

In around ten years, between 2003-2005 and 2012-2014, against a background of increased influence of the LMD reform, the level of higher education graduates among young people aged 25-29 remained stable, regardless of the social category. However, the share of Master's, DEA, DESS and PhD graduates rose significantly, in the same proportions for each social category.

Finally, children from poorer backgrounds are more likely to leave higher education without obtaining a qualification. In 2012-2014, this was the case for 12% of young people aged 25-29 with parents who were managers or the intermediate professions who had studied in higher education, compared to 21% of the children of manual or office workers.

Béatrice Le Rhun