Title:

Territorial inequity in the decentralised education system of educational inputs. Evidence from Poland

Creator:

Herbst, Mikołaj ; Wojciuk, Anna

Publisher:

Educational Research Institute

Date:

2014

Abstract:

Decentralisation of education, as for any other public service, is associated with the risk of increasing spatial inequality with respect to the inputs and the quality of the service. Most countries try to prevent a rise in inequality by establishing national standards for educational services and through redistribution of financial resources for neutralisation of the effect of an uneven local tax base. This study investigates the effectiveness of these measures in Poland. Using panel data at a municipal level, it was shown that, despite the various compensatory instruments employed by central government, the local tax base significantly influences local spending on lower secondary schools. Average teaching time and additional services offered to students in the poorest with the most affluent Polish municipalities were compared. The findings showed that teaching time in the rich and poor local school systems did not significantly vary. There was no significant difference in the mean teacher hourly wage. The more affluent and poorer municipalities do however differ with respect to individual support and additional services offered to students.

Bibliographic citation:

Edukacja. 2014, 1 (126)

Subject and Keywords:

decentralization of education ; local governments ; inequality ; teaching time ; teacher wage

Coverage:

21st century

Language:

pol

Rights:

Creative Commons BY 4.0

Resource Type:

article

Format:

application/pdf

ISSN:

0239-6858