Inequality of Opportunity in Education in Spanish Regions: A Machine Learning Approach
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Inequality of Opportunity in Achievement (IOpE) measures the importance of factors beyond the student’s control in explaining differences in academic performance. Using PISA 2018, we estimate the IOpE for Spanish regions using conditional inference tree (CIT) and forest (CIF). Using CIFs, IOpE is twice as high as those obtained using traditional approaches (on average, 43% compared to 20%). Murcia and Extremadura are among those with the highest IOpE, while Castilla-La Mancha and the Pais Vasco have the lowest IOpE. The circumstances that contribute most to IOpE are the cultural environment at home (number of books) and parental occupation.
Authors: Universidad de La Laguna, PABLO BENCOMO-MESA, GUSTAVO A. MARRERO, Universidad de La Laguna and EQUALITAS, GABRIELA SICILIA, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4408370419