There are several variables that influence academic indicators at the university: the entrance grade above all, sex (they are better students) or family environment. And the new report Socioeconomic profile of university students in Spain, of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, reveals two things. The first, that in the careers that require a very high cut-off mark to access, children from university families predominate. The second is that the fact that there is not a high income at home – something that is inexorably associated with the educational level of the parents (the average salary of an employee with university studies doubles that of a worker with basic studies, according to INE data from 2018). )—conditions that a student abandon the degree or study part-time.
30.5% of university students have both parents (or mothers) with a higher degree and 23.4% have one of them; In 33.2% of the cases, both parents have secondary education and in 6.6%, one of them. Finally, at the university there are 3.6% of students from families with primary education or less. There is no data on the remaining 2.6%.
There are careers in which no relevant differences are seen due to the level of training of the parents, almost all of them in Social Sciences (Journalism, Law, Business Administration), but also in Computer Science or Psychology. But among the degrees with high access grades and with an enormous level of demand – such as engineering, Mathematics, Veterinary Medicine or Architecture – university students from families with a lot of education predominate.
The most illustrative case is Medicine, which is practiced after six years of study and four or five of MIR (Resident Internal Medicine). On public campuses, 53% have both parents with a university degree, while at the other extreme only 1.7% are children of people with or without primary education. While in private schools, 85% of those enrolled in Medicine have at least one parent who is a university student and 75% have at least one parent with a very well-paid position. Only those households can pay for this degree in full, as it can reach 22,000 euros per year in tuition alone for six years. In the private sector, in only 0.6% of cases the parents have primary education or none at all.
Compared to these Medicine data, Nursing students – formerly a three-year diploma and which allows you to practice in just four years because there is a lack of professionals – have a different profile. At public universities, 25% have both parents with a higher degree (half of those in Medicine) and twice as many (3.8%) are the children of people with no or primary education. Other Health Sciences careers (Optics, Podiatry, Dentistry or Physiotherapy) are in the middle of the table: 33% of parents have a degree or diploma. In the case of Social Work, 15.5% of the students have that level of training, compared to 22% in Tourism, degrees that were also previously diplomas with quick job placement.
“The generation of inspiration is very important and that is very conditioned by the environment and, above all, by the family when you are little,” says Antonio Villar, professor of Economics at the Pablo de Olavide University in Seville, who has written about the topic. “Then, if you’re lucky, you’ll find people who open your eyes,” he continues. That is why he believes that young people opt for science or literature too soon and without turning back. “In Italy there are only two baccalaureates – scientific and classical – and they all teach Philosophy and Mathematics.” In his opinion, socioeconomic inequalities should be alleviated early on, so that all schoolchildren have the same opportunities. “Science subjects [que dan acceso a las ingenierías o a las ciencias de la salud] They are a little more expensive. “You have to be willing to put in a lot of effort and sometimes you need someone at home to give you a hand when you don’t know how to make a derivative or have a private tutor.”
Nada Aanzi, 19, from Madrid, lives in Leganés, a dormitory city of Madrid, and travels every day to Alcalá de Henares to study at her university, first of all in Nursing. She spends no less than an hour and a half on the journey and hopes to be able to change schools next year, although she is very happy. She achieved a 12.32 in the EVAU (out of 14), which prevented her from entering Medicine. Although Nada had doubts about her, since it involves two more years of career, plus the preparation of the MIR (Resident Internal Physician). She was a great effort for her family. “I opted for Nursing, which is basically like Medicine, but easier.” She earns her pocket money by teaching Physics and Chemistry to schoolchildren and, like her brother Mohamed – 23 years old, who is finishing Industrial Engineering and intends to do a master’s degree -, she has become a reference for her brothers. minors of her.
His parents emigrated from Morocco looking for a better life. Horiyya takes care of the house and Sellam has managed to return to construction. None of them had the option to study – “my mother remembered that they used the paper from sugar packets to write, they didn’t have the resources that I have now,” recalls the university student – and they were clear that they wanted a better future for their five children. “They are very proud,” she rejoices. For Nada, another pillar has also been the Save the Children program in Leganés for extremely vulnerable students. From the ages of 12 to 18 she has been receiving educational reinforcement two days a week and another two days of leisure activities. There she was also encouraged to continue her studies. However, she has missed more guidance from her institute. “I was clear about my vocation, but others were not and you have to have support.” When she finishes, she intends to apply for the EIR (Resident Intern Nurse) to specialize.
“Up to the age of 12, the student’s ambitions are not so different, they want to be firefighters, police officers, soccer players… And at 15, according to the data from the PISA Report, they are not exaggeratedly different due to their socioeconomic profile,” explains Alfonso Echazarra, expert in educational quality from the NGO Save the Children. “But during high school, expectations begin to adjust a little due to academic performance and the aspirations of the environment. In favored families there is a context of lack of freedom, although it may sound bad. Study options are limited, [las carreras] They have to have enough reputation. Only the university route is shown, neither the FP, nor the option of abandoning it,” she maintains. While in middle and lower middle class homes, “in the surrounding area the range of socially accepted opportunities is much broader. And then there is the opportunity cost. Studying means giving up the job market for several years and dedicating effort to careers that are complex and long.” But the former OECD analyst notes with concern that “in the lowest income deciles, young people still do not access university.”
The specialist believes that there are “a series of careers that are socially accepted and others that are not. Sometimes they are linked to a master’s degree or type A competitions [para ser juez, fiscal, diplomático, inspector…]”. In this list, he adds, there is never a lack of engineering – 38% with university parents – “and social sciences, yes, but only in certain places, and for example now the joint ones.” Last year he taught these double degrees (Law and Business Administration or Political Science and International Relations) at the Carlos III and in Teaching at the Complutense, “two worlds socioeconomically, although they are two public universities.” “The opportunity cost, for example, is very different. Those in Teaching know that they are going to finish their degree in a very short period of time, and then they are also going to start working relatively soon. Even if it is with internships… While in the case of joint ones, the studies are longer, they go on Erasmus…”. 16.3% of those studying Early Childhood Education have university-educated parents, compared to 22.1% of those studying Primary Education.
“Studying a career no longer differentiates you as it did in the 60s or 70s. That is why the most advantaged families differentiate themselves through the master’s degree, learning English or choosing a career,” Echazarra summarizes. In 1960, only 1.68% of Spaniards had university studies, because only a wealthy minority went to university and many with the purpose of inheriting the family business as a pharmacist, doctor or lawyer or to occupy – like their ancestors – a position in the Administration as an engineer, architect or judge.
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