The Effect of the Structure of Secondary Education in Europe. A Perspective in Terms of Effectiveness and Equity

This paper examines the relationship between differences in European educational structures and country-level performance and equity indicators. It reveals the crucial role these structures play in shaping students’ educational trajectories, at times mitigating inherited inequalities and, at others, reinforcing them. The analysis encompasses 17 countries of the European area. Data on educational structures and outcomes at the country level were gathered from multiple rounds of Eurydice reports and the OECD PISA Large Scale Assessment. We compare data from 2014 and 2024 to assess changes in educational structures over time within our sample of countries. The results indicate a strong relationship between the degree of selectivity in educational systems and proxies for educational inequalities, such as performance segregation at the school level and primary-effect indicators. Additionally, we find evidence of an indirect relationship between the degree of selectivity and the percentage of lower-achieving students in a non-direct relationship.