VisszaAbstract:
In this paper I try to answer the question why talented pupils coming from low strata are reluctant to choose knowledge intensive educational routes like studying in a grammar school instead of choosing a vocational oriented career? In addition to the mainstream approach which argue that low and high status young persons are different in terms of risk aversion, abilities and resources I hypothesis that they are also different in terms of perception of their own ability. In my paper I will argue that (1) the perception of one’s own ability (self-assessment) is not similar by pupils having different parental background. Furthermore (2) educational choices are influenced not exclusively by abilities but also by subjective beliefs about own talent. Finally (3) educational choices are not identical across social classes because pupils with different parental background estimate their own abilities differently. However I will not investigate why the difference in self-assessment emerges between low and high status students, I carefully discuss whether self-assessment is influenced with previous achievement, peer-group effect and school effect. I perform multivariate panel data analysis on Hungarian Life Course Survey, on data of 9,195 pupils (aged 14-15) who finished primary education and begin secondary education.
Key words: self-assessment, transition to secondary education, educational inequality, educational panel data, Hungary