Patterns of inequality in higher education: The case of students' field choice

Abstract

In an expanding higher education system that focuses on access, understanding the dynamics of inequality in the effort to provide educational opportunity to the majority is central. The main objective of this study is to investigate the pattern of field choice and the factors that influence students' field choice in two purposefully selected colleges. A total of 125 first-year students, 45 from the law school in the College of Law and Governance and 80 from language departments (one foreign and one local language department) in College of Humanities, Language Studies, Journalism and Communication (CHLSJC) participated in the study. The result indicated that students in the law school have better socio-economic status and achievement than the students in the language departments. Similarly, students in the law school seem to consider practical factors while students in the CHLSJC consider interpersonal factors as most influential in their field choice. The existing differences in the students' background and the factors they considered in their field choice process are found to be a continuation of prior inequalities and that they further perpetuate inequality in the higher education system in Ethiopia.