The Impact of Educational Indicators on Success in Afterschool Life Regional Data-Based Analysis

Abstract

The recent years have seen a growing interest in comparative research of regional education systems, driven by the opportunity to set new ana-litical goals as well as the education policy needs. Studies in this field predominantly focus on comparing the learning outcomes and equality of access to education across regions. This paper investigates the relationship between regional educational indicators and success of secondary graduates in afterschool life, the latter being measured as a percentage of the total number of people in the corresponding age group who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). Correlation analysis controls for the influence of external socioeconom-ic factors, such as gross regional product per capita and urbanization level, on educational indicators. Correlation and regression analyses are applied to educational indicators, socioeconomic indicators and NEET rates across the regions of Russia. The NEET rate shows a statistically significant relationship with the indicators describing participation in education, organization of learning process, learning environments, resources and funding involved, and the teaching staff structure. A no less important finding is the evidence of no relationship between success of secondary graduates in afterschool life and a number of educational indicators playing an essential role in Russia's current education policy. Data presented in this study may serve the basis for developing regional education policies; it should not be used for evaluating, let alone ranking, regional education systems.