While Estonian students receive high marks in the international PISA tests every year, data shows educational inequality is worsening.
Tiit Tammaru, professor at the Center for Migration and Studies at the University of Tartu, said the school’s language of instruction and parents’ background are two big factors exacerbating inequality.
“No matter what we look at in more detail – whether it is the results of the PISA test or the percentage of students in Estonia who attain higher academic education — the difference becomes clear depending on whether the student has studied in a Russian-language or Estonian-language school environment. This is the first area of concern,” the professor told “Terevisioon”.
He said the exact reasons for the school language-based gap are multifaceted. On one hand, it can be directly related to learning and knowledge acquisition.
“On the other hand, values, goals, friendships, and their influences also play a significant role. School is a highly impactful environment in young people’s lives, extending far beyond just learning,” Tammaru added.
Researchers plan to investigate the effects of different factors in more detail in the future.
Tiit Tammaru. Source: Priit Mürk/ERR
Another concern the researcher highlighted is how children’s success depends on their parents.
“Unfortunately, it remains the case that no matter how we structure the school system, these differences tend to emerge. In Estonia, we observe that parents who are, in some way, more successful — whether they have a higher education or better jobs and income — tend to value education more. This attitude is passed on to their children, leading to disparities in educational outcomes among students,” he explained. At the same time, mothers have a slightly bigger influence than fathers.
“Another important factor is that in our society, education is closely linked to income. Those with higher incomes have a greater ability to invest in their child’s education and broaden their child’s horizons,” Tammaru added. This does not mean that parents should be criticized. “Rather, our concern is that we have children who lack home and parental support. This is where we see a problem,” he said.
The gap is also bigger within Tallinn, than across Estonia. Tammaru said this is partly related to the abundance of options, for example, there are more strong elite schools and at the same time it was possible for parents to send their children to predominantly Russian-speaking schools.
A teachr and a pupil. Source: Ken Mürk/ERR
A newer trend is the effect of gentrification and the development of urban space. These factors play an increasingly important role in the emergence of gaps. People with different incomes and ethnic backgrounds tend to cluster in different areas of the capital.
“The connection between where parents live and the school their children attend is clear, as children usually go to a school close to home. This is one form of intergenerational inequality being passed down. We are seeing more and more neighborhoods like this, meaning that even if we change the language of instruction in schools, the differences in family background will still persist,” the Tammaru explained.
Looking at the broader picture, the professor said it is still worth pointing out that, based on the results of the PISA test, the Estonian education system is still very good. More and more young people are also choosing to persue higher education.
“Unfortunately, every positive process comes with its own drawbacks, and we are not exempt from this in Estonia either,” the professor said.
At the same time, the education changes are always long-term. For example, the disappearance of differences based on the home language can take several decades even after the transition to Estonian-language education.
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