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Maximally Maintained Inequality & Effectively Maintained Inequality
Definition:

Maximally Maintained Inequality(MMI): A process in which inequality is maintained through the exclusivity of educational opportunities based partly on socioeconomic status. First, wealthier families naturally have more educational opportunities to offer their children. Second, once nearly all children from better off families attain a certain level of education, inequality can be decreased by further education. After this, Inequality in education shifts up another level for instance from highschool to college. .

Effectively Maintained Inequality(EMI): Inequality can be maintained even though a given level of education is achieved. There is an increase in socioeconomic inequality. Horizontal inequality can be used to described this phenomena. For instance, the time to achieving degree and pathways to achieve it can be different. .

Hypotheses: Maximally Maintained Inequality (MMI) and Effectively Maintained Inequality (EMI) are hypotheses that state that expanding educational opportunities by itself does not eliminate inequality in education. According to this theory, there are more advantages and opportunities in education available for people from higher socioeconomic classes.

Studies find that even in the midst of educational expansion in elementary and secondary levels, educational inequalities remained stubbornly present. This encouraged sociologists to reexamine the relationship between educational expansion and inequality. To summarize, “‘quantitative inequalities in enrollment rates will be ‘maximally maintained’ in the face of expansion, diminishing only once the enrollment rate for the most socioeconomically advantaged group reaches saturation point”.

Where Do MMI and EMI Take Place:

Geographically: Empirical support for the theory of MMI for secondary education has been found in many of the top industrialized nations in the world, including the United States, England and Wales, Ireland, Scotland, West Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Israel, Taiwan, and Japan. However there are still some nations that have been found to go against the theory of MMI for secondary education, such as Sweden, The Netherlands, and France, which, interestingly, are all considered to be social-democratic regime states. In terms of higher education, empirical evidence supporting the hypothesis of MMI has been found in the nations of the United States, France, Ireland, Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Russia, Japan, and South Korea. However there are nations that were hypothesized to support the theory of MMI for higher education that, when tested, did not, such as Great Britain, Italy, Australia, Israel, and Taiwan.

Economically: Based on nearly all empirical evidence from studies of both secondary and higher education, inequality persists at higher levels of socio-economic standing, as children from more advantaged socio-economic backgrounds have been able to pursue college-preparatory high school tracks. The economic advantages leading to greater attainment of higher education (and therefore greater inequality) can be seen at a stark rate in countries such as the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, Israel, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Socially: Based on extensive research of multi-generational cohorts in the United States, it has been shown that those more likely to seek higher education are additionally more likely to complete secondary levels of education. This should come as no surprise, because the opportunity for higher education is directly correlated with the completion of earlier secondary education levels. However there appears to be a correlation between those in higher socio-economic strata seeking higher education, and thus completing secondary education compared to those in lower socio-economic levels seeking higher education and completing secondary education. Essentially, it is more likely for an individual from an advantaged background to have the desire to complete secondary education in order to attain a level of higher education than is the case for a person from a lesser background. However, the rate of inequality in this regard has decreased over time as more opportunities for higher education have opened up. As stated by Boliver, “The proportion of people deciding to complete the upper grades of secondary school, for example, might well be expected to increase as the expansion of higher education increases opportunities for college attendance.” There still remain high levels of education inequality between social groups, but the gaps are decreasing as higher education is becoming more attainable for a broader population.

Causes for MMI and EMI:

The causes of both Maximally Maintained Inequality and Effectively Maintained Inequality rest within the abilities of those in high socio-economic standing and how a given educational system is expanded. Although educational expansion would theoretically reduce educational inequality, those of high socio-economic standing are the cause of no such trend. Within an expanding educational system, MMI postulates that high socio-economic families would be the first to take advantage of growing educational opportunities. Since these families already have the resources to afford such opportunities, their educational background continues to strengthen. With those of both high and low socio-economic standing obtaining new, relatively speaking, educational statuses, the original inequality in education remains unchanged. Maximally Maintained Inequality theoretically holds until a given level of education has reached a “saturation point”. Once a given level of education’s “saturation point” has been reached, the theory of Effectively Maintained Inequality explains the continuation of educational inequality. As mentioned previously, the causes of EMI can be explained by those of high socio-economic standing as well as how a given educational system is expanded. Typically, an educational system is expanded with a primary focus on quantity rather than quality (making schooling available to everyone, particularly the poor, but not improving its caliber).

Due to the system’s focus on quantity and reluctance to quality, prestigious educational programs and institutions are predominantly comprised of students coming from families with high socio-economic standing. Educational attainment has two dimensions: “(1) a quantitative dimension (e.g., the number of years of education obtained) and (2) a qualitative dimension (e.g., the program of study pursued)”, one of which (quantity) is made universally available in the system. Yet, as those of high socio-economic standing remain as the only ones to obtain quality educations, educational inequality still persists.

Outcomes of MMI and EMI

The final outcome of an educational system with Maximally Maintained Inequality and Effectively Maintained Inequality is decreased social mobility. In Pfeffer’s “Status Attainment and Wealth in the United States and Germany,” it is shown that a person’s level of education and occupation is influenced by their social background and, more importantly, by how much. In figure 2, it is shown how factors such as family education, family occupations, family income, and family wealth are all intertwined and responsible for various portions of one’s level of education and occupation. Although a majority of one’s level of education and occupation is not defined by the above factors, there is still evidence of the influence of one generation onto the next. Assuming maintained educational inequality (as explained by MMI and EMI), children of lower socioeconomic status will maintain similar qualities in their professional and economic life. This would mean children from poorer families with lower paying jobs and lower levels of education will likely continue to be of the same (lower) socio-economic standing as their parents. According to Pfeffer, “education plays the central role in the process of status attainment [social mobility] and transmission”. Therefore, as educational inequality is maintained, so too is social mobility.