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Working Paper Series

The Department of Social Policy multidisciplinary working paper series publishes high quality research papers across the broad field of social policy.

Anne West, George Rushworth, Lina Cramer, Romane Balcomb-Nevill

Abstract: This working paper focuses on admissions to grammar schools in Germany and the UK (England). Although there are academically selective schools in England (grammar schools) and Germany (Gymnasien) there is a paucity of comparative research addressing the legislative provision, policy and approaches used to select pupils. This working paper seeks to shine a light on the institutional rules that apply to the selection and admission of children to grammar schools and Gymnasien and the characteristics of the main beneficiaries of selective schooling. We find clear differences between the two countries, with legislation being the responsibility of the Land in Germany and the national government in the case of England. A key distinguishing feature is that admission to a Gymnasium in Germany is based on the recommendation of the child’s primary school; this may or may not be binding on parents. In England, admission to grammar school is based on the 11-plus test, which varies between schools/academy trusts / local authority areas. Notwithstanding the differences in policy and approaches used to selection, the evidence indicates that those who attend selective schools in both countries tend to be from more rather than less advantaged families.

Key words: Grammar schools, Gymnasium, selective education, England, Germany, teacher recommendation, 11-plus

Victoria Donnaloja

Abstract: Italy transitioned from a country of emigration to one of immigration in the early 1980s, but its citizenship policy does not reflect this demographic change. There are currently around 800,000 children residing and/or born in Italy who cannot be Italian citizens because citizenship is inherited through lineage, according to the principle of ius sanguinis. For the first time in 2013, the centre-left party Partito Democratico (PD) proposed a policy reform to grant the right to citizenship to children of immigrant parents. After a long debate and strong opposition from the right-wing party, the Lega Nord, the reform was halted in 2017. In this study, I analyse the first moment Italy consciously questioned its citizenship boundaries in the context of immigration, rather than emigration. I investigate how the growing number of non-citizen children has shifted the political discourse around what makes an Italian and what is the purpose of citizenship acquisition. Using an innovative corpus of data that includes YouTube videos, Facebook posts and website articles, I analyse the discourse of the two political parties at the centre of the debate, the PD and the Lega Nord. I find that, despite their diverging positions on the reform, both parties ascribe to traditional conceptions of citizenship. These reinforce the expectation that immigrants must conform to the majority to be accepted as insiders. I argue that to blur the boundary between natives and immigrants, the government must first shift these narratives.

Key words: citizenship, discourse analysis, Italy, integration

Katarzyna Barud, Theresa Henne, Velislava Hillman, Evan Radkoff, Clara Saillant, Eftim Zdravevski

Abstract: In the rapidly evolving field of educational technology, maintaining quality assessment processes is essential for effective education governance. Ensuring transparency in data processing and compliance with privacy laws is crucial for building trust among all stakeholders. This study investigates the data protection practices of selected EdTech providers through a mixed-method approach that integrates manual assessments with machine learning techniques. We focus on two main areas: (1) analysing the transparency and legality of information vendors provide to schools, based on the articulation of their data privacy policies (DPPs), and (2) exploring the methodological integration of human and ML-based analyses. The research evaluates how EdTech providers communicate their data processing practices and adhere to privacy regulations outlined in their DPPs. Such practices are vital for fostering trust between schools and EdTech providers. Given the complexity and cost of conducting Data Privacy Impact Assessments, our study aims to develop a user-friendly template for assessing DPPs and test innovative technologies for scaling this process efficiently. Initial findings from ML-supported assessments of ten popular EdTech providers in England reveal varying levels of transparency and compliance and technological limitations. Our innovative methodology identifies current errors in ML use but equally enhances the scalability of our evaluation framework. This research contributes to discussions on the intersection of education, technology, ethics, and policy, advocating for responsible EdTech innovation that prioritises transparency and ethical integrity around their data practices, while examining the role of ML in supporting schools’ procurement and assessment processes.

Key words: data privacy, data protection, GDPR, EdTech, Machine Learning, ChatGPT

Anne West, Lina Cramer, Francisca Ladouch, Meixuan Pu, Ella Westlake

Abstract: This working paper focuses on legislative provision and policy regarding (lower) secondary school admissions in four countries: Chile, China, Germany and Sweden. It seeks to compare first, how legislative provision (and policy) varies between countries, and the role played by national and subnational levels of government; second, how admissions arrangements to lower secondary schools vary between jurisdictions, and the role parents have in the process; and third, which groups of pupils, if any, are prioritised in the admissions process. We present an overview of the policy context and legislative provisions in each country before addressing the intricacies of the admissions arrangements. Our comparative analysis reveals that in three of the four case study countries, the legislative provision seeks to minimise selective practices, to maximise equality of opportunity as regards school access. However, there are tensions in each country. Thus, in Chile, families with sufficient resources can attend subsidised schools, which require co-payment (the most disadvantaged families are exempt). In China, there are tensions as children without hukou status may not have access to the well-respected public schools. In Sweden, there is the potential for selectivity, as parents who do not wish their child to attend the municipal school need to actively make a choice for an alternative school. Possible barriers include the queuing system used by independent schools, which can limit options for parents who are not in a position to register for a place in a timely manner. In Germany, early academic selection is the norm, with admission to a selective grammar school (Gymnasium) being a function of the primary school’s recommendation and the extent to which it is binding on parents.

Key words: School admissions, early selection, legislation, policy, parental choice, Chile, China, Germany, Sweden

AIED and EdTech Procurement: Challenges for Policy and Governance
Velislava Hillman, Yujeong Hwang, Simon Walker, Peter Wilson
Key words: EdTech procurement, audit, public registry, primary and secondary schools, Further Education, Higher Education, AI

‘I have no problems because I am white’ : Understanding immigrants’ wellbeing and its relationship with the destination population’s attitudes towards immigrants.
Michaela Sedovic
Key words:subjective wellbeing, immigrants, intergroup contact, attitudes towards immigrants, new destination country, Slovakia

The Misuse of Citizenship and Residence by Investment: Going beyond the FATF/OECD Report to Assess Key Risks
Kristin Surak
Key words: investment migration, citizenship by investment, residence by investment, money laundering, financial crimes, tax

Degrees of vulnerability to poverty: A low-income dynamics approach for Chile
Joaquín Prieto-Suarez
Key words: Chile; Latin America; longitudinal data; middle class; poverty dynamics; vulnerability to poverty

Perceptions Matter: Quasi-Experimental Evidence on the Effects of Spain’s New Minimum Income on Households’ Financial Wellbeing
Eugenia Bilbao-Goyoaga
Key words: Financial Wellbeing, Subjective Wellbeing, Minimum Income, Poverty, Quasi-Experiment, Synthetic Control Method

COVID-19 Testing, Tracing and Isolating Strategies in the UK (England)
Anne West
Key words: COVID-19, TTI, testing, contact tracing, isolation strategies

Household Joblessness in US Metropolitan Areas during the COVID19 Pandemic: Polarization and the Role of Educational Profiles
Thomas Biegert, Berkay Ozcan, and Magdalena Rossetti-Youlton
Key words: household joblessness, COVID19, polarization, educational heterogeneity, educational homogamy

Effects of team diversity on performance, perceptions, and predictions: Experimental evidence of gender composition and language
Valentina Contreras, Chiara Orsini, Berkay Ozcan, and Johann Koehler
Key words: Peer effects, Higher education, Gender, Linguistic diversity

Hostility of lived environment as a determinant of immigrants’ life satisfaction
Case of England and Wales
Michaela Šedovič
Key words: subjective wellbeing, contact theory, attitudes towards immigrants, immigrants‘ integration

The impact of centre-based childcare on non-cognitive skills of young children
Greta Morando & Lucinda Platt
Key words: centre-based childcare, child socio-emotional development, Growing Up in Ireland

Age at marriage and marital stability: Evidence from China
Jorge Garcia-Hombrados and Berkay OzcanKey words: Age at marriage, divorce, legal age of marriage, China

Edtech procurement matters: It needs a coherent solution, clear governance and market standards
Velislava Hillman
Key words: edtech, data privacy, edtech procurement, children, education

School funding and resourcing policies- Meeting the needs of disadvantaged pupils in France, Poland, UK (England), China, New Zealand, Singapore
Anne West, Sarah Ang, Valentin Calori, Ning Wang, Frederick Waters and Julia Wodzinska
Key words:school funding, resourcing, compensatory funding, needs, disadvantage, equality of opportunity

How does children’s time allocation affect their noncognitive skills? Evidence from four developing countries
Grace Chang
Key words: Child labour, non-cognitive skills, time use.

Reporting COVID-19 deaths in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and the UK
Anne West, Thomas Czypionka, Monika Steffen, Stefanie Ettelt, Simone Ghislandi, Céu Mateus
Key words: Comparative health policy, comparative administration, data for policy making, data harmonization, COVID-19, comparable health data.

What’s Left? Political orientation, economic conditions, and incarceration in Greece under Syriza-led government
Leonidas K. Cheliotis and Sappho Xenakis
Key words: Government political orientation; economic downturn; imprisonment; immigration detention; Syriza

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University research engagement around climate knowledge: findings from a small empirical study
David Lewis
Key words: research-policy interface; knowledge brokers; policy engagement; public policy

The sounds of development: Musical representations as (an)other source of development knowledge
David Lewis, Dennis Rodgers and Michael Woolcock
Key words: Music, protest, representation, development, knowledge

How uneven is the playing field? Inequality of socio-economic opportunity in the UK, 2009-2017 (MSc Dissertation)
David Flatscher
Key words: Inequality of opportunity, income inequality, social disadvantage

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Government and NHS reform since the 1980s: the role of the market vis à vis the state, and of political ideas about the ‘direction of travel’
Jane Lewis
Key words: English NHS, NHS reform, political ideas, ideas in policymaking

Identity, belonging and economic outcomes in England and Wales (Postgraduate dissertation)
Ivelina Hristova
Key words: identity economics, sub-state national and ethnic diversity, progression at work

Upper and lower bound estimates of inequality of opportunity: A cross-national comparison for Europe
Rafael Carranza
Key words: circumstances; equality of opportunity; equivalized household income; inequality; MLDindex; upper bound estimate.

Recent trends in religiosity of majority and minority European populations
Ayse Guveli and Lucinda Platt
Key words: religion; religiosity; migrants; second generation; Europe; natives; prayer; attendance.

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Loaded lesbians: how far do negotiations in the private sphere transfer to the labour market? (Undergraduate dissertation)
Liz Searle
Key words: (re/un-doing) gender; domestic labour; sexuality pay-gap; lesbian; housework.

Neither dupes, not pipers: violent crime, public sentiment and the political origins of mass incarceration in the United States
Leonidas K. Cheliotis
Key words: mass incarceration, violent crime, public sentiment, politics of criminal justice

The lasting effects of natural disasters on property crime: evidence from the 2010 Chilean earthquake
Jorge García Hombrados
Key words: Natural disasters; crime; social capital.

Stalling of mortality in the United Kingdom and Europe: an analytical review of the evidence
Michael Murphy, Marc Luy and Orsola Torrisi
Key words: Life expectancy; UK mortality trends; Europe mortality trends; Influenza; Austerity.

Female genital cutting and education: theory and causal evidence from Senegal
Jorge García Hombrados and Edgar Salgado
Key words: Female genital cutting, education, harmful traditions.

Read the related blog post here.

Preterm births and educational disadvantage: heterogenous effects across families and schools
Anna Baranowska-Rataj, Kieron Barclay, Joan Costa-Font, Mikko Myrskylä and Berkay Özcan
Key words: SEN, disability, social isolation, loneliness, life-course

Growing up lonely? Exploring the social outcomes of three generations identified with special education needs or disabilities in childhood
Samantha Parsons and Lucinda Platt
Key words: SEN, disability, social isolation, loneliness, life-course

Read the related blog post here.

Reducing Mommy Penalties with Daddy Quotas
Allison Dunatchik and Berkay Özcan
Key words: family policy, gender roles, parental leave, work, work-family issues

Inter-ethnic relations of teenagers in England's schools: the role of school and neighbourhood ethnic composition
Simon Burgess and Lucinda Platt
Key words: ethnicity, attitudes, contact, children, school context

Two Become One: Improving the Targeting of Conditional Cash Transfers With a Predictive Model of School Dropout
Cristian Crespo
Key words: conditional cash transfers, targeting, school dropout prediction, machine learning, proxy means tests

Cash for Grades or Money for Nothing? Evidence from Regression Discontinuity Designs
Cristian Crespo
Key words: cash for grades, regression discontinuity, bono por logro escolar, cash transfers

Social Policy with Tunnel Vision: The problems of state efforts to curb adolescent pregnancy in Post 1988 Brazil
Beatriz Burattini- MSc Dissertation
Key words: adolescent pregnancy, sexual citizenship, legibility, health indicators, medicalisation

Social entrepreneurship before neoliberalism? The life and work of Akhtar Hameed Khan
David Lewis
Keywords: social entrepreneurship; non-governmental organisations (NGOs); community development; public administration; rural development; life history

A different perspective on the evolution of UK income inequality
A.B. Atkinson and Stephen P. Jenkins
Key words: inequality, tax unit, household, Gini coefficient, income tax data, household survey data, HBA1, SPI

Perspectives on poverty in Europe
Stephen P. Jenkins
Key words: poverty, material deprivation, Europe, EU-SILC

What are the factors that lead to the disengagement in activism over an individual's lifetime in the Global South?
Daniel Silver
Key words: Activism, social movements, sustainability, civil society

NGOs and the success paradox: Gay activism 'after' HIV/AIDS in China
Timothy Hildebrandt
Keywords: NGOs, LGBT, HIV/AIDS, China, development, aid