Fairness perceptions of income-based educational inequality: The impact of social class and ideological orientations

Income-based educational inequality is a global issue. In Australia, schools in the relatively large private sector charge a range of fees, with public schools also exhibiting considerable income differences. Using a nationally representative sample in the Australian Survey of Social Attitudes, we examined the public's fairness perceptions of income-based educational inequality and how their fairness perceptions are related to self-interest (particularly regarding social class) and ideological orientations. We found that people hold diverse views about the fairness of income-based educational inequality and that the number of people who perceived it as unfair was almost double the number of those who perceived it as fair. Respondents categorised as upper/upper-middle-class were, however, more likely to perceive income-based educational inequality as fair, while agreement with government responsibility for economic well-being was associated with a negative view of income-based educational inequality. Implications of these findings for the promotion of socially just and equitable education are discussed.