ABSTRACT
A better understanding of the determinants of school performance and how it can be improved is needed for the development of human capital. Offering a novel integrative indicator for measuring school academic success, this article analyzes empirically the impact of cultivation index, school resources, and students’ nationality on school academic performance. The main findings suggest that the higher the school’s cultivation index (i.e. school is ‘weaker’ from socioeconomic, peripheral and immigration perspectives) the lower its success indicator. These findings highlight the strategic role of policymakers in reallocation of resources in the public education system.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. Wei et al, “Neighborhood”; Burger, “The Socio-Spatial Dimension.”
2. OECD, “Education at a Glance,” 2021, https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance/.
3. Ben-David and Kimhi, “Economics.”
4. Determination of the country of distress is based on the UN’s Human Development Index (HDI).
5. For discussion of these components, see Freeman and Simonsen, “Impact”; York et al, “Defining”, 5; and Kimhi and Horovitz, “Impact.”
6. Lucas, “Mechanics”; Romer, “Human Capital”; Mankiw et al, “Contribution”; Benhabib and Spiegel, “The Role of Human Capital”; Barro, “Human Capital”; Rehme, “Education”; Heckman, “Economics”; and Hanushek, “Cognitive skills.”
7. Bishop, “Achievement”; Betts, “Link”; and Ben-David and Kimhi, “Economics.”
8. Darling-Hammond, “How Teacher Education Matters”; Duncan and Magnuson, “Family”; Caballero et al, “Researching”; Koth et al, “Student Perceptions”; Dougherty et al, “School Choice”; Keller et al, “Earlier School”; Owens, “Income Segregation”; and Burger, “The Socio-Spatial Dimension”.
9. Wei et al., “Neighborhood, Race and Educational Inequality”, 1–13; Owens, “Income Segregation Between School Districts”, 1–27; and Owens and Candipan,”Social and Spatial Inequalities of Educational Opportunity”, 3178–3197.
10. Jackson et al, “The Effects”; Lafortune et al, “School Finance Reform.”
11. Hanushek and Kimko, “Schooling”; Hanushek and Woessmann, “Cognitive Skills.”
12. Jensen et al, “The Real Issue.”
13. Ben-David, “Socio-Economic Perspective”; Ben-David, “The Start-Up.”
14. Lavy, “Differences.”
15. Lavy, “Expanding School Resources.”
16. See note 13 above.
17. Angrist and Lavy, “Maimonides’ Rule Redux.”
18. Chetty et al, “How Does Your Kindergarten Classroom Affect Your Earnings?”
19. Woessmann, “Educational Production.”
20. See note 17 above.
21. Hanushek and Rivkin, “Teacher Quality”; Staiger and Rockoff, “Searching”; Angrist and Lavy, “Maimonides’ Rule Redux”; Chetty et al, “How Does Your Kindergarten Classroom Affect Your Earnings?”; and Gerritsen et al, “Teacher quality.”
22. Davis-Kean, “The Influence”; Neuenschwander et al, “Parents’ Expectations”; Patterson et al, “Income Level”; Downey, “When Bigger is not Better.”
23. Sirin, “Socioeconomic Status”; Liu et al, “The Relation”.
24. See note 1 above.
25. Wei et al, “Neighborhood”; Owens, “Income Segregation”; Owens and Candipan, “Social and Spatial Inequalities.”
26. Haredi Jewish schools and East Jerusalem Arab schools were excluded from the study.
27. O’Brien, “A caution.”
28. Ben-David, “Socio-Economic Perspective”; Ben-David, “The Start-Up”; and Lavy, “Differences.”
29. Angrist and Lavy, “Maimonides’ Rule Redux”; Chetty et al, “How Does Your Kindergarten Classroom Affect Your Earnings?”
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Sagit Barel-Shaked
Sagit Barel-Shaked is Lecturer at the Department of Economics, Western Galilee college, Israel.
Erez Buda
Erez Buda is Lecturer at the Department of Management, Western Galilee college.