Proceedings of the 2025 4th International Conference on Educational Science and Social Culture (ESSC 2025)

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Demystify Educational Inequality: Historical Facts and Recent Trends

Authors
Shuyan Guo1, *
1JPED Academy, Area 4, An Zhen Xi Li, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China
*Corresponding author. Email: shuyanallisonguo@gmail.com
Corresponding Author
Shuyan Guo
Available Online 25 March 2026.
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_28How to use a DOI?
Keywords
Educational Inequality; Educational Attainment; China & the United States
Abstract

This paper examines the historical facts across countries and recent trends of educational inequality in China and the United States, using the Barro and Lee (2013) dataset, the American Community Survey, and the China Family Panel Studies. Using graphical data analysis and regression analysis with panel data sets, we document factors correlated with educational attainment at the country level around the world, and gender, racial, and rural-urban gaps in educational attainment in the USA and China. Despite distinct historical and institutional contexts, both countries face persistent disparities: U.S. inequalities stem from local tax–based school funding and residential segregation, while China’s are driven by the urban–rural divide and the hukou system. Analyses show that higher GDP and population correlate with educational attainment, but structural inequalities remain entrenched across regions, classes, and demographic groups.

Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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Volume Title
Proceedings of the 2025 4th International Conference on Educational Science and Social Culture (ESSC 2025)
Series
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research
Publication Date
25 March 2026
ISBN
978-2-38476-553-9
ISSN
2352-5398
DOI
10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_28How to use a DOI?
Copyright
© 2026 The Author(s)
Open Access
Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Cite this article

risenwbib
TY  - CONF
AU  - Shuyan Guo
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/25
TI  - Demystify Educational Inequality: Historical Facts and Recent Trends
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 4th International Conference on Educational Science and Social Culture (ESSC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 244
EP  - 252
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_28
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-553-9_28
ID  - Guo2026
ER  -