Part I Socioeconomic Inequality in Education Systems -- 1 Socioeconomic Inequality and Student Outcomes across Education Systems -- 2 The Impact of Education Policies on Socioeconomic Inequality in Student Achievement: A Review of Comparative Studies -- Part II National Profiles -- 3 Socioeconomic Inequality and Student Outcomes in English Schools -- 4 Socioeconomic Inequality and Student Outcomes in German Schools -- 5 Socioeconomic Inequality and Student Outcomes in Italian Schools -- 6 Socioeconomic Inequality and Student Outcomes in Spanish Schools -- 7 Socioeconomic Inequality and Student Outcomes in Dutch Schools -- 8 Socioeconomic Inequality and Student Outcomes in Swedish Schools -- 9 Socioeconomic Inequality and Student Outcomes in Finnish Schools -- 10 Socioeconomic Inequality and Student Outcomes in Canadian Schools -- 11 Socioeconomic Inequality and Student Outcomes in Australian Schools -- Part III Cross-Cultural Trends -- 12 Cross-Cultural Trends in Addressing Socioeconomic Inequality in Education Systems.

This book examines socioeconomic inequality and student outcomes across various Western industrialized nations and the varying success they have had in addressing achievement gaps in lower socioeconomic status student populations. It presents the national profiles of countries with notable achievement gaps within the respective school-aged student populations, explains the trajectory of achievement results in relation to both national and international large-scale assessment measures, and discusses how relevant education policies have evolved within their national contexts. Most importantly, the national profiles investigate the effectiveness of policy responses that have been adopted to close the achievement gap in lower socioeconomic status student populations. This book provides a cross-national analysis of policy approaches designed to address socioeconomic inequality.