Between-school inequalities in access to science and mathematics curricula in a marketized education system: The case of Australia

Increasing the participation of students who study science and mathematics curricula is a priority in many countries, but between-school inequalities in the offerings of these subjects is not well understood. We examine stratified opportunities to learn science and math subjects in upper secondary schools in Australia, as a case study for examining how educational marketization reduces access to curricular subjects in comprehensive secondary education systems. Using census data from one state, we found biology and chemistry are offered in most schools, but substantial inequalities exist in access to physics and especially advanced mathematics. School size, socioeconomic composition, sector and location predict whether a school offers advanced mathematics. The findings suggest that inequalities in access to science and mathematics curricula are patterned by social background and that these inequalities are linked with educational marketization.