We the elite, they the people: Educational identity and perceived polarisation

The importance of education in the ‘schooled society’ leads to expectations of strong educational polarisation. Although the claim of educational polarisation receives little scientific support, this phenomenon still seems to be subjectively perceived. The Social Identity Theory predicts that these perceptions are especially strong among the higher educated compared to the lower educated, due to their more powerful educational identity, and that these perceptions particularly concern cultural rather than economic distinctions between the two groups. Expectations are tested based on structural equation modelling of Dutch survey data (2019), and results confirm that the higher educated perceive more polarisation than the lower educated due to stronger educational identification. Although economic inequality between educational groups is still perceived as larger than their differences in cultural attitudes, only perceptions of the latter are affected by educational identities. This can lead to conflict in a society that is increasingly defined by the knowledge economy and politically occupied with cultural issues, failing to address the economic divide between the educational worlds.