The relationship between social structure and education in the system of sports schools

Journal of Social Research & Policy, Volume: 10, Issue: 1, pp. 27-35

Date: May 2019

ISSN: 2067-2640 (print), 2068-9861 (electronic)

Abstract: Sports school is an organised form of the education of young athletes that takes place within the framework of a public educational institution, sports association or other types of organisation. It is defined by a strict framework involving a wide range of professionals. In our study, we aimed to examine the scene of the sports school system as a possibility for the ascent of talented but disadvantaged athletes. Thus, the focus of the study is drawn on the social status of students learning in sports schools and traditional high schools in Hungary. For this purpose, the National Competence Measurement 2016 database (OKM 2016, N=61662) for 10-grade students was applied through investigating the family background index of the individuals. According to our results, our hypotheses were confirmed, as at both regional and county level, the indicators of the family background index were lower among sports school students. At the regional level, the lowest family background index is detected in the North Great Plain and Central Hungary concerning sports schools, while the highest is visible in the Central Transdanubia region. Concerning non-sports schools, the lowest value is in the North Great Plain region, while it is the highest in Budapest.

Keywords: Educational Sports School; Social Status; Socioeconomic Status.