The impact of school income on the transition from secondary to higher education

This research was carried out in the context of the right to education and the factors affecting access to education, as well as the principle of equal opportunities and equal opportunities. In this context, the relationship between the distribution ratios of the income of the school-parent associations and the current allowances provided by the Ministry of National Education and the placement rates of students in higher education institutions has been investigated, focusing on the transition process from secondary to higher education and the factors that are predicted to affect it. The population of the study consists of public secondary schools in the districts of Ankara. In the study, data on current allowances and incomes of school parent associations for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020 were obtained from the Strategy Development Presidency of the Ministry of National Education and the Provincial Directorate of National Education in Ankara, respectively. Data on the number of transitions to higher education for the same years were obtained from Student Selection and Placement Centre (ÖSYM). A hybrid method of analysis was used in the research. In the analysis of quantitative data, the Kruskal-Wallis H test, a non-parametric test, was used as the data obtained did not show a normal distribution. Therefore, a significance level of p < 0.05 was accepted for the differences between variables. Within the scope of qualitative analyses; interview questions were created by taking expert opinions, whether the interview form serves the purpose of the research or not, in other words, content validity was ensured, the reliability rate of the research was determined with the percentage of agreement calculated by analyzing the audio recordings in two different time periods. Interviews were conducted with school principals selected through convenience sampling and the data obtained from the interviews were analyzed descriptively. According to the results of the research, significant differences were found between the incomes of the parents' associations of secondary schools in the districts of Ankara, and it was concluded that these differences affect the transition rates from secondary to higher education. According to the interviews with school principals, significant differences were also found in terms of the socio-economic level of families and the transition rates to higher education between districts and within the same district. In addition, principals reported that the socio-economic and cultural level of families also influences students' choices of higher education programmes, and that schools that admit students who have passed the High Schools Entrance Exam (LGS) have an advantage in terms of transition to university. In conclusion, principles such as the right to education, access to education and equal opportunities in education have been examined in relation to income distribution, socio-economic and socio-cultural variables through qualitative and quantitative research covering all stages of education. In this context, it is recommended that priority be given to regions with limitations in the distribution of grants in order to reduce income disparities between schools and their respective regions. Furthermore, it is considered beneficial to restructure public education policies with a consistent, comprehensive and egalitarian perspective, reducing all social and economic factors that hinder education, which is one of the fundamental human rights, in order to enable individuals to develop as fully and competently as possible.