**8. Basic determinants of socioeconomic status**

One of the indicators that show how effective socioeconomic factors are in benefiting from the right to higher education in Turkey is the education expenditure of households. Expenditures made by the household to benefit from the education service are considered as special costs of education [62]. The share and the amount of total education expenditures in Turkey vary greatly among different income groups. **Table 3** shows education expenditures in Turkey according to 20% income groups.

According to the income in 2014, the share of the first 20% group with the lowest income in total education services expenditures is 2.2%, while the share of the fifth 20% group is 64.7%. As shown in **Table 3**, the education expenditures of the families with the highest income group are 25.9 in 2004, 17.2 in 2008, 29.0 in 2012 and 29.4 in 2014, all much higher than the families with the lowest incomes. These ratios show that education expenditures increase as income increases in Turkey, and therefore, the families in the highest income group provide better education opportunities for their children than the families with lower incomes.

The growing tendency for parents to participate in the private cost of education makes the social mobility of education inaccessible for the low‐income families [63]. Despite the large increase in student numbers in the last two decades, the university student profile is usually composed of higher income segments. This situation is even more evident at state universities that require high scores. It is striking that even a very large part of the most successful foundation univer‐ sities consist of students who score lower on the university entrance examination. This gives the students who may not pass the entrance exam the chance to enter a university due to the financial power of their families. Consequently, by creating a new privileged group, the role of education in balancing the differences in different segments of society is restricted [64].


**7. Determinants of higher education access in Turkey**

45, 50

158 Global Voices in Higher Education

[51, 55

–52] and income level [51

other factors affecting university access.

**8. Basic determinants of socioeconomic status**

greatly among different income groups. **Table**

according to 20% income groups.

As shown in **Table**

Educational indicators and research in Turkey demonstrate that not all individuals benefit equally from educational services. In Turkey, there are inequalities based on socioeconomic status, gender and living area of the student in terms of education access and quality [48]. These inequalities continue to become more apparent in the higher education phase. Due to the difference between regions and school types, children of families with good income can be better prepared for higher education. There is also a difference between higher education access for females and males. This difference has not shown any significant decline in the past few years. All these points show that there are inequalities in access to higher education [49]. Research in Turkey reveals that socioeconomic factors such as parents' educational level [

university and test achievement. Additionally, factors such as the type of school attended

One of the indicators that show how effective socioeconomic factors are in benefiting from the right to higher education in Turkey is the education expenditure of households. Expenditures made by the household to benefit from the education service are considered as special costs of education [62]. The share and the amount of total education expenditures in Turkey vary

According to the income in 2014, the share of the first 20% group with the lowest income in total education services expenditures is 2.2%, while the share of the fifth 20% group is 64.7%.

group are 25.9 in 2004, 17.2 in 2008, 29.0 in 2012 and 29.4 in 2014, all much higher than the families with the lowest incomes. These ratios show that education expenditures increase as income increases in Turkey, and therefore, the families in the highest income group provide better education opportunities for their children than the families with lower incomes.

The growing tendency for parents to participate in the private cost of education makes the social mobility of education inaccessible for the low‐income families [63]. Despite the large increase in student numbers in the last two decades, the university student profile is usually composed of higher income segments. This situation is even more evident at state universities that require high scores. It is striking that even a very large part of the most successful foundation univer

sities consist of students who score lower on the university entrance examination. This gives the students who may not pass the entrance exam the chance to enter a university due to the financial power of their families. Consequently, by creating a new privileged group, the role of

education in balancing the differences in different segments of society is restricted [64].

**3**, the education expenditures of the families with the highest income

before higher education, and the quality of the education received [54

–58], after‐school support and attendance of private courses [37, 52, 59

–53] are the most important determinants of benefiting from

**3** shows education expenditures in Turkey

1,

‐

–56], residence type

–61] are listed as

**Table 3.** Education expenditures in Turkey according to 20% income groups (2004–2014).
