Meritocratic Beliefs and the Persistence of Educational Inequality: A Study of Applicants to Medical School in Germany

Educational success remains strongly linked to social background. However, there is no growing concern about this, which could be explained by meritocratic beliefs that success primarily depends on individual effort and talent. The author examines how such beliefs are shaped by experiences and what consequences they have for the reproduction of educational inequality.

Dr. Rebecca Wetter is currently a Research Fellow at the University of Potsdam at the Chair of School Development. She wrote the doctoral dissertation, on which this book is based, at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center.