Desigualdades escolares e desigualdades sociais

the text resumes the classical debate on the relationship between social inequalities and inequalities in educational performance, taking one of the goals of the education systems in modern societies as the scenario: that of providing equal opportunities. it analyses the meanings of the equal opportunities concept from a diachronic perspective and offers a synthesis of the knowledge that has been generated on inequality in educational performance, indicating the most established conclusions. in addition to this diagnosis, it outlines a general picture of the explanations that have been put forward for an understanding of the social selectivity associated with educational success or failure, including some of the most recent issues of debate.