The Perceived Value of Education and Educational Aspirations in the Czech Republic: Changes in the Determination of Educational Aspirations between 1989 and 2003

This article analyzes changes in the determination of Czech educational aspirations from 1989 to 2003, on the basis of social origin, ability, gender and other factors. The empirical research is based on a comparison of Czech data from the "Rodina ’89" and the 2003 PISA-L surveys. The article hypothesizes that social origin had a stronger direct impact on educational aspirations in 1989, while in 2003 it had a much stronger indirect influence. The empirical results confirm this hypothesis.