**3. Results**

The results obtained from the analysis of the five variables confirm (albeit with some variations) the initial hypothesis. They show that, from the territorial point of view, the most striking social cleavages or inequalities correspond less to the geographical setting of reference, the population size or intensity of urbanization and more to residential segregation. Let us examine these results in detail.

#### *3.1. Level of Studies Attained*

Spatial factors are a crucial element in the debate about the social potentialities of the educational system. More particularly, access to higher education has traditionally been considerably more onerous and difficult for the population resident in areas far removed from major urban centres, where the main educational facilities and universities tend to be established [65]. Furthermore, some recent studies in Catalonia and other contexts have shown that training opportunities are heavily determined by the prevailing socioeconomic level of the residence area [66–68]. This circumstance is reflected by the phenomenon of scholastic migration (enrolment outside the neighbourhood or municipality of residence), which is widespread in Catalonia [69,70]. Accordingly, any study of spatial inequalities demands a close examination of the main differences to be found in the field of education.

Figure 2 shows the data related to the level of higher education attained by the Catalan population aged 25 and over, grouped in accordance with the four territorial categories used herein (geographical setting, population size, intensity of urbanization and vulnerability). As we can see, the mean of the Catalan population with higher education is 28%. It is immediately apparent, however, that there are significant differences between the various territorial areas, and a comparison between the main geographical settings reveals that the percentage of the population with higher education is greater in the more urbanized areas: the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona, in first place, closely followed by Penedès and the Camp de Tarragona. In contrast, Comarques Centrals and Terres de l'Ebre present much lower values—in fact, the percentage of the population with higher education resident in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona is twice that of Terres de l'Ebre. It must be taken into account, however, that educational itineraries depend not only on family income and the educational facilities on offer in each territory but also on other factors, such as the economic dynamism, the relative weight of the economic sectors and the qualification requirements of the labour market, as well as sociocultural factors derived from the characteristics of places of residence [14]. The fact that the area of Ponent and Alt Pirineu-Aran has double the percentage of population with higher education than Terres de l'Ebre, even though both are far from the metropolitan area of Barcelona, confirms the difficulty inherent in any automatic co-opting of geographical proximity to major urban centres as the primary explanatory factor in this field.

**Figure 2.** Level of studies attained. Catalonia, population aged 25 years and over. Year 2011. Source: In-house construction based on the ECVHP, 2011.

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An examination of the data related to the level of studies attained by the population according to the size of the place of residence leads to similar conclusions. Firstly, there is a strong contrast between the city of Barcelona, where 4 out of every 10 adult residents have a higher education, and places with less than 5001 inhabitants, which have barely half that proportion. This difference can probably be explained by the broad range of education available in the capital, along with a labour market with jobs requiring a high level of qualification and the subsequent displacement of people with a higher education to Barcelona, attracted by the specialist work on offer. Close examination of the data reveals,

however, that the population size of the municipality of residence is not directly related to the level of studies. Thus, the percentage of the population with a higher education in places with 5001 to 100,000 inhabitants exceeds, in every case, that of residents in cities with more than 100,000, with the exception of Barcelona. The fact that places with less than 5001 inhabitants and more than 100,000 share the bottom ranking in higher education shows that the size of the place of residence has a limited explanatory capacity in this respect.

Something similar occurs with the intensity of urbanization, or what has come to be known as the urban/rural divide. It has traditionally been understood that rurality is one of the main obstacles for access to education in general, and higher education in particular. The data demonstrate, however, that in the Catalan case, the differences in the classification of places according to the urban/rural divide are smaller than in any of the other aggregations used. Although it is true that the population residing in sparsely populated areas is less likely to attain a higher education than that residing in densely populated areas, the difference is far from overwhelming.

In contrast, the differences associated with residential segregation seem more conclusive. While one out of every two adults residing in well-off areas has attained a higher education, among residents in vulnerable areas, this proportion is barely more than one in every seven. This was the greatest difference found in all the classifications examined, markedly greater than any differences derived from the geographical areas, the population size or the degree of urbanization. Residential segregation therefore seems to be the dimension that is most clearly related with the attainment or otherwise of a higher education—and the dimension that most determines and best reflects that attainment.
