List of tables
List of figures

1 Introduction

2 Institutional context

3 Theoretical framework for the formation of inequality beliefs and their consequences for educational inequality
3.1 Educational inequality
3.2 How parental education and educational experiences shape inequality beliefs
3.3 Consequences of inequality beliefs for perceptions of justice and distributive preferences
3.4 Inequality beliefs, persistence in goal pursuit, and educational inequality
3.5 Summary of hypotheses

4 Research design
4.1 Data collection
4.2 Variables
4.3 Samples
4.4 Weighting
4.5 Descriptive sample statistics
4.6 Representativeness of beliefs of medical applicants for adolescents in Germany
4.7 Overview of methods

5 Changes and persistence of inequality beliefs by educational experiences
5.1 Descriptive statistics: Patterns in inequality beliefs
5.2 Methodological approach
5.3 Social differences in inequality beliefs are shaped by educational experiences
5.4 Influence of experiences of success and failure on inequality beliefs
5.4.1 Causal effect of being admitted or rejected?
5.4.2 Effect of merit-based success or success in general?
5.5 The role of previous experiences as a frame for new experiences
5.6 Summary: Diverging paths in inequality beliefs

6 The complex relationship between parental education, inequality beliefs, perceptions of justice, and distributive preferences
6.1 Descriptive statistics: Perceptions of justice and distributive preferences
6.2 Methodological approach
6.3 Distinct types of meritocratic and nonmeritocratic beliefs
6.4 The complex relationship: Structural equation model results
6.4.1 Associations between inequality beliefs and distributive preferences, and the role of perceptions of justice
6.4.2 Social differences in inequality beliefs contribute to different distributive preferences
6.4.3 The role of the admission outcome in the relationship between the concepts
6.5 Summary: How inequality beliefs (de)legitimize educational inequality

7 The experience of rejection and the association between beliefs in meritocratic admission and persistence in goal pursuit
7.1 Descriptive statistics: Persistence and beliefs in meritocratic admission
7.2 Methodological approach
7.3 Social differences in persistence and beliefs in meritocratic admission
7.4 Influence of parental education and beliefs in meritocratic admission on persistence in goal pursuit
7.5 Limitations due to sample selectivity and sample sizes
7.6 Summary: Parental education does not affect persistence but beliefs do

8 Summary, discussion, and conclusion
8.1 Theoretical arguments
8.2 Key findings
8.3 Discussion and contributions to theoretical debate and empirical research
8.4 Limitations of study and avenues for future research
8.5 Implications of findings

9 References

Appendix
Index