Measuring the impact of Socio-Economic Factors on school’s Technical Efficiency. Archives of Business Research, 7(4), 223-239.

Abstract

This paper investigates and evaluates the effectiveness and the Technical Efficiency of
secondary education units in the region of Western Macedonia in Greece. Using Data
Envelopment Analysis (DEA) at a first stage analysis school efficiency is measured in
schools where multiple inputs produce multiple outputs. In this study the inputs
chosen are: the teacher student ratio, the staff student ratio and the computer student
ratio of each educational unit. The output (student performance) refers to the student’s
achievement in the national exams during the school year of 2015 – 16. In the second
stage analysis, efficiency scores from the first stage analysis, were explained in a
regression with the environmental variables as independent variables. The
independent variables chosen were divided in two categories: the variables from the
direct school environment (school size, teacher’s experience, teacher’s qualifications
and per student expenses) and variables from the wider school environment in (GDP
per capita, unemployment rate and educational level of each school’s area). DEA
showed that 4 out of the 29 educational units were characterized as technical efficient
becoming benchmarks for all the others with lower efficiency. In the second stage,
regression analysis shows that teachers’ experience significantly affects school
efficiency while teacher’s qualifications, school size and per student expenses do not
affect school efficiency. Concerning the variables from the wider social environment,
GDP per capita, unemployment rate and educational level in each school’s area didn’t
show a statistically significant effect on the technical efficiency of the educational units.

Full text

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<>?:!10.14738/abr.74.6490.!!
!
Stergiou, K., & Tsakiridou, H. (2019). Measuring the impact of Socio-Ec onomic Factors on school’s Technical Efficiency.
Archives of Business Research, 7(4), 223-239.
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PhD!in!Economics!of!Education,!
Department!of!Primary!Education,!
University!of!Western!Macedonia!
!
L'3'.)I(0M%"%N*-)
Professor!of!Applied!Statistics!and!Educational!Research!
Vice!Rector!of!Academic!and!Administrative!Affairs!
University!of!Western!Macedonia!
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K'JU*"N(=)Technical!Efficiency,!School!Effectiveness,!Data!Envelopment!Analysis!
)
?7I/><ROI?>7)
Scientific!research!to!assess!efficiency!has!its!roots!in!the!study!of!Charnes!et!al.!(1978),!who!in!
their! initial! study! approached! the! notion! of! Decision! Making! Units! (DMUs)! with! the! non-
parametric!Data!Envelopment!Analysis!(DEA).!Since!then,!for!the!next!forty!years!to!date,!there!
has! been! rapid! and! continuous! growth! in! the! field.! As! a! result,! a! considerable! amount! of!
published! research! has! appeared,! with! a! significant! portion! focused! on! DEA! applications! of!
efficiency!and!productivity!in!both!public!and!private!sector!activities!(Emrouznejad,!Parker,!&!
Tavares,!2008).!The!purpose!of!such!scientific!articles!is!to!assess!the!efficiency!of!educational!
units!and!organizations!in! order!to!identify!the!factors!that!influence!it!while!also!providing!
particularly!useful!information!for!decision-makers!related!to!educational!policy.!Furthermore,!
when!the!research!takes!place!in!countries!where!the!school!education!system!is!public!(like!it!
is! in! Greece),! important! information! on! input! and! output! prices! are! usually! missing.!
Consequently,! the!measurement!of! efficiency! in!education! is! a!complicated! and!controversial!
process,!while!in!some!cases!there!is!no!clear!consensus!on!what!the!‘real’!outputs!are!and!how!

Stergiou, K., & Tsakiridou, H. (2019). Measuring the impact of Socio-Economic Factors on school’s Technical Efficiency. Archives of Business
Research, 7(4), 223-239.
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they!should!be!measured,!a!problem!that!also!occurs!for!the!schooling!inputs.!In!addition,!some!
of!the!school!inputs!are!not!controllable!by!schooling!institutions!even!though!their!influence!
on! outputs! is! evident! (Kirjavainen,! 2009).! Despite! these! difficulties,! what! emerges! from! the!
literature!review!(Sutherland,!Price,!Joumard,!&!Nicq,!2007),!is!that!the!basic!types! of! factors!
that!can!affect!student!performance!and!therefore!the!efficiency!of!a!school!are!two:!The!first!
type!refers!to! "direct"! inputs,!which!are!under!the! supervision!of!the!school!system! and! the!
second!type!refers!to!the!so-called!"indirect"!or!"environmental"!inputs.!The!measurement!of!
efficiency! is! a! measure! adopted! more! and! more! often! in! various! sectors,! since! it! is! large! in!
scope.!Banks!and!generally!businesses,!hospitals,!schools!and!universities,!are!few!examples!of!
those!who!estimate!their!efficiency!level.!Concerning!the!public!sector,!the!fact!that!the!outputs!
are!amorphous!and!intangible!in!many!respects!it!makes!it!difficult!to!define!a!way!to!measure!
and!evaluate!the!goods!that!are!produced!and!offered!to!the!market!for!free,!which!means!that!
the!prices!of!outputs!are!not!determined!by!market!forces.! As! economic! efficiency! cannot!be!
directly!measured,!there!is!a!need!for!a!technique!to!proxy!an!efficiency!frontier!which!would!
allow! relatively! accurate! benchmarking.! Economic! theory! recognizes! several! efficiency!
concepts! like! technical! efficiency,! cost! efficiency,! allocative! or! productive! efficiency.! The!
concept! of! technical! efficiency! is! determined! as! the! ratio! of! observed! to! maximum! potential!
outputs! obtainable! from! the! given! inputs! or! as! the! ratio! of! minimum! potential! to!observed!
inputs! required! to! produce! to! give! outputs! (Kirjavainen,! 2009).! In! this! study,! technical!
efficiency! of! the! school! units! is! measured! and! the! school! unit! is! viewed! as! maximizing! its!
outputs!with!the!given!inputs.!The!method!used!is!the!Data!Envelopment!Analysis!(DEA),!a!non!
parametric!approach!described!analytical!below.!!
!
<!I!)F72F_>9@F7I)!7!_`D?D)
The! methodology! of! DEA! was! developed! based! on! the! model! of! Charnes,! Cooper! &! Rhodes!
(Charnes,! Cooper,! &! Rhodes,! 1978)!and! (Charnes,! Cooper,! &! Rhodes,! 1979),! known! in! the!
literature!as!a!model!for!CCR,!from!the!initials!of!the!authors.!Charnes,! in!his!study,!describe!
the!method!of!DEA!as!a!mathematical!programming!model!which!is!applied!to!empirical!data!
and! provides! a! new! way! of! obtaining! empirical! estimates! of! relations,! such! as! production!
functions,! which! are! the! cornerstones! of! modern! finance.!By! transforming! a! system! of!
nonlinear!equations,!which!are!particularly!difficult!to!assess!in!practice,!into!a!system!of!linear!
equations,!Charnes,!actually!developed!the!first!non-parametric!model!of!DEA.!A!feature!of!the!
DEA! method! is! that,! unlike! other! methods,! it! doesn’t! require! the! determination! of! the!
production! function.!In! this! method,! the! total! production! capacity! is! determined! through! a!
process!of!linear!integration!of!the!observed!input!-!output!combinations!for!each!DMU.!This!
creates!an!empirical!best!practice!frontier!which!is!indicated!as!empirical!production!function!
and! indicates! a!point!of! comparison! and! evaluation! for!the! measurement!of! the! efficiency! of!
each!DMU.!The!DMUs!that!are!comparatively!more!efficient!and!belong!on!the!frontier,!become!
benchmarks!for!the!rest!DMUs,!whose!lack! in!efficiency! is!determined!by!their! distance! from!
this!frontier.!So!the!level!of!efficiency!of!a!productive!activity!indicates!the!deviation!(or!non)!of!
the!observed!production!activity!of!a!DMU!by!the!activities!of!the! better!or!best!DMUs!in!the!
sample.!At! this!point,!it!is!necessary!to!be!mentioned,!that!the!DEA! method!assumes!that!at!
least!one!DMU!is!efficient.!The!DMUs!with!efficiency!lower!of!the!unit!are!inefficient,!while!the!
rest! DMUs! are! considered! as! efficient! simply! because! no! other! unit! in! the! sample! is! more!
efficient!than!them.!It!is!obvious!that!this!does!not!mean!that!there!is!no!possibility!of!achieving!
greater!efficiency!than!it!has!under!this!rated!level![34].!The! reason! is! that! the!DEA! method!
calculates!the!related!efficiencies!of!DMUs!and!not!their!absolute!values.!!
!
CCR#and#BCC#models:)The!method!DEA!has!developed!considerably!with!the!model!of!Banker,!
Charnes!&!Cooper![35]!which!is!known!as!BCC!model.!It! is!a!model! with! Variable!Returns! to!

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Scale!VRS!in!contrast!to!the!CCR!model! which!is! referred!to! the! case! of! Constant! Returns!to!
Scale!(CRS)!and!measures!only!efficiency!of!units!and!not!the!performance!scale.!This!model!is!
the!one!which!is!now!widely!used!and!assumes!the!existence!of!constant!returns!to!scale!(CRS!
DEA),! where! the! sample! units! are! operating! at! the! optimum! scale! of! production,! leads! to!
measurements! of! efficiency! which! does! not! take! into! account! the! effect! caused! by! the!
production!scale!and!which!affects!the!level!of!the!measured!technical!efficiency.!The!VRS!DEA!
model,!however,!allows!the!calculation!of!efficiency,!without!the!impact!caused!by!the!level!of!
scale!efficiency.!With!the!VRS!DEA!model!of!a!convex!curve!is!constructed!which!is!the!result!
from!the!intersection!of!surface!and!embedding!the!data!in!a!more!compact!group!that!follows!
the!curve!constructed!on!the!assumption!of!constant!returns!to!scale!(CRS!DEA!model).!Thus,!
the!VRS!model!leads!to!a!measurement!of!the!level!of!efficiency,!which!is!greater!than!or!equal!
to!those!obtained!by!using!the!CRS!model.!Let!in!a!DEA!model,!Xi#be!a!vector!of!inputs!and!Yi#a!
vector!of!outputs!for!the!school!i#(i#=1,...,N#).!Suppose!X0!and!Y0!are,!respectively,!the!inputs!and!
outputs!of!school! !whose!efficiency!level!is!supposed!to!be!examined.!The!measurement!of!
efficiency!for!school! may!be!defined!as!follows:!!
!
!!!!!(1)!
s.t.!
!! !(2)!
! !(3)!
!!!!!(4)!
!
Where! !represents!the!efficiency!level!of!school! !and! !the!weight!given!by!the!school!i#in!
order!to!dominate!school! ,!!j!represents!the!outputs!and!k!represents!the!inputs.!Optimal! #
cannot! be! greater! than! 1.! If! the! score! of! school! !is! equal! to! 1! ( #=! 1)! then! the! school! is!
defined! as! efficient! whereas! if! it!is! less! than! 1! ( #<! 1)! the! school! is! inefficient.! In! order! to!
illustrate!the!above!in!graph!form,!an!example!composed!of!four!schools!(Α,!Β,!Γ!and!Δ)!is!now!
considered!in!which!only!one!input!(Χ)!is!used!so!that!only!one!output!(Υ)!is!produced.!Figure!
1!represents!the!two!dimensions!of!a!plane!on!which!the!four!schools!are!positioned.!!
!
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Figure 1 . The DEA frontier
!

Stergiou, K., & Tsakiridou, H. (2019). Measuring the impact of Socio-Economic Factors on school’s Technical Efficiency. Archives of Business
Research, 7(4), 223-239.
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Schools,!Α,!Β,!and!Γ!are!efficient!as!they!are!situated!on!the!frontier.!On!the!other!hand,!school!Δ!
is!inefficient.!The!level!of!inefficiency!can!be!measured!(graphically)!in!two!ways:!either!as!the!
vertical!distance!between!point!Δ!and!Δ*!(output!oriented)!or!the!horizontal!distance!between!
point!Δ! and!Δ’! (input! oriented).! The! output-oriented! measurements! indicate! the! amount! by!
which! the! outputs! must! be! proportionally! increased! in! order! to! reach! the! frontier! while!
keeping! inputs! constant.! The! input-oriented! measurements! indicate! the! amount! by! which!
inputs!could!be!proportionally!reduced!while!keeping!output!quantities!constant.! !
!
If!it!is!considered!that!the!aim!of!school!headmasters!is!to!obtain!the!best!results!possible!sing!
the! resources! available! (over! which! they! exercise! little! or! no! control),! the! output-oriented!
version! is! appropriate!(Mancebón! &! Bandrés,! 1999).! On! the! other! hand,! if! the! goal! is! that!
schools!minimise!the!use!of!inputs!while!keeping!their!output!level!constant,!then!an!input-
oriented!model!is!better!(Kirjavainen!&!Loikkanen,!1998).! In! this!chapter,! we!share!the!view!
that!because!of!difficult!budgetary!context,!educational!policies!are!aimed!at!improving!the!use!
of!resources!(Diagne,!2006).!The!results!are!therefore!input!oriented,!that!is!to!say,!a!school!is!
not!efficient!if!an! input! can! be!reduced!without!increasing!another!input!and!decreasing!the!
output!(Charnes,!Cooper,!&!Rhodes,!1981).!To!determine!the!(in)!efficiency!score!of!school!Δ,!
then!:!!
!
!!!!(5)!
and!
!!!!!(6)!
The! !represents! the! weighted! sum! of! ,! i.e.! !with!!
!(hypothesizing!variable!returns!to!scale)!!
Assuming!that,!
!!!!(7)!
The! represents!the!weighted!sums!of! and!assuming!that:!
!!!(8)!
The!efficiency!level!is:!!
!!!!(9)!
!
If! =! 0.8,! the! efficiency! of! school! Δ! is! 20%! (1! –! 0.8! =! 0.2).! In! other! words,! school! Δ! must!
decrease!its!input!by!20%!if!it!is!to!become!efficient,!that!is!to!say,!to!be!placed!on!the!segment!
of!the!frontier!linking!school!A!and!school!B.!Initially,!Charnes![31]!assumed!the!scale!returns!
were!constant!(CRS).!In!a!production!process!constant!returns!to!scale!indicate!that!production!
varies! in! the! same! proportion! as! the! production! factors! involved.! If! all! the! schools! perform!
optimally,!then!the!CRS!hypothesis!is!appropriate.!Banker![35]!then!modified!the!CRS!model!in!
order!to!account!for!situations!in!which!the!returns!to!scale!are!variable!(VRS).!This!hypothesis!
means! a! more! flexible! frontier! can! be! estimated.! Figure! 2! shows! the! distinction! between!
inefficiency! (starting! measuring! from! the! VRS! frontier)! and! the! scale! inefficiency! (starting!
measuring!from!the!CRS!frontier).!The!inefficiency!corresponds!to!the!inefficiency!defined!in!
Eq.! 9.! However,! it! seems! that! at! point! Δ’,! the! productivity! ratio! YΔ!/! X##is! weaker! than! the!
maximum!ratio!YΔ/!XA!!of!school!A.!Even!though!its!efficiency!places!it!at!point!Δ’,!the!size!of!
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school!Δ!means!it!cannot!have!the!maximal!average!production!per!factor!unit.!Compared!to!
the! latter,! which! is! situated! at! the! optimal! size,! school! Δ! suffers! from! scale! inefficiency!
measured! by! the! relationship! XΔ’’/! X.! Its! total! inefficiency! combines! the! two! forms! of!
inefficiency!and!is!measured!by!the!relationship!XΔ’’/!XΔ.!
)
)
<!I!))
The!survey!took!part!in! North! Greece,!between!November! 2016! and! March! of! 2017.! In! this!
survey!all!thirty!eight!(38)!secondary!education!school!units!from!West!North!Greece!were!
invited!to!participate.!From! these,!38!responded!the! 29! (76.31%!response!rate)!which! from!
now!on!will!be!called!as!Decision!Making!Units!(DMUs).!The!region!of!North!West!Greece!was!
chosen!because!of!its!unique!characteristics.!According!to!Elstat!(Hellenic!Statistical!Authority)!
the!average!unemployment!rate!of!the!region!for!2015,!was!34.5%!while!the!national!average!
rate!in!Greece! was! 24.9%,! ranking! North! Greece! the! region! with! the! highest! unemployment!
rate!in!Greece.!According!to!Bradley,!Johnes,!και!Millington!(2001),!the!findings!on!local!labour!
market!conditions!are!somewhat!difficult!to!interpret.!In!their!study!a!high!incidence!of!local!
unemployment! appeared! to! raise! school! efficiency! in! secondary! education! in! England.!
Therefore,!it!is!of!high!interest!whether!such!findings!could!be!also!occur!in!the!case!of!North!
West! Greece,! a!region! with! such! high! unemployment! rate.! Despite! this! high! unemployment!
rate,!the!corresponding!region!is!characterised!by!a!high!GDP!per!capita!(15652!€),! which!is!
the!second!highest!in!Greece!after!the!Region!of!Attica.!This!is!another!important!characteristic!
to! be! analyzed! as! researches! show! that! higher! GDP! per! capita! resulting! in! more! efficiency!
(Afonso!&!Aubyn,!(2006)!!Oliveira!&!Santos,!(2005)).!!
!
The!research!tool!of!this!study!was!designed!based!on!the!experience!of!similar!international!
researches!(Kirjavainen!&!Loikkanen,!(1998)!!!Afonso!&!Aubyn,!(2006)!!Avkiran!N.!K.,!(2001)!!
Bradley,!Johnes,!&!Millington,!(2001)).!The!questionnaire!consisted!of!different!questions!to!be!
answered!by!the!school!principal!of!each!secondary!school!unit.!The!first!category!consisted!of!
questions,!including!general!characteristics!of!the!school!unit,!like!the!number!of!students!and!
the!number!of!classes,!the!number!of!students!of!each!class!and!the!number!of!teachers!that!
were! offering! educational! services! during! the! school! year! 2015! –! 16.! The! second! one! was!
referring!to!all!personnel!and!human!resources!offering!their!services!in!the!school!unit.!This!
category!included!not!only!full-time!personnel,!but!also!part-time!employees.!More!specifically,!
it! was!referring!to!the!teachers’!experience!(according!to! the!number!of! the! years!they!had!
been! teaching)! but! also! to! their! qualifications! (Number! of! teachers! holding! a! bachelor,! a!
Master’s!and!a! Doctorate’s!degree).!Moreover,!in! this! category,!there!were!questions! on! the!
number!of!personnel!for!other!staff!categories,!like!secretarial!services,!cleaning!services!and!
other! supportive! services.! The! third! category! concerned! the! available! equipment! of! the!
Figure 2 . Efficiency and scale efficiency

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training! unit! such! as:! number! of! computers! available! for! students! and! teachers.! The! fourth!
category! concerned! the! operating! costs! of! the! educational! unit.! In! particular,! the! questions!
related!to!the!amount!of!expenditure!for!the!educational!unit!for!the!school!year!2015-16!for!
each!of!the!following!categories!of!expenditure:!heating,!electricity,!communication!-!internet,!
water! supply,! maintenance! -! general! repairs,! sports! -! cultural! activities,! stationery! -! office!
supplies!-!books,!other!expenses!(postal!expenses,!pharmaceuticals,!cleaning!materials!and!any!
other!expenses!not!covered!by!the!above!categories).!!
!
In!this!study!from!the!above!data!collected!the!inputs!chosen!are:!the!teacher!student!ratio,!the!
staff!student!ratio!and!the!computer!student!ratio!of!each!educational!unit.!The!output!data!
was! collected! by! the! school’s! Directors! and! the! Regional! Secondary! Education! Office! of!
Western!Macedonia.!The!output!(student!performance)!refers!to!the!student’s!achievement!in!
the! national! exams! during! the! school! year! 2015! –! 16! and! to! their! success! rate! in! Higher!
Education!Institutions!(HEIs)!in!Greece.!!
!
As!Badri! &! Mourad! (2012),!note! that!all!relevant!surveys!agree!that! the!choice!of!inputs! and!
outputs!is!particularly!important,!but!it!is!not!clear!which! are!the!inputs!and!outputs!of!the!
educational! process! and! at! what! level! they! should! be! measured.! At! the! same! time,! it! is!
necessary!to!approach!the!selected!inputs!with!great!precision!to!represent!the!characteristics!
of! an! educational! system,! which! have! an! impact! on! the! educational! and! consequently!
productive!process.!However,!as!this!option!is!limited!by!availability!in!databases,!there!is!no!
unanimous!choice!of!inputs!into!the!bibliography!(Hanushek!Ε.!,!1986).!One!important!rule!of!
DEA!is! to!avoid! the! use!of! highly!correlated!variables!(Badri,! Mohaidat,!&! Mourad,!2014).!In!
particular,! if! a! pair! of! inputs! shows! a! positive! correlation,! then! something! that! applies! to!
outputs!(Martic,! Novakociv,! &! Baggia,! 2009)!cannot! be! included! in! the! efficiency! estimation!
model! together.! Models! with! different! input!/! output! combinations! should! ensure! the! low!
correlation!between!the!variables!involved.!This!means!that!during!the!estimation!of!efficiency!
it!is!important!not!to!include!in!the!same!model!variables!that!have!a!high!correlation!between!
them!(Badri,!Mohaidat,!&!Mourad,!2014).!
!
In!this!study,!correlation! analysis!is!used!to!reduce! the!number!of! inputs!and!outputs!in!each!
model!that!will!be!developed!by!combining!inflows!and!outputs!that!do!not!show!correlation!
(Badri!&!Mourad,!2012).!The!correlation!analysis!revealed!that!the!two!outputs,!Access!Grade!
and! Percentage! of! Successors! do! not! show! significant! correlation! so! they! can! be! used! in! all!
possible! models! at! the! same! time.! On! the! other! hand,! the! pairs! of! variables,! 'Student! and!
student!ratio!and!Computer!and! student! ratio',!'Teacher!and!student!ratio!and!Percentage!of!
Successors'!are!correlated!and!will!not!be!used!in!any!of!the!analysis!models!at!the!same!time.!
The!same!applies!to!the!'ratio!of!auxiliary!staff!and!students’!ratio!and!computer!and!student!
ratio'!and!'proportion!of!computers!and!students!and!percentage!of!successful!candidates'!
!
In!DEA,!Cooper,!Seiford!and!Tone!(2007)!provide!two!thumb!rules!for!the!selection!of!sample!
size;! a)! n! ≥! max! (S! *! P),! which!states! that! sample! size! should! be! greater! than! or! equal! to!
product!of!inputs!and!outputs;!b)!n!≥!3(S!+!P),!states!that!the!number!of!observation!in!the!data!
should!be!at!least!three!times!the!sum!of!the!inputs!and!outputs,!where!n!is!the!sample!size!
(DMU’s),!S!is!the!number!of!inputs!and!P!is!the!number!of!outputs.!Based!on!these!conditions,!
in!the!present!study!the!number!of!school!units!(DMU’s)!was!(n)!=!29,!number!of!inputs!was!
(S)!=!3!and!number!of!outputs!was!(P)!=!2.!So,!in!this!study!the!conditions!n!≥!max!(3*2)!and!n!
≥!3(3!+!2)!are!respected.!!
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Table!1:!DEA!Efficiency!models!(1st!stage!analysis)!!
!
Input!1!
Input!2!
Input!3!
Output!1!
Output!2!
Teacher!-
student!ratio!
Personnel!-!
student!ratio!
!
!
Computer!-!!
student!
ratio!
Exams!
Score!
School!Success!
rate!
!
Model!1!
X!
!
!
X!
!
Model!2!
!
!
X!
X!
!
Model!3!
!
X!
!
X!
!
Model!4!
!
X!
!
X!
X!
Model!5!
X!
X!
!
X!
!
)
G?7<?7QD))
1st#stage#analysis:)In!the! first!stage!analysis!the!main! objective!was! to! measure!the! Technical!
efficiency! of! the! secondary! schools! in! the! region! of! Western! Macedonia! in! Greece.!Using!
MaxDEA!Ultra!6.15
1
!software!Technical!efficiency!are!presented!in!Table!2.!!
!
Table!2:!Output-Oriented!(VRS)!–!Efficiency!Scores)
DMU!
Model!1!
Model!2!
Model!3!
Model!4!
Model!5!
DMU1!
0,899!
0,866!
0,898!
0,920!
0,907!
DMU2!
0,993!
0,993!
0,993!
0,995!
0,993!
DMU3!
0,866!
0,866!
0,888!
0,903!
0,888!
DMU4!
0,922!
0,922!
0,922!
0,957!
0,922!
DMU5!
0,994!
0,994!
0,994!
0,995!
0,994!
DMU6!
0,921!
0,891!
0,876!
0,951!
0,921!
DMU7!
1,000!
1,000!
1,000!
1,000!
1,000!
DMU8!
0,887!
0,843!
0,972!
0,972!
0,972!
DMU9!
0,957!
0,957!
1,000!
1,000!
1,000!
DMU10!
0,871!
0,864!
0,896!
0,975!
0,899!
DMU11!
0,944!
1,000!
0,901!
0,973!
0,944!
DMU12!
0,928!
0,888!
0,953!
1,000!
0,955!
DMU13!
1,000!
0,937!
1,000!
1,000!
1,000!
DMU14!
0,908!
0,865!
0,927!
0,952!
0,930!
DMU15!
0,986!
0,915!
0,910!
1,000!
0,986!
DMU16!
0,828!
0,819!
0,797!
0,857!
0,828!
DMU17!
0,909!
0,896!
0,917!
0,945!
0,921!
DMU18!
0,570!
0,570!
0,570!
0,599!
0,570!
DMU19!
0,918!
0,927!
0,985!
0,985!
0,985!
DMU20!
0,920!
0,881!
0,871!
0,906!
0,920!
DMU21!
0,676!
0,657!
0,657!
0,669!
0,676!
DMU22!
0,605!
0,605!
0,637!
0,637!
0,637!
DMU23!
1,000!
0,919!
0,944!
0,997!
1,000!
DMU24!
0,808!
0,808!
0,808!
0,834!
0,808!
DMU25!
0,817!
0,817!
0,817!
0,831!
0,817!
DMU26!
0,829!
0,774!
0,781!
1,000!
0,829!
DMU27!
0,851!
0,851!
0,851!
0,855!
0,851!
DMU28!
0,888!
0,820!
1,000!
1,000!
1,000!
DMU29!
0,853!
0,890!
0,893!
0,893!
0,895!
!
According!to!Table!2,!the!educational!unit,!which!is!defined!as!the!most!technically!efficient!for!
the!school!year!2015-16!in!all!models,!is!DMU!7!which!is!a!benchmark!for!all!other!educational!
units.!Also,!there!are!17!other!training!units!that!have!been!at!least!once,!benchmarks!for! the!
rest!of!the!schools!units!in!the!sample!in!one!of!the!5!analysis!models,!ie!they!have!emerged!as!
100%!technicall!efficient.!Also,!the!average!number!of!Technically!Efficient!Educational!Units!
resulting!from!all!5!models!is!4.2,!which!means!that!on!average!about!4!training!units!out!of!the!
29! sample! (13.8%)! are! characterized! as! Technically! Efficient.! The! minimum! Technical!
Efficiency!displayed!was!0.57!while!the!standard!deviation!was!0.11!(Model!1,!Model!2,!Model!
3,!Model!5).!In!summary,!the!above!are!presented!in!Table!(3).!
! !

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Table!3:!Descriptive!statistics!of!school!Technical!Efficiency!
!
Model!1!
Model!2!
Model!3!
Model!4!
Model!5!
Technical!efficient!DMUs!!
3!
2!
4!
7!
5!
AVE!Technical!Efficiency!
0,881!
0,863!
0,885!
0,917!
0,893!
STDEV!!
0,109!
0,106!
0,112!
0,112!
0,114!
MIN!
0,570!
0,570!
0,570!
0,599!
0,570!
!
2nd#stage#analysis:#In!the!second!stage!analysis,!the!efficiency!scores!derived!from!the!first!stage!
analysis! were! explained! in! a! regression! with! the! environmental! variables! as! independent!
variables.! The! independent! variables! chosen! were! divided! in! two! categories:! the! variables!
from!the!direct!school!environment!(school!size,!teacher’s!experience,!teacher’s!qualifications!
and! per! student! expenses)! and! variables! from! the! wider! social! environment! in! which! each!
school! operates! (GDP! per! capita,! unemployment! rate! and! educational! level! of! each! school’s!
area).!!
!
D#$**3)(%\'))
Analysis! showed! that! the! correlation! coefficient! between! the! school! size! and! the! Technical!
Efficiency!was! found!to!be!0.334,!so! there! appears! to! be!a!low! positive! correlation!between!
these!two!variables,!which!is!statistically!significant!(p! =!0.038! <0.05).!This!means! that!if!we!
increase!the!school!size!by!33.4%,!we!expect!to!have!an!increase!in!the!level!of!the!Technical!
Efficiency.! Moving! to! linear! regression! analysis,! the! school! size! is! not! a! factor! that! can!
statistically!predict!efficiency!(F1,27!=!3,393,!p!=!0.076>!0.05).!More!specifically,!the!size!of!the!
educational! unit! does! not! significantly! affect! the! Technical! Efficiency! (t! =! 1.842,! p! =! 0.076>!
0.05).!International!research!results!are!varied!concerning!the! “school! size”!factor!and!Barro!
and!Lee!(2001)!report!the!school!performance!and!therefore!the!efficiency!of!the!school!units!
are! directly! related! to! the! input! level! of! the! school! unit! and! in! particular! to! the! size! of! the!
school!unit.!In! a! similar!study!by!Bradley,!Johnes,!and!Millingto!(2001),! the! school! unit! size!
seems!to!have!a!strong!impact!on!the!efficiency!of!the!school!as!modern!and!large!schools!in!
the!urban!centers!have!a!higher!level!of!efficiency!than!those!in!rural!areas!and!smaller!in!size.!
Meunier!(2008)!reports!that!the!level!of!efficiency!increases!as!the!size!of! the!unit!increases,!
explaining!that!as!the!number!of!students!increases!in!an!educational!unit,!it!is!possible!to!save!
financial! resources!in! specific!spending! categories! to! the!point!of!ideal! size!unit.! Kirjavainen!
and!Loikkanen!(1998)!report!that!the!level!of!efficiency!is!less!related!to!the!size!of!the!school!
unit! and! more! to! class! size.! Bradley,! Johnes,!and! Millington! (2001)! report! that! educational!
units!that!have!increased!their!size!have!seen!their!students’!school!performance!improve!over!
time.!In!another! Haug! and! Blackburn!(2013)!survey!conducted! in!Australia,!the! efficiency!of!
secondary!school!schools!in!the!New!South!Wales!region!is!being!studied!and!the!second!level!
of! analysis! found! that! the! size! of! the! training! unit! is! a! factor! that! positively! affects! school!
performance!and!increases!levels!of!school!efficiency.!!
!
I'0#$'"H()]-03%+%#0;%*.()
In!the!present!study,! the!linear!regression!analysis! revealed! that!the!model!of!efficiency!with!
independent! variable! the! teacher’s! qualifications! is! not! statistically! significant.! More!
specifically,!in!the!!linear!regression!analysis!“teachers'!qualifications”!is!not!a!factor!that!can!
statistically! predict! efficiency! (F4,24!=! 0,833,! p! =! 0,517>! 0.05).! The! qualifications! of! teachers!
holding!a!Postgraduate! Diploma! do! not! have! a! significant! effect! on! Technical! Efficiency! (t! =!
1.182,! p! =! (t! =! 1.453,! p! =! 0.149>! 0.05),! and! the! qualifications!of! teachers! holding! a! second!
degree!do!not!have!a!significant!impact!on!the!Technical!Efficiency!(t!=!1.236,!p!=!0.228!<!0.05).!!
Regarding! teacher’s! qualifications,! Rivkin,! Hanushek,!and!Kain!(2005)!report!that!the!role!of!
teachers! is! central! and! particularly! important! as! their! quality! and! skills! determine! the!

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students’!school!and!learning!experience.!However,!the!assessment!of!quality!is!not!an!easy!
process,! and! the! most! frequently! occurring! variables! in! the! bibliography! related! to! this!
assessment! are! the! teachers'! educational! qualifications,! years! of! service! and! their! salary.!
According!to!Kirjavainen!(2009),!Hanushek!E.!(2003)!reports!that!in!most!studies!conducted,!
the! educational! level! and! teachers'! qualifications! were! not! a! statistically! significant! factor.!
However,! in! some! researches,! such! as! those! of! Goldhader! and! Anthony! (2007),! student!
performance!in!assessment! tests! appears! to!be! higher! in! the! case! of!students! with! teachers!
who! have! higher! educational! qualifications.! Finally,! Rivkin,! Hanushek,! and! Kain! (2005)!
conclude! that! the! observed! influence! of! educational! qualifications! may! have! been! relatively!
small! in! the! study! of! efficiency,! yet! the! contribution! of! teachers! to! the! whole! educational!
process!is!particularly!important.!
!
I'0#$'"H()'VC'"%'.#')
The!variable!“Teacher’s!experience”!of!each!school!unit'!is! a! statistically!significant!factor!in!
Technical!Efficiency.!In!particular,!teacher’s!service!years!have!a!positive!effect!on!Technical!
Efficiency! and! linear! regression! analysis! has! shown! that! the! model! with! an! independent!
variable,!the!years!of!service!of!teachers!can!predict!the!technical!efficiency!of!the!school!units.!
The! correlation! coefficient! between! the! teachers'! service! years! and! the! technical! efficiency,!
was!found!to!be!0.504,!proving!a!positive!correlation!between!these!two! variables,!which!is!
statistically!significant!(p!=!0.005!<0.05).!At!linear!regression!analysis,!teachers'!experience!is!a!
factor! that! can! statistically! predict! efficiency! (F1,27! =! 9.188,! p!=! 0.005!<0.05).!(β! =!0.008,!t!=!
3.031,!p!=!0.005!<0.05,!c!=!0.781),!so!the!linear!regression!model!is!important!in!explaining!the!
variability! with! a! factor! of!determination!R2!=! 0.504.! As! shown!in! the!following!function,!an!
increase!in!one!year's!service!life!will!increase!the!Technical!Efficiency!by!0.008.!
!
TE%!=!0.008!*!Years!of!service!+!0.781!
!
As! reported! by! Hanushek! (2003),! the! Teacher’s! experience! variable,! referring! to! years! of!
service,!the!majority!of!researches!show!a!positive!correlation!with!the!efficiency!of!the!school!
units! and! even! statistically! significant,! indicating!that! teachers! with! more! experience! can!
contribute!positively! to! school!efficiency.!On!the!other!hand,!the!average!number! of!years!of!
service!provided!by!teachers!in!a!Haug!and!Blackburn!(2013)!study!did!not!show!statistically!
significant! correlation! with! school! efficiency.! In! the! present!study,! this! positive! influence! of!
teacher! service! years! on! school! efficiency! can! be! interpreted! with! the!help! of! the! Teacher!
Career! Model! (Huberman,! 1995).! As! reported! in! Day! (2003),! Huberman! developed! an!
empirical!model!of!the!teacher's!career!cycle!which!indicates!that!teachers!spend!five!general!
phases!during!their!careers.!The!first!phase!(1!to!3!years!of!service)!is!referred!to!as!the!entry!
into!the!profession,!where!the!teacher!tries!to!survive!in!the!new!professional!space!and!create!
his/her! own! social! reality.! The! second! phase! (4! to! 6! years! of! service)! is! the! phase! of!
stabilization,!the!sense!of!maturity,!and!ultimately!the!integration!of!the!teacher!into!the!group!
of!colleagues.!The!third!phase!(7!to!18!years!of!service),!which!is!the!phase! of!the!training!of!
most! educational! units! with! high! technical! efficiency! in! this! study,! is! the! phase! of! new!
challenges.!This! phase!is!a! period! in! which!it!is! likely! that!many! teachers! will!be!looking!for!
new!challenges,!taking!on!new!responsibilities!and!stepping!up!their!efforts!for!promotion!and!
development.! In! this! context,! the! positive! influence! of! teacher! service! years! on! school!
efficiency,! which! is! found! in! this! dissertation,! can! be! interpreted! by! the! fact! that! most!
educational! units! with! high! technical! efficiency! have! an! average! service! life! for! teachers!
between! the! ages! of! 7! and! 18! (third! phase).! Thus,! during! this! time! of! looking! for! new!
challenges!and!opportunities,!it!seems!that!teachers!can!make!a!positive!contribution!to!school!
performance!and!consequently!to!school!efficiency.!With!regard!to!the!fourth!phase!(19!to!30!
years! of! service),! the! teacher! reaches! a! top-level! professional! level! with! the! basic!

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characteristics!of!reduced!levels!of!energy!and!enthusiasm.!The!fifth!and!last!phase!(31!to!40!
years! of! service)! of! the! teachers'! career! cycle! is! referred! to! as! a! conservative! phase! where!
teachers!are!skeptical!of!any!change,!waiting!for!a!'serene'!closure!of!their!professional!circle.!!
!
9'")(;-N'.;)'VC'.('()
The!average!level!of!operating!costs!per!student!of!secondary!school!teachers!in!the!Region!of!
Western!Macedonia!is!105.99!€!per! year!with!a!standard!deviation!of!35!€.!Higher!operating!
costs!per!student! appearing!in!a!secondary!education!unit!in!the!Western!Macedonia!Region!
are! 201.92! €,! while! the! lower! operating! costs! per! student! are! 39.09! €.! The! correlation!
coefficient! between! per! student! expenditure! and! technical! efficiency! was! found! to! be! 0.183,!
meaning!that!there!was!no!correlation!between!these!two!variables!(p!=!0.170>!0.05).!In!linear!
regression!analysis,!the!cost!per!student!is!not!a!factor!that!can!statistically!predict!efficiency!
(F1,27! =! 0,940,! p! =! 0,341>! 0.05).! More! specifically,! expenditure! per! student! does! not!
significantly!affect!the!Technical!Efficiency!(t!=!0.969,!p!=!0.341>!0.05).!Regarding!educational!
costs,!according!to!the!international!literature!(Fabrino,!Valle,!&!Gomes,!2014),!the!relationship!
between! public! spending! and! educational! outcomes!has!been!the! subject!of!researches!!that!
compare! the! performance! of! different! educational! units,! taking! into! account! economic! and!
social!factors.!As!Kirjavainen!(2009)!points!out!in!terms!of!educational!policy,!the!influence!of!
education!spending!on!student!performance!and!subsequent!success!in!the!labor!market!is!a!
factor! that! has! been! extensively! studied! in! the! international! literature.! The! most! common!
assumption!is!that!additional!resources!promote!and!support!the!learning!process.!This!study!
of!the!influence!of!educational!spending!begins!in!1966!from!Coleman's!first!research!(1966),!
and!since! then!the!research!results!are!mixed.!Hanushek! E.!(2003),!a!study!of!similar!studies,!
concludes! that! in! the! majority! of! studies! the! educational! expenditures! did! not! affect! school!
performance!and!consequently!school!efficiency!as!opposed!to!Hedges!and!Greenwald!(1996),!
which!resulted!in!the!very!opposite!result.!In!the!present!study,!the!operating!costs!per!student!
of!a!training!unit!do!not!appear!to!be!a!statistically!significant!factor!as!they!do!not!significantly!
affect! the! Technical! Efficiency.! More! specifically,! the! performance! prediction! model! with! an!
independent!variable!operating!costs!per!student!is!not!able!to!predict!statistically!significant!
Technical! Efficiency.! Levin! (2001)! argues! that! in! economic! analyzes! it! is! important! to! take!
these!costs!into!account,!since!there!is!also!a!"significant!cost!of!opportunity!for!lost!productive!
benefits!when!one!receives!education!and!training!rather!than!being!in!some!other!productive!
work."! This! may! need! to! be! taken! into! account! both! by! education! economists! and! by!
politicians,! because! this! has! a! direct! bearing! on! and! affects! the! efficiency! of! education!
programs.!
!
Q<9)C'")#0C%;0!!
The! GDP! per! capita! of! the! Region! of! Western! Macedonia! for! 2015! amounts! to! 15652€.!
Considering! the! correlation! between! GDP! per! capita! and! Technical! efficiency,! there! is! no!
statistically!significant!correlation!between!the!two!variables!(p!=!0.242>!0.05!and!R!=!0.135)!
showing! correlation! analysis! between! GDP! per! capita! and! Technical! efficiency.! In! the! linear!
regression!analysis,!however,!there!is!no!statistically!significant!effect!of!the!GDP!per!capita!on!
predicting!school!efficiency!(F1,27!=!0.502,!p!=!0.485>!0.05).!The!GDP!per!capita!of!the!school!
area! in! the! Oliveira! and! Santos! research! (2005)!appeared! as! a! factor! that! did! not! affect! the!
technical!efficiency!of!the!school!unit,!as!opposed!to!Afonso!and!Aubyn!(2006)!who!identified!
the!significant!association!of!the!area's!GDP!per!capita!the!school!unit!and!the!educational!level!
of!the!area!where!the!school!unit!is!located!with!school!efficiency.!In!particular,!they!report!
that! areas! with! higher! GDP! per! capita! and! more! cultured! people! show! higher! school!
performance! and! higher! school! efficiency.! In! the! case! of! the! Region! of! Western! Macedonia,!
there!is!no!significant!correlation!between!the!area!of!the!school!unit!and!the!educational!level!

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of! the! area! where! the! school! unit! is! located! with! school! efficiency.!At! the! second! level! of!
analysis,! the! Afonso! and! Aubyn! (2006)! study,! explaining! the! reasons! why! some! countries!
lagged! in! school! efficiency,! conclude! that! the! low! GDP! per! capita! of! some! countries! has! a!
negative!impact!on!school!efficiency,!unlike!other!countries!with!higher!GDP!per!capita.!!
!
FN-#0;%*.03)3'&'3)*+)'0#$)(#$**3H()0"'0!
The!correlation!coefficient!that!emerged!between!the!Educational!level!of!the!people!living!in!
the! school! area! and! Technical! Efficiency! is! very! low! (R! =! 0.016)! and! is! not! statistically!
significant,!therefore!there!is! no! correlation!between!these!two! variables!(p!=!0.467>!0.05).!
The! linear! regression! analysis! revealed! that! the! predictive! model! of! efficiency! with! an!
independent! variable! the! educational! level! of! the! training! unit! area! is! not! statistically!
significant! (F1,27! =! 0,007,! p! =! 0,934>! 0.05).! Regarding! the! educational! level! factor! of! the!
residents! of! the! school! area,! in! the! research! by! Bessent,! Bessent,! Kennington! and! Reagan!
(1982),! the! educational! level! of! the! parents! appears! to! have! a! positive! effect! on! school!
efficiency.! An! important! element! of! this! research! is! the! fact! that! it! also! shows! the! room! for!
improvement!of!each!country!in!terms!of! educational!efficiency!without!requiring!additional!
inflows,! which! is! a! priority! of! all! countries! (Bessent,! Bessent,! Kennington,! &! Reagan,! 1982).!
Also,!Haug!and!Blackburn,!(2013)!report!that!the!area!in! which!the!school!unit!is!located!and!
the! percentage! of! students! with! low! socio-economic! background! appear! to! have! a! negative!
impact!on!school!efficiency.!In!particular,!schools!located!in!the!province!or!in!rural!areas!away!
from! metropolitan! centers! displayed! lower! levels! of! school! efficiency.! Also! low! levels! of!
efficiency! were! also! found! in! schools!located!in!areas!of!low! social! and! economic!level.!The!
research!findings!of!Haug!and!Blackburn!in!their!study!were!influenced!by!education!policy!in!
Australia,! as! the! reforms! promoted! by! the! Ministry! of! Education! in! 2013! were! based! on!
analyzes! of! rational! use! of! inputs! from! the! educational! process! and! the! assignment! of! more!
sophisticated! authority! in! local! government! education! (Haug! &! Blackburn,! 2013).! In! the!
present! study,! the! prediction! model! of! efficiency! in! the! linear! regression! analysis! with! an!
independent! variable! the! educational! level! of! the! area! of! the! educational! unit! can! not!
statistically!predict!the!technical!efficiency.!
!
R.'BC3*JB'.;)"0;')
According! to! the! Hellenic! Statistical! Authority! (ELSTAT),! the! average! annual! unemployment!
rate! for! the! Region! of! Western! Macedonia! for! 2016! was! 34.5%.! The! correlation! coefficient!
between!the!2016!unemployment!rate!and!the!efficiency,!was!found!to!be!0.377,!proving!a!low!
positive!correlation!between!these!two!variables,!which!is!statistically!significant!(p!=!0.029!<!
0.05).! However,! moving! to! the! linear! regression! analysis! level,! the! unemployment! rate! for!
2016!is!not!a!factor!that!can!statistically!significant!predict!technical!efficiency!(F1,24!=!3,966,!p!
=!0,058>!0,05).!More!specifically,!the!unemployment!rate!for!2016!does!not!significantly!affect!
the!Technical!Efficiency!(t!=!3.228,!p!=!0.058>!0.05).!Regarding!the!level!of!unemployment!in!
the!school!area,!the!results!of!the!Bradley,!Johnes,!&!Millington!(2001)!survey!show!that!the!
high! rate! of! unemployment! shows! a! positive! correlation! with! school! efficiency,! yet! the!
researchers!report!the!reservations!related!to!this!factor.!!
!
<?DORDD?>7))
Results!from!the!first!stage!analysis!show!that!4!out!of!the!29!educational!units!in!each!of!the!5!
DEA!models! were! characterized!as!technical! efficient!units.! These!units! became!benchmarks!
for! all! the! others! with! lower! efficiency.! Furthermore,! for! each! model,! information! on! the!
possible!slacks!of!the!inputs!and!the!possible!projection!of!the!outputs!was!analyzed.!The!first!
stage!analysis!showed!that!the!average!technical!efficiency!of!secondary!schools!in!Western!
Macedonia!for! the!school!year!2015-16!is!quite!high.!Of!the!5!models!tested,!with!a!different!
input!and!output!combination,!it!emerged!that!on!average,!4!educational!units!in!the!total!of!29!

Stergiou, K., & Tsakiridou, H. (2019). Measuring the impact of Socio-Economic Factors on school’s Technical Efficiency. Archives of Business
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in!each!analysis!model!had!a!level!of!Technical!Efficiency!reaching!100%,!creating!an!optimum!
result!for!the!other!educational!units!with!lower!efficiency!levels.!The!results!of!the!Technical!
Efficiency!analysis,!using!output-oriented!VRS!DEA!models,!show!that!despite!the!high!average!
level! of! technical! efficiency! between! secondary! education! units,! there! are! significant!
differences!in!several!educational!units.!This!result!is!in!line!with!international!literature!and!
research!such!as!that!of!Di!Giacomo!and!Pennisi!(2015)!as!significant!differences!in!the!level!of!
technical! efficiency! of! educational! units! in! the! region! of! Western! Macedonia! have! been!
identified,! due! to! either! the! immediate! environment! or! the! wider! social! environment! of!
educational!units!(Tsakiridou!&!Stergiou,!2013).!!
!
In!the!second!stage!analysis,!results!from!regression!analysis!show!that!from!the!independent!
variables,!from!the!direct!school!environment,!teachers’!experience!significantly!affects!school!
efficiency! while! teacher’s! qualifications,! school! size! and! per! student! expenses! do! not! affect!
school!efficiency!of!secondary!education!units!in!the!region!of!Western!Macedonia.!Concerning!
the! variables! from! the! wider! social! environment,! GDP! per! capita,! unemployment! rate! and!
educational! level! in! each! school’s! area! didn’t! show! a! statistically! significant! effect! on! the!
technical!efficiency!of!the!educational!units.!!
!
Results! of! this! study! show! that! factors! that! are! not! under! the! supervision! of! the! education!
system!and!even!more!of!the!educational!unit!are!likely!to!affect!school!efficiency.!This!means!
that! apart! from! the! initiatives! at! the! level! of! the! educational! unit! and! more! generally! at! the!
level!of!education!system,!it!is!necessary!to!take!measures!that!concern!the!improvement!and!
development!of!the!wider!social!environment!with!which!each!educational!unit!interacts.!Such!
policies!need!to!be!developed!mainly!at!local!and!regional!level,!as!the!geographic,!social!and!
economic!characteristics!of!each!region!have!very!wide!variations!and!differences,!so!each!case!
should! be! addressed! with! the! necessary! care! and! the! corresponding! needs.! This,! of! course,!
implies!a!more!holistic!approach!to!the!concept!of!the!educational!process,!which!should!be!
treated!as!a!dynamic!process!that!is!constantly!changing!and!is!called!to!meet!different!needs!
each!time.!
!
It!is!not!enough!for!an!education!system!to!be!efficient!if!it!is!not!effective.!An!education!system!
that!educates!and!prepares!future!citizens!who!develop!knowledge!and!skills!that!do!not!meet!
labor! market! needs! leads! young! people! to! unemployment! and! the! education! system! to! be!
ineffective.!This!gains!even!greater!weight!and!is!in!direct!correlation!with!the!results!of!large!
surveys!since!the!unemployment!factor!in!the!social!environment!of!educational!units!seems!to!
affect!educational!efficiency.!In!the!present!study,!unemployment!in!the!area!of!the!school!unit!
may!not!have!been!able!to!predict!technical!efficiency!as!an!independent!variable!in!the!linear!
regression!model,!however,!it!has! shown!a!statistically!significant!correlation!with!technical!
efficiency.! Moreover,!the!unemployment! factor!was! one!of!the!main! reasons!for!choosing!the!
Region! of! Western! Macedonia! as! a! study! area,! which! is! plagued! by! the! phenomenon! of!
unemployment! and,! in! particular,! of! youth! unemployment,! so! it! is! likely! to! be! a! factor! for!
further!analysis.!
!
A!limitation!of!this! study! is! that! there! was! a!factor!that!could! not! be! estimated!which!is!the!
potential!effect!of!‘tutoring!courses'!on!school!efficiency.!Teaching!outside!school!with!private!
tutoring! courses! is! a! particular! feature! of! the! Greek! education! system! as! the! majority! of!
secondary!school! students! attend !such! c ourses! t o! enhance! cognitive! skills.! It! is! thus! a! factor!
which!is!likely!to!affect!students'!performance!at!school!and,!consequently,!school!efficiency,!
but!which!cannot!be!easily!estimated!as!many!of!these!courses!are!under! "shadow!economy"!
so!they!cannot!be!investigated.!

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