'Where there is a will, there is a way': Belief in school meritocracy and the social-class achievement gap.

Meritocratic ideology can promote system justification and the perpetuation of inequalities. The present research tests whether priming merit in the school context enhances the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) on school achievement. French fifth graders read a text priming either school merit or a neutral content, reported their French and mathematics self-efficacy as well as their belief in school meritocracy (BSM), and then took French and mathematics tests.

Belief in school meritocracy as a system-justifying tool for low status students.

The belief that, in school, success only depends on will and hard work is widespread in Western societies despite evidence showing that several factors other than merit explain school success, including group belonging (e.g., social class, gender).