BIS RESEARCH PAPER NUMBER 229

BIS RESEARCH PAPER NUMBER 229

Understanding progression into higher education for disadvantaged and under-represented groups

NOVEMBER 2015

A report by CFE Research for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)

Authors: Lindsey Bowes, Research Director, CFE Research Dr James Evans, Research Manager, CFE Research Tej Nathwani, Economist, CFE Research Dr Guy Birkin, Senior Research Executive Andy Boyd, ALSPAC Data Linkage & Information Security Manager, University of Bristol Dr Craig Holmes, CFE Associate / Research Fellow SKOPE Professor Liz Thomas, CFE Associate Dr Stephen Jones, CFE Associate

Prepared by: CFE Research Phoenix Yard, Upper Brown Street, Leicester LE1 5TE 0116 229 3300 .uk

Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (also known as `Children of the 90s') School of Social and Community Medicine University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol, BR8 2BN 0117 331 0033

The views expressed in this report are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Acknowledgements

This research was commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and was undertaken by CFE Research and Associates in partnership with the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. The authors are grateful to the following for their ongoing support and guidance: Jane Carr, BIS Susanna Greenwood, BIS Charles Ritchie, BIS Shabbir Zavery, BIS Paul Rasch, BIS Victoria Chapman, BIS Helen Evans, DfE We would particularly like to thank the parents and young people from the Children of the 90s study, who were kind enough to give up their time to participate in the focus groups and depth interviews.

3

Contents

Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 9 About this Report ........................................................................................................................ 9 Background to the research ........................................................................................................ 9 Method ...................................................................................................................................... 10 (i) Literature Review .......................................................................................................... 10 (ii) Secondary data analysis ............................................................................................... 10 (iii) Primary Qualitative Research ....................................................................................... 10 Key findings .............................................................................................................................. 10 Role of attitudes and aspirations in the decision making process .......................................... 11 When decisions about participation in higher education are made ........................................ 11 Key influencing factors on decision making ........................................................................... 13 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 15

1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 17 1.1 Project Background.......................................................................................................... 17 1.2 Research Aims and Objectives ........................................................................................ 18 1.3 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 19 1.3.1 Review of existing literature ....................................................................................... 19 1.3.2 Secondary data analysis............................................................................................ 19 1.3.3 Primary Qualitative Research .................................................................................... 20 1.4 Structure of this Report .................................................................................................... 22

2 Trends in Higher Education Participation ......................................................................... 23 2.1 Current Patterns of Participation and Progression............................................................ 23 2.2 Socioeconomic Status...................................................................................................... 24

4

2.3 Gender............................................................................................................................. 25 2.4 Ethnicity ........................................................................................................................... 26 2.5 Intersection between socioeconomic status, gender and ethnicity.................................... 28

2.5.1 Gender and socioeconomic status ............................................................................. 28 2.5.2 Ethnicity and socioeconomic status ........................................................................... 28 2.5.3 Ethnicity and Gender ................................................................................................. 28 2.5.4 Gender, socioeconomic status and ethnicity .............................................................. 29 2.6 Factors affecting Progression to Higher Education........................................................... 29 3 Analysis of the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England.................................... 31 3.1 The Longitudinal Study of Young People in England........................................................ 31 3.2 Our Measure of Disadvantage.......................................................................................... 32 3.3 Descriptive statistics......................................................................................................... 33 3.3.1 The dependent variable ............................................................................................. 33 3.3.2 Pupil attainment ......................................................................................................... 34 3.3.3 The attitude and aspirations of young people............................................................. 35 3.3.4 The activities of young people at age 16-17............................................................... 43 3.3.5 Aspirations and attitudes of disadvantaged White young people who applied to university............................................................................................................................... 45 3.3.6 The attitude and aspirations of parents ...................................................................... 45 3.4 Econometric analysis ....................................................................................................... 47 3.4.1 Model One: Demographic and Family Characteristics Only ....................................... 49 3.4.2 Model 2: The Introduction of Schools Characteristics ................................................ 49 3.4.3 Model 3: The Introduction of Attitude and Aspiration Variables .................................. 49 3.4.4 Model 4: The Introduction of Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 Attainment ..................... 50 3.5 Summary ......................................................................................................................... 50

5

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download