Education and youth transitions across Britain 1984-2002

(2006) - Linda Croxford, Marina Shapira, David Raffe, Cristina Iannelli

Journal: University of Edinburgh. Centre for Educational Sociology (CES)
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Tags:: #paper #Attainment #Transition #school-to-work #YCS
Cite Key:: [@croxfordEducationYouthTransitions2006]

Abstract

This Briefing looks at broad trends in young people’s experiences of education during the 1980s and 1990s and locates them in the context of very considerable social, economic and policy change. It considers trends that were common throughout Britain, and also the extent to which these varied across the national territories. The findings come from an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded research project entitled Education and Youth Transitions in England, Wales and Scotland 1984-2002 (the EYT project).The empirical evidence about young people’s experiences comes from time-series data derived from the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study (YCS) and the Scottish School Leavers Surveys (SSLS).

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(14/03/2024, 15:50:28)

“Young people’s experiences of education have changed over the two decades: in the early 1980s more than half of 16-year olds stated that “School has done little to prepare me for life after school”, but the numbers feeling this way declined to just a third by 1999.” (Croxford et al., 2006, p. 1)

“Levels of participation in post-compulsory education increased dramatically between 1986 and 1992/3, especially among young people in the middle and lower attaining groups.” (Croxford et al., 2006, p. 1)

“Levels of attainment at the compulsory and post-compulsory stages have risen almost continuously over the two decades, with the attainment of young women rising more rapidly than that of young men.” (Croxford et al., 2006, p. 1)

“There were differences between the experiences of young people in Scotland compared with the rest of Britain - in particular, more young people achieved post-compulsory qualifications and entered higher education in Scotland than elsewhere.” (Croxford et al., 2006, p. 1)

“The different education system in Scotland was the key factor. The socio-economic context of Scotland was similar to that in the north of England and Wales, but attainment of post-compulsory qualifications and entry to HE were substantially higher in Scotland than in the south of England.” (Croxford et al., 2006, p. 1)

“A key difference between their school systems arises because in Wales and Scotland secondary schools are more comprehensive, and characterised by more social mixing compared with the diverse range of state schools in England (Croxford and Paterson forthcoming). In England the independent sector is larger than elsewhere in Britain and there are also more single-sex and “faith” schools. There were regional differences within England in the coverage of the comprehensive system, with 80% of young people in the south of England attending schools that were at least nominally comprehensive, compared with 90% in the north of England, 95% in Scotland and 98% in Wales.” (Croxford et al., 2006, p. 3)

“Table 13: Experiences of school and subsequent destinations of the 1986 and 1998/9 cohorts (%)” (Croxford et al., 2006, p. 4) replicate table

“Although there was a strong downward trend in the proportions of young people entering the labour market at age 16, the occupations they entered remained remarkably stable over the period (table not shown). Fifty percent of the young men who were in full-time jobs or training at age 16 were in craft and related occupations, and this proportion varied by no more than four percentage points until the 1998-9 cohort when it fell to 42%. There was a similar stable trend in the occupations of young men at age 18. Forty percent of the young men who were in full-time jobs or training at age 18 were in craft and related occupations, and this proportion fell gradually to 31 percent of the 1998-9 cohort (Shapira forthcoming).” (Croxford et al., 2006, p. 8) This is something I have to replicate. What type of occupations do 16 year olds enter into if they decide to leave education after the mandatory period?

“. Comparison of attainment over time is complicated by the introduction of new qualifications, and comparison across Britain is further complicated by differences in the structure of qualifications. In order to make these comparisons we have used the National Qualification Framework (NQF), and applied definitions of NQF levels retrospectively to the qualifications achieved by early cohorts. The NQF combines both academic and vocational qualifications, and level 3 includes A-levels, AS levels and SCE Higher Grade as well as level 3 vocational qualifications.” (Croxford et al., 2006, p. 9)