Patterns of participation in full-time education after 16: An analysis of the England and Wales Youth Cohort study

(2001) - Joan Payne, Great Britain, Department for Education and Skills

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Tags:: #paper #Attainment #YCS #Gender #Ethnicity #SocialClass #Education
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Abstract

Although the proportion of young people in England and Wales who stayed on in fulltime education after age 16 rose rapidly from the late 1980s up until the mid 1990s, it then fell back a little. Though now growing again, staying on rates have not yet regained their previous high point. Thus this report aims to identify the groups of young people amongst whom there is still scope for increasing educational participation. It also explores the further choices that young people must make when starting Year 12, about which courses to take and where to study. It shows how these choices relate not only to results in Year 11 GCSEs, but also to sex, ethnicity and home background. Raising levels of participation in post-compulsory full-time education is of course not a sensible policy goal if it creates high rates of wastage. Thus a further aim of the report is to estimate retention rates for different groups of young people and to explore the factors that encourage retention. The report also provides some information on 16 year old school leavers who return to full-time education during the following two or three years. The report is based on the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study (YCS), a regular survey which tracks very large nationally representative samples of young people between the ages of 16 and 19 by means of postal surveys and telephone interviews. The report draws particularly on YCS Cohort 9, which reached minimum school leaving age in summer 1997, and YCS Cohort 10, which reached minimum leaving age in summer 1999.

Notes

“Between the late 1980s and the mid 1990s, staying on rates in full-time education grew rapidly.” (Payne et al., 2001, p. 8)

“growth was matched by falls in the proportion of young people who went straight into full-time jobs or entered government-supported training (GST).” (Payne et al., 2001, p. 8)

“GCSE results improved most during the period when staying-on rates in full-time education were rising fastest, but they continued to improve, though at a slower rate, after staying-on rates had levelled off. Throughout the period, girls achieved better GCSE results than boys, and this sex gap still shows no sign of narrowing.” (Payne et al., 2001, p. 9)

“Comprehensive schools with sixth forms tended to have better GCSE results than comprehensive schools without sixth forms, and the gap remained constant throughout the 1990s” (Payne et al., 2001, p. 9)

“Young people of Indian origin did on average much better in GCSEs than white students, while young black people and those of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin did much worse. Young people of other ethnic origins (including Chinese) also tended to have very good results. YCS data give no indication that differences in GCSE results between ethnic groups have narrowed over the last decade.” (Payne et al., 2001, p. 9)

“Four-fifths of 16/17 year olds who were in full-time education in spring 1998 were still full-time students twelve month later. Statistical modelling, controlling for a range of relevant factors, showed that better GCSE results strongly increased the probability of staying to the end of Year 13.” (Payne et al., 2001, p. 12)

“Only 6% of young people who were not in full-time education at age 16/17 had returned to full-time education 12 months later, as also had 6% of young people who were not in full-time education at age 17/18. It appeared that most went back in order to take vocational courses at FE college.” (Payne et al., 2001, p. 13)