TRENDS IN EDUCATION AND YOUTH TRANSITIONS ACROSS BRITAIN 1984-2002

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

Journal: Conference: Education and Social Change: England, Wales and Scotland 1984-2002
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Tags:: #paper #Transition #school-to-work
Cite Key:: [@Croxford]

Abstract

This paper 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 brings together findings of an ESRC-funded research project entitled Education and Youth Transitions in England, Wales and Scotland 1984-2002 (the EYT project). It considers trends that were common throughout Britain, and considers the extent to which these varied across the national territories: a ‘Home International’ comparison. England, Wales and Scotland have different, though interdependent, education systems for which there has been progressive devolution of responsibility during the last two decades, and there may be increased divergence following the creation of the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales in 1999 (Raffe et al, 1999). A further comparison is provided of trends in the north and south of England, since there are important regional differences in socioeconomic context.

Notes

“This paper 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.” (Croxford et al., p. 1)

“The early 1980s, in which the youth cohort surveys were initiated, were characterised by sharp falls in the demand for minimum-age low-qualified school leavers, and consequent development of government sponsored youth training programmes to address the problems of youth unemployment. The period saw a radical changes in the youth labour market coupled with increasing participation in post-16 education (Furlong and Cartmel, 1997).” (Croxford et al., p. 2)

“An increasing proportion of the work force are engaged in “white collar” jobs, and within their ranks the growing number of managers and professionals reflect the increasingly complex division of labour based on scientific and capital-intensive technology (Halsey, 2000).” (Croxford et al., p. 2)

“The reorganisation of schools on comprehensive lines from 1965-80, although contested and incomplete in England, was an important step in reducing social class barriers in education in Scotland (McPherson and Willms, 1987).” (Croxford et al., p. 2)

“During the 1980s and 1990s there have been increasing opportunities for women in education and the labour market, following the reduction of barriers by the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act and other successes of feminism (Arnot et al, 1999).” (Croxford et al., p. 3)

“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).” (Croxford et al., p. 4)

“Creation of quasi-markets in education, including greater parental choice of school from 1980. Performance indicators for schools were published from 1992.” (Croxford et al., p. 5)

“New systems of assessment and certification at age 16, providing appropriate awards for pupils of all levels of attainment. The systems of examination in place at the beginning of the 1980s had been designed to cater for the top third of the ability range, and were not appropriate for all students.” (Croxford et al., p. 5)

“The introduction in 1986 of the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in England and Wales and Scottish Certificate of Education (SCE) Standard Grade in Scotland provided systems of certification for a much wider range of abilities, and thus provided greater motivation for students (Ashford et al, 1993; Gamoran 1996).” (Croxford et al., p. 5)

“Curriculum change. The introduction of a common curriculum framework in Scotland from 1983, and National Curriculum in England and Wales following the 1988 ERA may to some extent have created a curriculum entitlement that reduced inequalities by gender and social class (Croxford, 1996, 2000).” (Croxford et al., p. 5)

“New qualifications for post-compulsory stages. In England and Wales the main academic post-compulsory qualification is Advanced (A) level which is taken over two years, with students needing at least two A-level passes for entry to Higher Education. In Scotland the SCE Higher Grade is usually taken over one year, in which students take up to five subjects, although 3+ Higher Grade passes are the notional equivalent of the 2+ A-levels needed for entry to Higher Education.” (Croxford et al., p. 5)

“New types of vocational qualifications were introduced (and modified) in the 1980s and 90s in response to the perceived need to raise skill levels in Britain, to improve its economic competitiveness and to provide appropriate opportunities for the increasing proportion of the cohort staying on in full-time education.” (Croxford et al., p. 5)

“new type of work-based qualification based on” (Croxford et al., p. 5)

“occupational standards – National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) – and its Scottish equivalent (SVQ) - was introduced from 1986.” (Croxford et al., p. 6)

“When the Scottish equivalent of GNVQs was introduced in 1992, they lacked the clear client group that existed for GNVQs. National Certificate modules were subsumed within the unified system of academic and vocational qualifications in 1999.” (Croxford et al., p. 6)

“Government-supported training. Government sponsored training originated in programmes set up in the late 1970s in response to increasing levels of youth unemployment. The Youth Training Scheme (YTS) introduced in 1983, was the first of a series of national programmes that went beyond this, aiming to provide 16-18 year olds with integrated programmes of work experience and training.” (Croxford et al., p. 6)

“Expansion of participation in Higher Education (HE). Since the 1980s there has been a period of rapid expansion in HE, and in 1992 the former polytechnics and “old” universities were brought into a single system.” (Croxford et al., p. 6)

“In the mid-1980s, over 40% of young people did not achieve any examination passes by age 16, 58% left education as soon as they could legally do so at the end of compulsory schooling, and over half felt that school had done little to prepare them for life after school” (Croxford et al., p. 7)

“By the end of the 1990s the proportion with no exam success was halved and over half of the cohort attained 5+ awards at A-C.” (Croxford et al., p. 7)

“The school to work transition changed dramatically over the 1980s and 1990s. At the start of the 1980s the majority of young people entered the labour market at age 16, although jobs were becoming scarce and unemployment rising. Government-supported youth training programmes were the main labour market activity for young people in the 1986 cohort, especially young men. By the late 1990s the flow of entrants to the labour market aged 16-18 was greatly reduced, as more young people remained in full-time education for longer periods.” (Croxford et al., p. 7)

“The sharp decline in low attainment between the 1986 and 1988 cohorts is undoubtedly the impact of the introduction of new examination systems throughout Britain that were designed to encompass a wide range of ability.” (Croxford et al., p. 9)

“Our measure of post-16 participation is based on responses to questions about main activity in the spring approximately nine months after the end of compulsory schooling. Throughout Britain, overall levels of participation rose sharply until 1992-3, and then remained steady through the 1990s (Figure 5).” (Croxford et al., p. 10)

“Thus the overall increase in post-16 participation is partly, but not wholly, explained by rising levels of attainment in compulsory schooling.” (Croxford et al., p. 10)

“Figure 10: Main activity at age 18 of young people who stayed in education at age 16” (Croxford et al., p. 14)

“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).” (Croxford et al., p. 15)

“This relative stability in the occupational destinations of young men contrasts with the picture of dramatic structural change painted by the contemporary literature on the youth labour market. This described a “collapse” of youth employment in craft and related occupations (Ashton et al, 1990; Elias and McKnight, 1998)” (Croxford et al., p. 15)

“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.” (Croxford et al., p. 16)

“Figure 12 shows that overall levels achievement of a qualification at NQF level 3 by age 18 increased substantially over the 1980s and 1990s.” (Croxford et al., p. 16)

“Over the 1980s and 1990s an increasing proportion of young people throughout Britain entered HE courses (degree and sub-degree) by age 188 (Figure 14).” (Croxford et al., p. 17)