This paper presents an overview of teenagers’ aspirations for higher levels of education during the recent economic recession. We analyse the responses of 4899 young people aged 10 to 15, who participated in the UK Household Longitudinal Study in 2009-10. The timing of the survey is especially significant given the political emphasis on raising aspirations as a means to stimulate the economy. We consider the impact of gender, parental occupational class, parental educational background, family structure and parental attitudes towards education upon teenagers’ educational aspirations, and use multiple regression analyses to consider whether their effects are consistent across ethnic groups. Until now, only limited nationally representative data on young people’s aspirations have been available, especially in respect of ethnic differences. This research aims to fill that gap. It was undertaken as part of a wider study into the aspirations for living and learning among young people in the UK

Berrington, Ann

Roberts, Steven

Tammes, Peter

English

Southampton (e-Prints Soton)

www.cpc.ac.uk Improving our understanding of the key drivers and implications of population changeThis paper presents an overview of teenagers’ aspirations for higher levels of education during the recent economic recession. We analyse the responses of 4899 young people aged 10 to 15, who participated in the UK Household Longitudinal Study in 2009-10. The timing of the survey is especially significant given the political emphasis on raising aspirations as a means to stimulate the economy. We consider the impact of gender, parental occupational class, parental educational background, family structure and parental attitudes towards education upon teenagers’ educational aspirations, and use multiple regression analyses to consider whether their effects are consistent across ethnic groups. Until now, only limited nationally representative data on young people’s aspirations have been available, especially in respect of ethnic differences. This research aims to fill that gap. It was undertaken as part of a wider study into the aspirations for living and learning among young people in the UK.Educational aspirations among UK young teenagers: exploring the role of gender, class and ethnicityCPCcentre for population changeESRC Centre for Population Change l Briefing 21 l  November 2014Key Points•  Two thirds of all young teenagers express a positive aspiration to go to college / university.•  Boys are less likely than girls to aspire to go to college / university across all ethnic groups.•  We find significant differences in aspirations according to ethnicity.  White teenagers   consistently report the lowest aspirations, and Indian and Black teenagers report the highest level. •  Ethnic differences remain even when parental characteristics are taken into account. •  Teenagers living in families where neither parent is employed have the lowest aspirations for college / university, although for boys this group is very similar to boys from routine class backgrounds.•  Living with a parent who has a degree is particularly associated with positive aspirations for boys. •  Teenagers whose parents view A-levels / Highers as important are more likely to have higher educational aspirations.•  Family structure does not make a difference, except those living with two natural or adoptive parents are more likely to aspire to go to college / university than those living with no parents.Educational aspirations among UK young teenagers: exploring the role of gender, class and ethnicityESRC Centre for Population Change • Briefing 21IntroductionOne  key  indicator  of  young  people’s  aspirations for education is their reported desire to continue education  post-16.  Raising  these  aspirations has  remained  a  specific  concern  for  policy makers  across  the  political  spectrum.  Low aspirations have been referred to as a cause of the  UK’s  contemporary  social  and  economic ills,  with  a  policy  remedy  being  to  raise  these aspirations,  especially  the  aspirations  of  young people  from  poorer  households  and  ethnic minorities.  But  just  how  low  are  young  people’s aspirations  and  how  do  they  vary  by  ethnicity?    The study Administrative data has often been effectively used to  analyse  attainment  differences,  but  nationally representative data on young people’s aspirations have been scarce, especially in respect of ethnic differences.  Drawing on a wider ESRC study into the aspirations for living and learning among young people in the UK, we analyse the responses of 4899 young people aged 10 to 15 who participated in the UK Household Longitudinal Study, to present an up-to-date picture of teenagers’ aspirations for higher levels  of  education  during  the  recent  economic recession. This research sets out to answer three questions.  First,  do  boys’  and  girls’  aspirations to go to college or university differ by ethnicity? Second,  are  ethnic  differences  in  aspiration reduced after controlling for parental characteristics (specifically; parental occupational class, parental educational  background,  family  structure  and parental  attitudes)?  Third,  does  the  association between  parental  background  characteristics and  educational  aspirations  differ  by  ethnicity?  Main findings Young teens’ aspirations for college /  university are  relatively  high,  but  differ  by  gender  and also by ethnicityOverall, 66% of 10-15 year olds stated a positive aspiration  for  college  /  university  after  finishing school. Given that less than half of young people apply for higher education by age 19 (e.g. 44% in England  according  to  UCAS,  2013),  rather  than being  low,  as  implied  in  Government  rhetoric, individuals’  aspirations  for  education  remain relatively  high.  There  is  a  pronounced  and statistically significant gender gap in aspirations for higher levels of education.  58% of boys compared to  74%  of  girls  aspired  to  continue  in  full-time education in 2009-10.A  smaller  percentage  of  White  teenagers  (57% boys and 74% girls) hold an aspiration for higher levels of education compared to all other ethnic groups (Table 1). Aspirations are highest for Black (77% boys and 86% girls) and Indian young people (79% boys and 85% girls). A smaller percentage of boys have aspirations to go to college / university relative to girls within all ethnic groups (Table 1).   While  the  difference  between  White  boys  and White girls is large (around 17 percentage points) and  statistically  significant,  this  is  not  the  case for the difference between girls and boys in the minority ethnic groups where the gaps are much smaller (between 4 and 8 percentage points).   Aspirations  differ  according  to  parental occupational classFigure 1 shows a decline in educational aspirations when  comparing  those  from  managerial  and  Gender  Ethnicity  Percentage   95% Confidence Interval Lower       Upper Unweighted N Male  White  57.3  54.8  59.9  1620   Black  77.4  67.4  85.1  135  Indian  78.5  68.7  85.9  87  Pakistani  69.8  60.4  86.0  78  Bangladeshi  75.3  60.4  86.0  76  Other/mixed  65.8  57.5  73.3  166 Female  White  74.1  71.9  76.3  1597  Black  85.6  79.4  90.2  184  Indian  85.3  73.6  92.4  75  Pakistani  74.4  62.7  83.4  99  Bangladeshi  81.7  67.1  90.8  85  Other/mixed  73.1  63.7  80.7  153  Source: author’s analyses of UKHLS, 2009/10Table 1: Proportion of young teenagers with positive aspiration for college / university by gender and ethnic groupESRC Centre for Population Change • Briefing 21professional, intermediate and routine occupational class backgrounds in both boys and girls. However, aspirations remain higher for girls than for boys from  every  background,  for  example,  for  those from routine occupational backgrounds, just 50% of  boys  have  positive  educational  aspirations, compared  with  69%  of  girls.  In  addition,  Figure 1  suggests  that  the  parental  occupational  class gradient of aspirations is slightly steeper for boys (ranging from 67% to 50%) than for girls (ranging from 80% to 69%).   Respondents in households where  neither  parent  was  employed  have  the lowest ambitions for college / university (48% boys and 63% girls), although for boys this group is very similar  to  boys  from  routine  class  backgrounds.  Aspirations  differ  according  to  parental educationFor  boys,  having  at  least  one  parent  with a  degree  is  strongly  associated  with  high educational  aspirations,  with  74%  reporting positive  aspirations  (Figure  2).    Aspirations  are lower  in  all  other  categories,  ranging  from  59% for  parent(s)  with  A-level  qualifications  to  44% for those with no qualifications. For girls, there is a less steep educational differential: 83% of girls from  degree-educated  households  hold  positive aspirations,  compared  with  63%  girls  who  co-reside with parent(s) who have no qualifications.  Differences  in  aspiration  according  to  family structure are relatively smallWithin  gender,  the  percentage  aspiring  to  go on  to  college  /  university  is  relatively  similar according to family structure. Teenagers living in a two parent family where one parent is a step-parent  have  slightly  lower  aspirations  (53%  of boys  and  68%  girls)  than  teenagers  living  with two  natural  or  adoptive  parents  (61%  boys  and 76% girls), but the differences are not statistically significant.  The  main  and  only  statistically significant difference is between those living with two  parents  and  those  living  with  no  parents.  Boys’  and  girls’  own  educational  aspirations differ by parental attitudes towards educationA strong linear relationship is observed in respect of parental attitudes (Figure 3): 77% of girls whose parent(s) deem completing A-levels / Highers ‘very Figure 1: Positive aspiration for college / university among 10-15 year olds by gender and highest parental occupational class in household (percent)	 ﾠ30	 ﾠ40	 ﾠ50	 ﾠ60	 ﾠ70	 ﾠ80	 ﾠ90	 ﾠManagerial/	 ﾠProfessional	 ﾠIntermediate/Lower	 ﾠsupervisory	 ﾠSemi	 ﾠand	 ﾠrouBne	 ﾠNon-ﾭ‐employed	 ﾠOccupaBonal	 ﾠclass	 ﾠunknown	 ﾠManagerial/	 ﾠProfessional	 ﾠIntermediate/Lower	 ﾠsupervisory	 ﾠSemi	 ﾠand	 ﾠrouBne	 ﾠNon-ﾭ‐employed	 ﾠOccupaBonal	 ﾠclass	 ﾠunknown	 ﾠMale	 ﾠ Female	 ﾠFigure 2: Positive aspiration for college / university among 10-15 year olds by gender and current highest parental education level in household (percent)	 ﾠ30	 ﾠ40	 ﾠ50	 ﾠ60	 ﾠ70	 ﾠ80	 ﾠ90	 ﾠ100	 ﾠDegree	 ﾠ Other	 ﾠhigher	 ﾠA-ﾭ‐level	 ﾠ GCSE	 ﾠ Other	 ﾠquals	 ﾠNo	 ﾠquals	 ﾠDegree	 ﾠ Other	 ﾠhigher	 ﾠA-ﾭ‐level	 ﾠ GCSE	 ﾠ Other	 ﾠquals	 ﾠNo	 ﾠquals	 ﾠMales	 ﾠ Females	 ﾠSource: UKHLS, wave 1, 2009/10Source: UKHLS, wave 1, 2009/10Figure 3: Positive aspiration for college / university among 10-15 year olds by gender and parents attitudes towards A Levels / Highers (percent)Source: UKHLS, wave 1, 2009/10Educational aspirations among UK young teenagers: exploring the role of gender, class and ethnicity	 ﾠ20	 ﾠ30	 ﾠ40	 ﾠ50	 ﾠ60	 ﾠ70	 ﾠ80	 ﾠ90	 ﾠVery	 ﾠimportant	 ﾠ Important	 ﾠ Not	 ﾠimportant	 ﾠ Unknown,	 ﾠnot	 ﾠavailable	 ﾠVery	 ﾠimportant	 ﾠ Important	 ﾠ Not	 ﾠimportant	 ﾠ Unknown,	 ﾠnot	 ﾠavailable	 ﾠMale	 ﾠ Female	 ﾠimportant’  aspire  to  go  to  college  /  university compared to 65% of girls whose parent(s) felt it was ‘important’ and 61% of girls whose parent(s) thought A-levels/Highers ‘not important’. Among boys, the association is even stronger: each level of parental attitude shows a distinct and statistically significant difference  compared  to  the  last  (63%  for  very important; 48% for important; 31% for not important).  Controlling  for  parental  background characteristics  does  not  remove  ethnic differencesEthnic differences in aspiration as described above are largely unaffected when parental background characteristics are controlled (multiple regression analysis  not  shown  here).  Furthermore,  the impact  of  parental  background  factors  including occupational  class  upon  educational  aspirations is similar for all ethnic groups. Thus we note that White boys from the lowest occupational class and boys from workless households have the lowest aspirations. This is because the three elements – being White, male and working class – combine in an additive fashion to encourage low aspiration. We do not find a particular effect of coming from a lower-class background for White boys.When we controlled for parental socio-economic characteristics  we  found  that  differences  in educational  aspiration  by  family  type  become smaller for the step-parent and no parent group, but  the  association  changes  direction  for  those from single parent families. That is to say, all things being equal, children living with a single parent have the highest odds of aspiring for college/ university.  Policy implicationsGiven  that  aspirations  for  higher  education  are greater than the percentage of young adults who actually attend higher education, our findings lend support to the idea that young adults’ aspirations per se are not a problem – more the realisation of these aspirations. This said, differentials according to  gender,  class  and  ethnicity  remain  to  be explained. The findings raise questions as to how best Government policies can translate the high aspirations seen among Black and Asian teenagers into success in higher education. Finally, our finding that differences in aspiration according to family structure disappear once parental class, education and attitudes are controlled, problematizes current emphases  given  to  the  central  role  of  ‘family stability’ as a key indicator of social justice.Authors  Steven Roberts  (University of Kent, CPC)   Ann Berrington(University of Southampton, CPC)  Peter Tammes (University of Bristol, CPC)Edited by Teresa McGowan & Genna West(University of Southampton, CPC)ESRC Centre for Population Change  Building 58Faculty of Social and Human SciencesUniversity of SouthamptonSO17 1BJTel: +44(0)2380592579Email: cpc@southampton.ac.ukwww.cpc.ac.ukCPC_PopulationCPCPopulation esrc-centre-for-population-changecentre-for-population-change Educational aspirations among UK young teenagers: exploring the role of gender, class and ethnicity

Educational aspirations among UK young teenagers: exploring the role of gender, class and ethnicity

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