Social Class and Higher Education

1 The views expressed in this report are the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department for Education and Employment. Crown Copyright 2001. Published with the permission of DfEE on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty s Stationery Office. Applications forreproduction should be made in writing to The Crown Copyright Unit, Her Majesty s Stationery Office, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, NorwichNR3 1 84185 419 0 March 2001 Social Class andHigher Education :Issues Affecting Decisions onParticipation by Lower Social ClassGroupsHelen Connor and Sara DewsonwithClaire Tyers, Judith Eccles, Jo Regan, Jane AstonInstitute for Employment StudiesResearch ReportNo. 267iiAcknowledgementsThe authors acknowledge the considerable assistance given by thestudents, universities, colleges, schools and others who took partin this study. Fourteen universities and colleges gave us valuableassistance in selecting the sample of first year students andhelping to distribute questionnaires, while a further 20 collegesand schools helped us to arrange focus groups.

2 Our thanks also goto the students who completed questionnaires and took part in theinterviews and discussion groups. We are also grateful for thehelp given by our survey partners, NOP Research, especiallyCarol Goldstone, Jacky Heath and Richard Glendinning, for theirwork in administering and analysing the student survey and thetelephone survey of non-entrants .Acknowledgements are also due to the DfEE, in particular KarenHibbitt and Janet Gawn, and the other IES members of the projectteam including Emma Hart, Emma Pollard, Caroline Cuff, ElaineSheppard, Mary crowder and Denise views expressed in this report are solely those of the Summaryv1. research structure and content32. Research Context and Education diversity across Higher Education affecting participation by lower Social Factors of Influence on HE Entry entrants274. Pre-Entry Experiences and Information Needs and Student on the current financial Career Plans and Choice of Course and Choice Part-Time part-time student issues affecting decisions on HE Factors of Student Further Policy implications109 Appendix: Research A: Potential B: Current C: Non-HE Further information126 References127vExecutive SummaryBackgroundDespite a major expansion in student numbers, which has enabledmore people from wider backgrounds to take Higher Education (HE) qualifications, students from lower Social Class backgroundscontinue to be under represented.

3 Fewer than one in five youngpeople from the lower Social Class groups (IIIm, IV and V)participate in HE, and although this proportion has beenincreasing, it remains well below the 45 per cent who participatefrom the Higher Social Class groups (IIIn, II and I), a figure whichhas also been increasing rapidly over the years. Lower Social classgroups represent 28 per cent of the total entrants to full-timeundergraduate study, a lower share than their 39 per cent in theUK population as a whole. In particular institutions and subjects,the proportion of HE students from lower Social Class groups canrange from as low as 10 per cent to above 40 per main reasons for the differences in participation rates bysocial Class groups have been shown by previous research to relateto educational factors and family backgrounds, and alsoperceptions about costs involved and benefits of HE study.

4 In late1999, the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE)commissioned a research study at the Institute for EmploymentStudies (IES) to explore in more detail factors influencingdecisions about participation in undergraduate study by peoplefrom lower Social Class backgrounds. This focused on groups ofpeople who were taking, or had recently taken, decisions aboutwhether or not to go to university, thus providing an up-to-dateperspective on participation FindingsThe research has shown how a great many issues can affectdecisions to go on to HE study, and that there is no one overridingfactor of influence for students from lower Social classbackgrounds (IIIm-V). However, they tend to take account of awider range of issues than their Higher Social Class counterparts (I-IIIn). These are:viEncouraging factorsThe main encouraging factor is a belief that a Higher qualificationwill bring improved job and career prospects, and also improvedearnings and job security.

5 But only a minority of the researchrespondents had a particular job or career goal in mind whendeciding about HE entry, mostly seeing it as helping them to get abetter job a means to an end rather than the end itself .Students from lower Social Class backgrounds tend to put moreemphasis on expected beneficial outcomes of HE than do studentsfrom Higher Social Class groups. They are also of more importanceto certain groups, including those with vocational entryqualifications, some minority ethnic groups and older factors encouraging entry to HE are a desire for self-improvement in general, and personal interest in a subject factorsThe main discouraging factors focus also on employment andfinancial issues. The main reasons why people from lower socialclass groups interviewed in the research had decided againstgoing on to HE study, though qualified to get a place, weretwofold.

6 They either wanted to start employment, earn moneyand be independent at an earlier age, or they had a career or jobgoal in mind which did not require a degree the cost of studying and being in debt were also keyreasons for not going to university. There were concerns, too, ofcurrent students and likely entrants (though the majority of themfelt that the investment was worthwhile in the long run).Concerns about costs were wider and more complex than simplyabout paying fees. They were linked in to other financial concernsabout borrowing and future debt, working to earn income duringterm-time, and not knowing enough about likely costs and incomesources, but also about likely future financial outcomes of during term time was seen as necessary but notwelcomed, because of its likely detrimental effect on their half of full-time students from lower Social classbackgrounds in the survey were currently working in term time,and this was only slightly Higher than their Higher Social classcounterparts.

7 On average, students were working 13 to 14 hoursper is one of a number of concerns when deciding about goingto university. Others include being able to cope with academicpressures and workload; gaining the entry qualifications; theapplication process itself; and, for some students, personal issuesviisuch as arranging childcare. On the whole, students from lowersocial Class groups in the survey appeared to have lower levels ofconfidence about their ability to succeed in HE and in takingcareer decisions, than did those from Higher Social Class Education and family background can influence decisionsabout HE entry in numerous ways. Various people haveimportant roles to play in the decision process. In particular forlower Social Class potential entrants, FE college tutors could be akey group of positive influencers on potential students, as werefriends and family members with current/recent HE plenty of information about HE seems to be available topotential entrants who are on HE qualifying courses, it is oftenseen as being too general and overly complex.

8 The main gaps ininformation content are on the financial aspects of HE study (seebelow) and its likely benefits in terms of employment andfinancial is a wide variation in the amount and detail of informationon HE costs and funding/support that is received by potentialstudents prior to entry. Three-quarters of the full-time students inthe survey, and slightly more from lower Social classbackgrounds, did not feel that they had sufficient information(when deciding about going to university) about how much it waslikely to cost to be a of institution and courseInstitutions are chosen by lower Social Class students mainly forreasons related to both cost (mostly to do with livingaway/staying close to home) and personal interest in specificsubjects or courses offered by them. HND and part-time courseswere seen as less attractive options than degrees and studentsPart-time students differed in many respects from their full-timecounterparts in the survey, being considerably older on average,more likely to have entered with vocational or non- A levelqualifications, and more likely to be taking HND than degreecourses.

9 The survey showed that:Future employment and career related reasons were of moreimportance to part-time than full-time students as factorsviiiencouraging HE entry, as were the perceived overall benefits fromtheir investment in students were more concerned about academic andfinancial issues, had less parental support and had more familycommitments (mainly because they were older). They were morelikely to rely on personal savings and earnings while studyingthan full-time the whole, part-time students had even less information pre-entry on the financial aspects of HE than did full-time implicationsThe research findings suggest a number of policy implications:The benefits of HE study should be better and more widelycommunicated. In particular, outcomes associated with improvedemployability and finance need to be given more prominence,though it is recognised that this is an area of variability across thestudent body, especially in the first years after graduation.

10 Forexample, colleges and schools could make better use of paststudents achievements and progress through HE. This is relevantfor young students, especially in pre-16 Education , and also formature or HE champions should be more widely used to helpthose potential students who have little contact with people whohave recent HE experience. These could be former school/collegestudents, recent graduates, or teaching/ careers staff. Currentstudents from a wide range of backgrounds could be encouragedto visit schools and colleges in low participation neighbourhoodsto discuss with potential students their hopes and fears, andexplore how they can be addressed. Examples of current goodpractice of the use of mentors or champions should be morewidely relevant and timely information on student finance isneeded, as well as greater financial assistance made moreaccessible to those students in greatest need.