Staying at school after sixteen: Social and psychological correlates∗

∗The research described in this paper was supported by Grant No. C05250011 from the Economic and Social Research Council of Great Britain.

Abstract

In the last decade increasing numbers of young people have been staying on in full‐time education after 16 to pursue a non‐academic curriculum. That is, they have not been staying on to gain qualifications leading into higher education, and their period of additional schooling has typically been a year or less.

Drawing primarily upon data from the 16‐19 initiative's survey in Kirkcaldy, we examine the characteristics of this group and compare them both with the group who left education at 16 and with the group pursuing academic qualifications. We examine various possible influences on this choice — social class background, the policies of individual schools, the state of the local labour market, attitudes to the major alternative, YTS, and the attitudes to school. We attempt to untangle what is cause and what is effect in the distinctive attitudes and expectations of this group, and also ask what benefits if any this additional period in school has for these young people.

∗The research described in this paper was supported by Grant No. C05250011 from the Economic and Social Research Council of Great Britain.

Notes

∗The research described in this paper was supported by Grant No. C05250011 from the Economic and Social Research Council of Great Britain.