Thirty years of GCSE: A review of student views and experiences

ABSTRACT

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) has been the qualification by which students’ attainment at age sixteen has been measured for the last thirty years. Despite the longevity of GCSEs, relatively little research has explored the views and experiences of those undertaking them. Using a systematic literature review methodology and critical appraisal frameworks, the current study synthesises the literature in this area in order to elucidate young people’s views and experiences of GCSE study and assessment. Findings suggest that although there are positive aspects of GCSE study and assessment, for some young people, GCSE study, assessment and recent reforms appear to be relatively negative experiences, characterised by low levels of enjoyment and well-being and high levels of stress and test anxiety. Findings also suggest that agency, equality and fairness and relatedness are important factors in mediating young people’s experiences of GCSE.

KEYWORDS:

• GCSE study
• GCSE assessment
• GCSE reform
• student well-being

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics statements

Ethical review and approval were not required for the study on human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. Written informed consent from the participants’ legal guardian/next of kin was not required to participate in this study in accordance with the national legislation and the institutional requirements. No animal studies are presented in this manuscript. No potentially identifiable human images or data are presented in this study.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by England’s Department for Education (DfE) National College for Teaching and Learning (NCTL) ITEP award no. 2016-2017.

Notes on contributors

Kerry Brown

Kerry Brown is an Educational Psychologist at Trafford Educational Psychology Service. Prior to completing her professional training in educational and child psychology at The University of Manchester, Kerry was a Science Teacher in secondary schools in Manchester, London and China. Her research interests include students’ experiences of assessment, test anxiety intervention and student well-being.

Kevin Woods

Kevin Woods works at The University of Manchester as Professor of Educational and Child Psychology and director of initial professional training in educational psychology. His research interests include the developing role of educational psychologists, children’s rights, and student assessment needs.