Teenage expectations of going to university: the ebb and flow of influences from 14 to 18

Abstract

The expansion of higher education in the UK has been accompanied by ongoing class related inequalities in expectations about, and access to, university. In the context of detailed research into middle-class and working-class experiences and difference, there have been calls for more detailed analysis of internal class diversity, and for complicating the class dichotomy. This is particularly important for understanding the experiences of prospective first generation students. Drawing on data from an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded study, this article offers a qualitative longitudinal analysis of young people's expectations about going to university, as these evolve over the teenage years, from 14 to 18. We analyse the experiences and expectations of young women with different parental class and educational backgrounds. We explore the interplay of parental expectations, school, teacher and friendship group influences through the teenagers' biographies. The qualitative longitudinal analysis offers valuable insights into how different influential processes intersect and play out for those with different backgrounds and circumstances, shaping expectations in divergent ways. As such it contributes to a more processual account of the structuring of social inequality in higher education expectations.

Keywords:

• higher education
• expectations
• qualitative longitudinal analysis
• qualitative secondary analysis
• case studies

Notes

1. The ESRC funded Timescapes, grant number: RES 347-25-0003.

2. LSYPE: The Longitudinal Study of Young People in England. Bates et al. (2009) primarily used data from wave 4, consisting of face-to-face interviews during spring and summer 2007 with around 11,000 young people predominantly aged 17.

3. GCSE: General Certificate of Secondary Education. Achieving five passes at grades A*-C at the end of compulsory schooling is taken as an indicator of potential for Higher Education study (see Bates et al. 2009)

4. A levels are the standard (English) entry requirement for UK university study.

5. The Young Lives and Times project was run by Professor Bren Neale. Different research assistants were employed on the project at different points and we acknowledge the work of Drs. Anna Bagnoli, David Mellor and Carmen Lau in conducting the interviews.

6. The Timescapes Secondary Analysis Project was run by Sarah Irwin. Mandy Winterton was the project Research Fellow. For more information see http://www.timescapes.leeds.ac.uk/research-projects/timescapes-secondary-analysis-project/.

7. Sarah was a member of the project team, but her primary roles were running a survey and undertaking some analysis of data working across the qualitative and quantitative data-sets, for example, Irwin (2009). She was also consulted on the design of the qualitative interview schedule, principally around questions about youngsters’ expectations for the future.

8. A small government grant to 16 to 19 year olds based on a means test of parental income, now superseded.

9. UCAS: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. This organisation is responsible for managing applications to nearly all HE courses in the UK.