School students attitudes towards higher education

1
School students attitudes towards higher
education

• Vicki Bradshaw Pam Maras
• University of Greenwich

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The Greenwich Attitudes to University Study

• Excellence in Cities
• Aimhigher
• Longitudinal 3 stage study
• What do young people feel think about school,
  learning post 16 opportunities?
• How do family, friends school affect young
  peoples attitudes expectations?
• What impact does aimhigher have on young peoples
  attitudes?

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Longitudinal study

• Total of 3,570 students in 13 schools in
  Greenwich (2002 - 2005)
• Time 1 Years 9, 10, 12
• Time 2 Year 10
• Time 3 Year 12
• Attitudes to Higher Education Questionnaire
  (AHEQ)
• AHEQ matched to LEA data on students academic
  and social backgrounds

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Main findings from quantitative data

• SATs scores positively correlated with increased
  take-up of widening participation activities
• Female students more positive than males
• Identification with school and general academic
  motivation were largest predictors of attitudes
  toward higher education

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Students attitudes to university, perceptions
of GCSE A level competence, friends
attitudes toward university, school motivation
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Students attitudes to university
identification with school

7
Age related effects The trouble with year 10
(Maras, Carmichael, Patel et al, 2007)
Year 10 significantly more negative than Years 9
or 12
..about everything!
But mediated by aimhigher
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Identification with school
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After aimhigher (Maras, 2007)
Year 9 vs Year 10 (time 1 independent samples)
Year 10 after aimhigher interventions (time 2,
repeated measures)
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Predicting attitudes from academic self concept
and the importance of others
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Predicting attitudes toward going to university

• Social Identity accounted for significantly more
  of the variance than anything
• Social Identity with peers, family school
  differentially affected self-concept of ability,
  competence effort

• Importance of peers
• Perceptions of academic competence
• Visiting a university
• Family views

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Focus groups (Maras, Aveling, Bradshaw et al)

• What are young peoples motivations for choosing
  to go to higher education?
• What are the key influences on their decisions
  and motivations to continue into higher
  education?
• 19 students in Year 12 (all in full time
  education)

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Students motivations and disincentives for
continuing on to higher education
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Sources of influence on students attitudes to
higher education
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I dont want to work in Sainsburys
Material Advantage Learning for Earning
I want to do better than just go straight into a
job - a dead end job where Im not going to get
anywhere.
But, students were generally aware of financial
burden of university and some were aware that
university does not automatically mean higher
salaries
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Conclusions

• Mismatch of motives of academics and students
• Influences of peers on attitudes to HE
• Family influences, i.e. But no one in my family
  has been to University (Maras, 2007)
• School factors and academic self-concept
• Year 10 negativity, autonomy and widening
  participation

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• Vicki Bradshaw
• Department of Psychology Counselling
• University of Greenwich
• Email V.Bradshaw_at_greenwich.ac.uk

Acknowledgements Professor Pam Maras, Emmilie
Aveling, Kirsty Carmichael, Catherine Croft,
Nathan Faulkner, Swatee Patel, Jen Wills