Patterns of participation in higher education for care-experienced students in England: why has there not been more progress?

Abstract

Children who spend time in the care of their local authority, usually due to neglect or abuse within the birth family, tend to experience significant educational disruption and have lower educational outcomes, on average, than other young people. However, little is known about those subsequently participating in higher education, who comprise just under one percent of the student body in England. The paper synthesises three contrasting datasets to map participation patterns among careexperienced young people for the first time. Considerably more enter higher education than previously thought, but they remain significantly less likely to participate than other young people. Furthermore, they tend to enter later, with less prestigious qualifications and to lower status institutions. The paper concludes by discussing key differences between the datasets, reflecting on difficulties with identifying and recording care-experienced students which may account for an apparent lack of progress in encouraging their participation despite concerted policy efforts.

Employment and further study outcomes for care-experienced graduates in the UK

“…Finally, the propensity for care-experienced individuals to enter HE via alternative routes, such as vocational courses (Harrison 2017(Harrison , 2020Jackson et al 2005), appears to result in some enduring effects on their graduate outcomes. Those entering HE with vocational qualifications are more likely to attend lower-status HEIs (Masardo and Shields 2015).…”

“…people choosing not to disclose their care status) and other forms of bias (e.g. differential recording between HEIs), but it is nevertheless the most reliable data currently available on graduates’ care status; see Harrison ( 2020 ) for a fuller discussion.…”

“…In the UK, care-experienced students in HE are more likely to be older, be women, identify as disabled, not be a UK national 3 , be from a minority ethnic group and attend lower status HEIs, having often progressed to HE via vocational routes and alternative pathways (Harrison 2020 ). Notably, care-experienced students are also 38% more likely to withdraw from their HE studies, all else being equal (Harrison 2017 ).…”

“…For example, lower levels of prior attainment amongst care-experienced students (Sebba et al 2015 ) may mean that they are likely to earn less following graduation (Britton et al 2016 ). Furthermore, care-experienced students are more likely to study social sciences and creative arts subjects , less likely to study STEM subjects and are underrepresented in higher status universities (Harrison, 2020 ). This may mean that they are less likely to (a) locate graduate-level employment (Behle 2016 ), (b) progress to postgraduate study (Wakeling and Hampden-Thompson 2013 ) and (c) access high-skilled employment (DfE 2019b ).…”

“…In England, the HE participation rate for care-experienced students is around 12% up to the age of 23, compared with 43% in the general population (Harrison 2017 ). Care-experienced students include both those transitioning into HE directly from care (often referred to as ‘care leavers’) and those returning in later adulthood; the latter group predominates, without around half being over 21 on entry (Harrison 2020 ).…”