Socioeconomic background, gender and subject choice in secondary schooling

Davies, Peter; Telhaj, Shqiponja; Hutton, David; Adnett, Nick; Coe, Robert S.

doi:10.1080/00131880802309358

Cited by 27 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Previous studies that have explored the determinants of subjects studied between ages 14 and 16 have tended to highlight that three important characteristics explaining subject choices at this age are gender (Bell, 2001;Francis, 2000;Jin et al, 2011;Sullivan, Zimdars, & Heath, 2010), prior attainment (Davies et al, 2008;Jin et al, 2011), and socioeconomic background (Davies et al, 2008;Jin et al, 2011). Bell (2001) considered changes in the uptake of combinations of age 14-16 subjects by gender and prior attainment and how this changed with the introduction of the National Curriculum.…”

Section: Background and Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bell (2001) considered changes in the uptake of combinations of age 14-16 subjects by gender and prior attainment and how this changed with the introduction of the National Curriculum. Davies et al (2008) used the 1998 Year 11 Information System (Ye11IS) data to examine the probability of taking GCSEs in optional subjects (specifically: Business Studies, French, Geography, German, History, and Home Economics), finding that 'ability' has the strongest influence on subject choice but for some subjects social class exerts more of an effect than gender. Using a more recent cohort, Jin et al (2011) find that girls are more likely to study modern foreign language at school and less likely to study all three sciences separately; these associations remain after taking into account prior attainment.…”

Section: Background and Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It also builds on this, to provide evidence about the extent to which schools' provision (and, hence, the options open to their pupils) is driven by their composition in terms of prior academic attainment, socioeconomic background, and gender mix. These are all factors that previous work has found to influence the subjects that individuals study (Davies, Telhaj, Hutton, Adnett, & Coe, 2008), but given Jin et al 's (2011) observation that the most common reason an individual reports as to why they cannot study a subject is that it is not available, it seems important to explore to what extent individual subject choices are driven by the curriculum offered by schools.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The role of schools in explaining individuals’ subject choices at age 14

Anders¹,

Henderson²,

Moulton³

et al. 2018

Oxford Review of Education

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The subjects that young people study from age 14 onwards may have important consequences for their future academic and labour market outcomes. These decisions are shaped by the schools in which they find themselves. Schools also face constraints of their own. This paper explores the extent to which individuals' decisions are affected by the school they attend and to what extent this is affected by the composition of schools in terms of academic attainment, gender, and socioeconomic background. We use multi-level variance decomposition models applied to administrative data on the subjects that young people in mainstream state-funded schools in England study between ages 14 and 16. Our results highlight the important role that constraints on schools play in subject choice decisions. We also note the particular role of attending a non-selective school within a selective schooling district.

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Section: Background and Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Background and Research Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The role of schools in explaining individuals’ subject choices at age 14

Anders¹,

Henderson²,

Moulton³

et al. 2018

Oxford Review of Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Davies, Telhaj, Hutton, Adnett, & Coe, 2008). Very few studies have looked at subject choice within compulsory schooling (except Jin, Muriel, & Sibieta, 2011;Sullivan, Zimdars, & Health, 2010).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Class, Gender and Ethnic Differences in Subjects Taken at Age 14.

Henderson

Sullivan

Anders

et al. 2018

The Curriculum Journal

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In this paper, we identify patterns of subject and qualification choices made at age 14. Much of the previous research on 'subject choice' has focussed on the later stages of educational trajectories, particularly Higher Education. However, the choices made at early branching points can limit pupils' subsequent options, potentially contributing to educational inequalities. This paper identifies the patterns of General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) subjects chosen by a cohort of young people born in 1989/1990. We make use of the Next Steps data (formerly the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE)) which is linked to the National Pupil Database. We develop an approach to measuring the academic selectivity of subjects and qualifications. We examine the roles of social class, parental education, income, gender and ethnicity in determining participation in these curriculum groupings. Using measures of prior attainment from age thirteen, we address the question of whether curriculum differentials simply reflect differences in prior attainment or whether they actually operate above and beyond existing inequalities. We find clear socio-economic, gender, ethnic and school-level differences in subjects studied which cannot be accounted for by prior attainment.

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“…Firstly, it examines the effect of choices during compulsory education, before young people are able to 'select out' of education. In addition, whereas previous literature has focused on participation in individual GCSE subjects (Davies, Telhaj, Hutton, Adnett, & Coe, 2008), this paper explores the impact of taking an academic or applied curriculum as a whole.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%