Sullivan, Alice;
Parsons, Sam;
Wiggins, Dick;
Heath, Anthony;
Green, Francis;
(2014)
Social origins, school type and higher education destinations.
Oxford Review of Education
, 40
(6)
pp. 739-763.
![[thumbnail of OREpaperFINAL]](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/style/images/fileicons/text.png) |
Text (OREpaperFINAL)
OREpaperFINAL.docx - Submitted Version Download (99kB) |
Abstract
To what extent and why do social origins matter for access to higher education, including access to elite universities? What is the role of private and selective schooling? This paper uses the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) to analyse the trajectories of a generation currently in early middle age. We find that the influence of social origins, especially parental education, remains when both a wide range of cognitive measures and school attainment are controlled. Attending a private school is powerfully predictive of gaining a university degree, and especially a degree from an elite institution, while grammar schooling does not appear to confer any advantage.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Social origins, school type and higher education destinations |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This paper is an output from and ESRC funded project, 'Schooling and unequal outcomes in youth and adulthood'. The project has enhanced the BCS70 data in order to develop our understanding of the role of schooling in the life chances of this generation. The paper is an invited contribution to a special issue of the Oxford Review of Education celebrating the journal's 40th anniversary. The paper has already attracted widespread public, policy and practitioner interest. A press release achieved national media coverage and commentary, including attracting a lengthy response from Peter Hitchens. The lead author also published articles on these findings in the ESRC flagship publication 'Britain in 2015' and in 'The Conversation' website. The piece for the conversation has been read over 2,500 times. The findings were also presented at a QSS event on social mobility showcasing BCS70 findings at DfE. |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10020968 |
Loading...
Loading...Loading...Loading...Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
