Un Understanding t the atta tainment gap: unequal opportunities wi within educati tion Cris istin ina I Ian annell lli an i and A Adriana D Duta University ty o of E f Edinburgh ESRC Festival of the Social Science Glasgow, 8 November 2018 www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
From om soc ocio-economic d disadvantage to to educational disadvantag age • Educational attainment is a key factor for various life outcomes • However, educational attainment is unequally distributed and this in turn affects individual chances of achieving positive outcomes • Thus combating inequalities in educational attainment is rightly a policy priority www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
How does educational attainment compare in Glasgow to the rest of Scotland? www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
Educ ucationa nal A Attainmen ent h has r risen i n in S Scotland a nd and i d in Gl Glasg sgow Percentages of school leavers by total qualifications achieved, 2009/10 to 2016/17 100.0 90.0 1+ at SCQF 80.0 Level 5 or better Glasgow 1+ at SCQF 70.0 Level 5 or better 60.0 Scotland 1+ at SCQF Level 6 or better 50.0 Glasgow 1+ at SCQF 40.0 Level 6 or better Scotland 30.0 1+ at SCQF Level 7 Glasgow 20.0 1+ at SCQF Level 7 10.0 Scotland 0.0 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
Difference in the percentages of pupils leaving school with 1+, 3+ and 5+ SCQF levels 5 and 6 between Glasgow and Scotland (2016/17) 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 SCQF Level 5 (National 5) or better SCQF Level 6 (Highers) or better 1+ 3+ 5+ www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
Is the attainment gap higher in Glasgow than in the rest of Scotland? www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
Si Simila ilar a attain inment b between G Glasgow a and Sc Scotla land within in SI SIMD q quin intile iles ( (tarif iff s score) School leavers' average total tariff score by SIMD 1400 1200 1000 886.17 800 748.97 600 400 200 0 SIMD Q1 SIMD Q2 SIMD Q3 SIMD Q4 SIMD Q5 Most disadvantaged Least disadvantaged Scotland Glasgow Scotland \average Glasgow \average www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
So, why i is the ove verall a attainment l lower i in Glasgow? • There are more pupils from disadvantaged families living in Glasgow than in the rest of Scotland 34% of pupils receive FSM compared to 16% 58% come from SIMD1 (bottom 20%) compared to 23% • Thus, socioeconomic characteristics of the people living in Glasgow are likely to explain the ‘Glasgow effect’ www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
How much variation in educational attainment exists between secondary schools in Glasgow? www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
Seco condary school ools i in Glasgo gow - Percentage ge of of pupils achi hieving 3+ g 3+ S SCQF L Level el 6 6 (Hi Highers) s) www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
Sec econd ndary s scho hools i s in n Gl Glasgow - Percentage ge of p pupils with 3 h 3+ SCQF QF L Lev evel el 6 6 by by FS FSM 100.0 90.0 80.0 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 0.0 0 10 20 30 40 50 % FSM within the school www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
However, measures based on free school meals and SIMD are not ideal since they may underestimate the extent of inequalities. Better data at individual level are needed! www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
What are the mechanisms behind social inequalities in education? www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
• The factors behind variations in attainment are complex and interconnected and to be understood they require data at various levels (individual, family, school and neighbourhood) • Our previous AQMeN research has shown that family cultural, social and economic resources all play a role. We found that: • parental education, occupation and economic (dis)advantage are strongly related to children’s attainment • pupils’ school subject choices contribute to explaining social- origin differences in the chances of entering HE and, in particular ancient and old universities • differences in school leavers’ labour market outcomes by social background are explained by attainment www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
Educati tional d disadvantage s starts ts e early: p pre-sc scho hool a and d pr primary s scho hool y yea ears a s are c e cruc ucial Listening comprehension overall score at age 10 by household income quintiles 100 90 33 80 42 53 57 70 65 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Bottom Q 2nd Quin 3rd Quin 4th Quin Top Quin Median score & below Score above median Source: Growing Up in Scotland www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
Resilienc ence a e among ng c childr dren f en from poor backgrounds unds • However, some children do succeed despite their family disadvantage! • Preliminary results based on GUS data indicate that : • Home environment: regular routine, calm atmosphere, books/stories, stimulating activities but also living in small remote towns and rural areas are all beneficial for the cognitive development of children from poor backgrounds • By identifying the reasons for high attainment among disadvantaged children we can understand better how and at which level to intervene to improve attainment for all children www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
Summary a and f final r remarks • Educational attainment is lower in Glasgow than in the rest of Scotland • However, the extent of educational inequalities is not larger in Glasgow. More disadvantaged people live in Glasgow and this is the reason behind lower average attainment • The causes of educational inequalities are likely to be similar across Scotland but the concentration of deprivation in Glasgow makes inequalities more challenging • While we know a lot about ‘risk’ factors, we know much less about ‘enabling’ factors behind the more positive outcomes of some disadvantaged pupils, and of some schools operating with high levels of disadvantaged pupils • Given that the scale of the problem is different in Glasgow but the factors affecting inequalities in education are likely to be similar, do we need different policies to tackle these inequalities? Or simply do we need more resources invested in Glasgow? www.understanding-inequalities.ac.uk Twitter: @U_Inequalities
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