Un Understanding t the atta tainment gap: unequal opportunities - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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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

• f E

f Edinburgh ESRC Festival of the Social Science Glasgow, 8 November 2018

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From

• m soc
• cio-economic d

disadvantage to to educational disadvantag age

• Educational attainment is a key factor for various life
• utcomes
• However, educational attainment is unequally

distributed and this in turn affects individual chances

• f achieving positive outcomes
• Thus combating inequalities in educational

attainment is rightly a policy priority

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How does educational attainment compare in Glasgow to the rest of Scotland?

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Educ ucationa nal A Attainmen ent h has r risen i n in S Scotland a nd and i d in Gl Glasg sgow

0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17

Percentages of school leavers by total qualifications achieved, 2009/10 to 2016/17

1+ at SCQF Level 5 or better Glasgow 1+ at SCQF Level 5 or better Scotland 1+ at SCQF Level 6 or better Glasgow 1+ at SCQF Level 6 or better Scotland 1+ at SCQF Level 7 Glasgow 1+ at SCQF Level 7 Scotland

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Difference in the percentages of pupils leaving school with 1+, 3+ and 5+ SCQF levels 5 and 6 between Glasgow and Scotland (2016/17)

2 4 6 8 10 12 SCQF Level 5 (National 5) or better SCQF Level 6 (Highers) or better 1+ 3+ 5+

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Is the attainment gap higher in Glasgow than in the rest of Scotland?

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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)

886.17 748.97 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 SIMD Q1 SIMD Q2 SIMD Q3 SIMD Q4 SIMD Q5

School leavers' average total tariff score by SIMD

Scotland Glasgow Scotland \average Glasgow \average

Most disadvantaged Least disadvantaged

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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’

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How much variation in educational attainment exists between secondary schools in Glasgow?

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Seco condary school

• ols i

in Glasgo gow - Percentage ge of

• f pupils

achi hieving 3+ g 3+ S SCQF L Level el 6 6 (Hi Highers) s)

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% FSM within the school 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0 10 20 30 40 50

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

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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!

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What are the mechanisms behind social inequalities in education?

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• 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-
• rigin 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

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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

33 42 53 57 65 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Bottom Q 2nd Quin 3rd Quin 4th Quin Top Quin

Listening comprehension overall score at age 10 by household income quintiles

Median score & below Score above median Source: Growing Up in Scotland

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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

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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?