Pupils from disadvantaged areas are more likely to seek financial independence at an early age than other young people, according to a study by the University of Strathclyde.
A case study of a secondary school in the west of Scotland found that disadvantaged pupils were often making difficult decisions early on about study and careers, which many of their more affluent peers could defer until they were in their 20s.
In many cases, pupils aimed to find work at the earliest opportunity, so that they could start to pay their own way and bring more money into the family home. They also aspired to go into occupations in which people they knew were already working.
Pupils who aimed to enter higher education were found to be "a small minority of determined and, in many ways, exceptional young people."
The researchers, who were examining ways to engage pupils in their learning, worked with the school on a range of projects, including :
- an after-school club with S1 pupils, who produced a short film about their school
- developing a virtual learning environment for pupils between S4 and S6, to improve their access to class materials and interaction with teachers and fellow pupils
- an evaluation of out-of-school activities
Alastair Wilson, a Senior Research Fellow in Strathclyde's Faculty of Education and a co-author of the report, said: "While pupils benefited from, and were interested in, school initiatives, they faced significant obstacles to getting fully involved.
"There could be disparities with the availability of parental support, such as both parents working long shifts and anti-social hours.
"It was apparent in all pupils that, at a young age, they seemed to be making decisions which would influence the rest of their lives- for example, whether to leave school and seek work or persevere with studying. These sorts of difficult decisions are ones which other more affluent young people are likely to be able to delay, possibly until they leave university.
"It is clear that, for some young people, remaining in full-time education with the resulting costs and prospect of debt has to be weighed against the chance of a local job.
"Our findings so far suggest that increasing pupil engagement in learning crucially requires understanding of a school's local community, its social and economic context and culture and there are lessons about this for the whole of Scotland."
Mr Wilson and his research colleague, Strathclyde Education Lecturer Donald Gillies, spent a year working with a school in an area recognised as one of the most deprived in Scotland. The school has gradually improved its attainment levels in recent years but its exam performance is low compared with national averages. This is in line with the well established finding that a school's exam performance is highly related to levels of disadvantage in its local area.
The researchers found that the school had a strong pastoral care team and a range of activities and support for pupils, such as after-school clubs, sports initiatives, externally-funded outward bound activities and evening access to the school library.
In recent years, fewer pupils had been unable to find work after leaving school, possibly because the school had been alerting them to possible Further Education courses.
Many of the pupils planning to leave in S4 were seeking occupations which offered modern apprenticeships, such as hairdressing, retail, construction and secretarial work. They were often motivated by desire to be independent and to avoid low-paid work which they would find tedious.
Pupils who intended to continue at school tended to want to move on from their local community. Some voiced a desire to avoid being caught up in problems they saw in their community, such as drug misuse and crime.
The research forms part of the AERS (Applied Educational Research Scheme) project, a five-year programme funded by the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council and led by a consortium of the Universities of Strathclyde, Edinburgh and Stirling. It aims to enhance educational research capacity in Scottish Higher Education Institutions and to use it for high-quality research, to the benefit of school education in Scotland. Researchers in the Faculty of Education, University of Strathclyde are aiming to progress this important research in partnership with local authorities and schools.
