Families are situated within a particular social class and culture and there is considerable evidence to suggest that the family has a major influence in young people’s choices and decision-making. There is no doubt that people learn by experience, contributing to an individual’s biography which may impact on one’s life (Jarvis 1995). Living within a family and being exposed to a specific culture will provide early influences on an educational or career pathway as parents, or those with parental responsibility make a number of choices about nursery, pre-school and compulsoiy education. As young people begin to talce on more adult responsibilities, they will have choices to make regarding post-compulsory education and career pathways.
Walkerdine et al. (2001) conducted their research on two groups of women bom six years apart, and seen at intervals over a ten to fifteen year period. They propose that for some working class girls it is a betrayal of their class culture and values to go to university, which furthers the suggestion that psychological issues impact on choice and decision-making. Walkerdine et al. also consider the concept of “girl power” (2001:21) suggesting that this notion provides choices by implying young women can be or do whatever they want to. Tliey also suggest that some people will not be able to make appropriate decisions if they consider careei s outside of their academic abilities.
David et al. (2003) concluded that the family influence on young people’s choices was related to gender and the roles witliin the family. Boys avoided parental guidance more than girls perhaps as a move towards independence, while the girls looked to their mothers for guidance in their decision-making. Subtle influences fiom
the family may derive from concerns about finances and not being able to afford university fees. Similarly, it could be a lack of Imowledge on the part of tlie parents so that HE as an option is not positively considered (David et al. 2003). Equally, Reay, et al. (2005) advocate that while class and social structure are fundamental to choices, the influence of the family and social networks play a significant role in the choice and decision making process.
In the study undertaken by Gorard et al. in 1999 the data was drawn from a specific period in time looking at patterns of lifelong learning over 100 years and was based in a particular industrialised area. The study concluded that those learners who come from a family background of positive educational experiences are more likely to engage in education. Conversely, learners from families who had not pursued education but entered employment followed a similar pattern and did not pursue their own educational opportunities. The research was based in south Wales, an area renowned for heavy industiy, particularly coalmining, where there was an expectation that young men followed their fathers’ occupations and did not remain in education after compulsory schooling. In contrast, other pai*ents who had not had the benefit of further education had positively encouraged their children to remain in education.
The work clearly recognises the role of the family and believed that family influences play a significant role in what they call “learner identities” which, although personal, are the result of “social experience” (Gorard et al. 1999:530) or life experience. This provides further direct links between tlie family and social class, an issue identified in a number of other studies including Ball et al. (2002) and Van De Werfhorst et al. (2003). This illustration helpfully brought meaning to familial
influences that were raised in the data gathering process, as evidenced in chapters five and six. However, social class is a more peripheral aspect of my research project and a fuller examination has not been undertaken.
Education aims to prepare young people for their position in society whether through traditional academic education or contemporary vocational qualifications; there are however those who miglit dispute this definition of education (Illich 1971). Wliichever route a young person takes through education and employment, there are choices and decisions to be made and there is clear evidence to suggest that family influences are substantial (Gorard et al. 1999; Brooks 2003a; Foskett et al. 2004). Wliile the role of the family is acknowledged in the educational choices of young people, other areas of influence include fiiends and peer groups. Brooks (2003a) considered that the young person’s position within a fiiendship group plays a significant role in making choices but argues that individuals also make their own choices about HE (Brooks 2003b), a view shared by Rudd and Evans (1998).
The work by Brooks (2003a; 2003b) followed a group of young people in post- compulsoiy education at a 6* foim college in the south of England who were following the traditional ‘A’ level route into HE, and focussed specifically on their choices of HE. She identified an issue of young people’s ‘place’ within their own peer and concluded that although fiiends were important they did not actually play an explicit role in any decision-making (Brooks 2003b). Rudd and Evans (1998) suggest the influence firom friends and peer groups is more one of identifying available options, encouraging employment or HE applications, in contrast to an explicit influence to follow a particular pathway. Although Brooks (2003a; 2003b) focussed on young people following a traditional entry route into HE, my study is based on
choices of HE made by FE students following a subject specific vocational route. There are however, identifiable similarities between the groups in my study and the evidence presented by Brooks (2003a; 2003b) and these are explored more fully in chapter six.
Brooks highliglits evidence from her research that indicates while fiiends were involved in general discussions of available options, young people did not actually share their thoughts on decisions regarding HE and suggests this is an “absence of discussion” (2005:99). Althougli close fiiendships were important, they were obviously not important enough to share final decision-making with and so the question emerges, who did they seek out to discuss their options with? It appears that the young people, whether from a tradition or vocational educational route, remain more reliant on their parents for guidance than their friends, and evidence to support this notion will be presented in chapter six.