The extent to which education is valued by family, peers and other influencers is an important part of the complex picture of decision making about HE for most students. But in particular, it is valued highly within most minority ethnic groups, so it is likely to play a more important role in HE decisions. Previous research has shown that there is a stronger drive for qualification amongst ethnic minorities, and once individuals begin to acquire qualifications they seek more. In particular, education is seen as having an important role in upwards social mobility.1 Additionally, succeeding generations have shown a greater tendency to obtain HE qualifications than their parents, resulting in a second generation of minority ethnic groups that are more qualified than the first, for all ethnic groups and both genders.2 This ‘qualification drive’ can be seen in the fact that, despite lower GCSE results at age 16, and much lower for some groups (eg Black, see section 2.5), minority ethnic groups are more likely to persevere with their education, some by re-sitting exams for better grades. Evidence specifically suggests that Pakistani and Bangladeshi students are more likely than other groups to be still at school or in a sixth form college in their third post-compulsory year.3 But, as pointed out in sections 2.1 and 2.2, Black Caribbean groups perform worst at GCSE, and are also less likely to stay on at 16. Parental influence is extremely important in shaping decisions about HE for many young people. Research has shown that parental encouragement to go to university increases the chances of going.4 As shown above, individuals from minority ethnic groups are more likely to believe that there is an expectation that they go to university and that their families are encouraging them to do so. There also appears to be more certainty amongst the young minority ethnic population that they are going to go on to HE in the future.5
1 See Connor et al. (2002), and Connor and Dewson (2001) for more discussion of social class and pre-HE attainment.
2 See Modood Ch3, in Modood et al. (1997), Ethnic Minorities in Britain: Diversity and Disadvantage.
3 Evidence presented in Payne J (2003) Choice at the end of compulsory schooling: A research review.
4 See Gilchrist et al., (2003).
In our discussions with potential entrants, various examples of parental influences were seen:
‘I was pushed by my parents to stay in education and get my ‘A’ levels. They told me, “if you want to do anything with your life then go to college”.’ (Black African male, aged 19, studying ‘A’ levels at college)
‘My family was very keen for me to return to education. I have older siblings who have all gone to university and been very successful; one is a lawyer, the other a doctor and the third a pharmacist. There is an expectation from my family to be successful and, so there is a pressure for me to do well.’ (Asian Other male, aged 19, studying ‘A’ levels at college)
‘My parents were encouraging me to go into HE but I made the decision. They had a small part to play. In Asian culture, studying is really important and can make you more marriageable — you’re more respected if you have a degree.’ (Indian female, aged 17)
Our HE potential entrant survey also showed that parents are rated as the most influential source of help in making HE decisions by all ethnic groups, but particularly so by Black African, Pakistani/Bangladeshi and Indian students. They were seen as more important for all minority ethnic groups than the White group. Also, Careers teachers, and the Careers Service, were viewed as more influential among all minority ethnic than White students. Previous research has suggested that traditional guidance is unhelpful for some minority ethnic groups,1 so these findings may provide tentative evidence that the new Connexions arrangements are working better for minority ethnic groups, or possibly that they are getting a better service now in relation to HE advice. Whichever, it is an area that could be examined further, as it has been suggested in the past that the often weaker positions of minority ethnic families in the labour market make formal careers education and guidance more important for young people from minority ethnic communities.2
Our survey of parents of minority ethnic students provided further evidence of their influence on young people’s career decisions. Interviews were undertaken with parents of current students (see Chapter 1, section 1.3 and B.4 in Appendix B, for further details of the parent survey) and all of them had a clear ambition for their children to stay on and do well at school. They therefore had provided support to them in their schoolwork, and in some cases had paid for extra tuition. There seemed an almost unspoken assumption that their children would progress to a university education (which mirrored the views of many of the students themselves). This assumption was to not only fulfil their academic potential, but also improve their chances of
1 MORI (2002).
employment. For a proportion of the interviewees, it represented a desire for their children to take an opportunity which had not been open to themselves — in other words they did not want them to have to struggle in lower-skilled jobs because they lacked qualifications.
Degree of parental influence in the final decision about where and what to study varied, but appeared limited in most cases. However, many were actively involved in the choice process, often accompanying children on visits to universities, and discussing options with them and other relatives (this is discussed further using other evidence, see section 4.7).
Information about parents was also obtained from our student survey, which provided further insight into how parental background might shape views and influences on decisions about HE for particular groups. This showed that:
z The majority of minority ethnic undergraduate students were born in the UK (60 per cent), ie were second generation immigrants. However, only a very small proportion of them had both parents who were born here (ie third generation), with the majority having at least one born outside the UK (generation 2.5), which is lower than we expected.
z Certain student groups were much more likely to be first generation, ie they were born here but neither parents were — Black African and Chinese/Asian Other (each over 50 per cent) — while others were much more likely to be second generation — Indians and Black Caribbean/Black Other (78 and 76 per cent), and Pakistani/Bangladeshi students (almost 70 per cent). Also, it is worth noting that 23 per cent of minority ethnic students entered the UK after age 16, ie they got most of their school education abroad (as did their parents also). This figure rose to 43 per cent among the Black African group and 38 per cent for Chinese/Asian Other (Figure 3.1). z In contrast to White students, most parents of minority ethnic
students were not (school) educated in the UK (there was little variation between minority ethnic groups in this though). Those parents born overseas came from a wide-range of countries (too small numbers in each to compare).
z An individual’s assessment of their ‘family origin’ matched their ethnic group in most cases. It was evident that some sub- groups existed, but were relatively small in size, eg only around eight per cent of Indian and seven per cent of Chinese/Asian Other students felt that their family origin was African Asian or African.
Figure 3.1: Likelihood of students being born in the UK, by ethnic group 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% White Indian Black Caribbean/Other Pakistani/Bangladeshi Other ethnic group Chinese/Asian Other Black African
Born UK Entered before 16 Entered after 16
Source: IES/MORI students survey (see section 1.3) 2002