White Working Class Males in British Higher Education
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 1
1 . Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 5 1.1 Introduction to the report ................................................................................................................ 5 1.2 What do we mean by working class ? ........................................................................................... 5 1.3 Methodological approach ................................................................................................................. 5
2 . Context for the research ........................................................................................................................... 6 2.1 National policy context ...................................................................................................................... 6 2.2 National HE participation rates ...................................................................................................... 6 2.3 Characteristics of local area ............................................................................................................. 8 2.4 Progression at the end of Key Stage 4 ...................................................................................... 10 2.5 HE progression - Analysis of POLAR data ............................................................................... 13 2.6 Attainment & progression at the end of Key Stage 5 .......................................................... 16 3 . Why are white working class males underrepresented in HE ? ............................................ 21 4 . Retention and success of white working class males ................................................................ 23 4.1 The national picture ......................................................................................................................... 23 4.2 Southampton Solent University .................................................................................................. 24 4.3 University of Portsmouth .............................................................................................................. 25
5 . Pre-entry findings .................................................................................................................................... 26 5.1 Attitudes to learning ........................................................................................................................ 26 5.2 Attitudes to next steps .................................................................................................................... 28 5.3 Interest in university as an option ............................................................................................. 28 5.4 Perceptions of university ............................................................................................................... 31 5.5 Perceptions of the alternatives .................................................................................................... 34 5.6 Sense of belonging ............................................................................................................................ 35 5.7 Advice and support .......................................................................................................................... 40 5.8 Barriers to higher education for white working class males in Southampton ........ 42
6 . Post-entry findings .................................................................................................................................. 43 6.1 Higher education : a risk worth taking ?.................................................................................... 43 6.2 Deciding to go to university .......................................................................................................... 46 6.3 Career-certainty spectrum ............................................................................................................ 50 6.4 Exploring aspirations ...................................................................................................................... 54 6.5 Transitions into higher education .............................................................................................. 55
7 . Implications and recommendations ................................................................................................ 59 7.1 Targeting white , working class males ...................................................................................... 60 7.2 Challenging ' low-aspiration ' discourses .................................................................................. 61 7.3 Risk and decision-making .............................................................................................................. 61 7.4 Supporting attainment .................................................................................................................... 63
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