White Working Class Males in British Higher Education
Boys go where the jobs are .
Girls are more likely to want to do education because they don ’ t do jobs like building .
‘ My parents think university is a good option for me ’ Survey respondents suggest that overall parents are supportive of HE as an option , with just over 80 % agreeing or strongly agreeing with this statement . There were no observable differences between the respondents from different POLAR3 quintiles . However , there was much lower agreement with the statement ‘ I want to do something to make my family proud ’, with only a quarter agreeing with this statement . Findings that were echoed in the focus group sessions .
In the year 9 focus group ( FG1 ) when asked about whether families thought that university was a good option for them , four of the group agreed strongly saying their parents encouraged them , several were neutral and a few edged towards disagreeing :
My parents didn ’ t finish uni and they leave it up to me .
“ I know my parents want me to go , they ’ ve always thought education is important but it ’ s kind of been in the background . They don ’ t really say it but it ’ s in the back of my mind – I want to make them proud .”
--focus group participant
My parents want me to do better in life . I ’ m naughty but my mother thinks I can do it if I work so she really wants me to go . I ’ m more practical and my mom said its ok for me not to go .
Most of the year 10 / year 11 participants ( FG2 ) said that their parents thought that university would be a good option for them , with only one saying it was very much his decision :
My dad is pushing me – he wants me to do better than them . My parents want me to go – it ’ s clear ; They leave it up to me really .
Interestingly , parental support was the topic that prompted the most strength of feeling in one of the 6th Form focus groups ( FG3 ). Several participants felt very strongly that they paid no attention to what their parents thought , a feeling that was echoed with some learners in the second of the 6 th Form focus group ( FG4 ):
I will do as I please . I like some of my family and not other members and I don ’ t give a damn what they think .
My parents don ’ t say much , they are encouraging but I failed one year and I think they ’ re worried for me that I won ’ t be able to do it . But I will make my own choice .
I ’ m the only one who ’ s going to decide .
For others the views and wishes of their parents still clearly mattered . For some , it was a matter of expectation since parents and siblings had all gone to university . In the words of one boy it ’ s a requirement . For others , without a family history of going to university , there was a sense of wanting to make their parents proud and achieve in ways that their parents had not had the opportunity to do :
39