Preparing students for university study: a statistical comparison of different post-16 qualifications

Gill, Tim

doi:10.1080/02671522.2017.1302498

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…In common with the majority of findings for OECD countries, continuation rates are lower for those taking BTEC rather than A level qualifications (Banerjee, 2019), even taking into account grades held (Hayward & Hoelscher, 2011; Office for Students, 2022; Round et al, 2012). Similarly, the proportions gaining a first or at least a 2:1 degree are lower for BTEC than A level entrants (Gill, 2018; Gill & Vidal Rodeiro, 2014; Office for Students, 2022; Round et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The availability of linked administrative data with fine‐grained measures of attainment at a subject at age 16, before the experience of students taking ACAD, VOC and MIXED pathways diverges, allows us to compare hypothetical students doing the same course at the same university who differ only in their upper secondary pathway. We thus avoid the problem of a lack of equivalence of grades points awarded to qualifications of different types discussed in the literature (Gill, 2018; Green & Vignoles, 2012). The extensive set of variables relating to student characteristics in this linked dataset allows us to compare students from the same social background in order to disentangle the role of entering university with vocational qualifications, and the characteristics of those who take the vocational route.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The path increasingly travelled: Vocational entry qualifications, socioeconomic status and university outcomes

Dilnot

Macmillan²,

Wyness³

2023

British Educational Res J

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Many countries have introduced flexibility in their admissions equivalents for tertiary education, allowing students to apply with vocational rather than academic qualifications at upper secondary level. However, entrants with vocational qualifications are generally less likely to succeed at university. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are also, on average, less likely to succeed: they are more likely to drop out, or graduate with a lower class degree, even when they have the same prior attainment scores and take the same university course. Rich individual‐level data in England drawn from administrative records allow us to link outcomes at university with social background and attainment and qualification routes at school, going back to lower secondary level, before academic and vocational pathways diverge. We can thus use the English example to explore whether the relative lack of success of students from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds is in part because they are more likely to enter university with non‐traditional qualifications that offer less effective preparation for study. Our results reveal a significant penalty associated with entering university with these vocational qualifications. Controlling for qualification type reduces the SES gradient in dropping out of university by 42%, and graduation with a lower class degree by 28%, although significant SES gradients in success still remain. There is a tension between allowing students from lower SES backgrounds to use vocational routes to enter university and these persistent gaps in university outcomes. Countries using both vocational and academic routes as pathways to university should be aware of this potential conflict.

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