Research examines ways of reaching the “unteachables”

Citation

(2006), "Research examines ways of reaching the “unteachables”", Education + Training, Vol. 48 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2006.00448dab.001

Research examines ways of reaching the “unteachables”

Boys are the group most likely to truant, perform badly at school and fail to get back on track when they leave. But evidence shows that both boys and girls who become disengaged from secondary education can turn their lives around by taking vocational qualifications at 16-plus. A report from the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) shows that many of those who underachieve at school can become “re-engaged” and start to move up the occupational ladder, with the right circumstances, the right curriculum and support from parents and teachers.

Tales of Disengagement: A Story Retold analyses existing information about young people in their last five years at school. Researchers looked at the characteristics of young people who were frequent truants and performed badly in national tests, including GCSEs, at ages 11, 14 and 16, then tracked them into their late teenage years. It examined the links between poor educational achievements, gender, ethnic background, social deprivation, family circumstances and school experience. One key question was whether vocational education can help to re-engage these young people and get them started on careers.

The main findings are:

1. 1.

   Gender, ethnicity and social deprivation:

   • •

     Boys are more likely than girls to do badly at secondary school. Black and Asian boys start to underachieve earlier, between the ages of 11 and 14, then stabilise. White boys, however, start to underachieve later, between the ages of 14 and 16.

   • •

     The ethnic groups most likely to improve after earlier underachievement are Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese, with girls performing better than boys.

2. 2.

   Parental support and social deprivation:

   • •

     Social deprivation, based largely on eligibility for free school meals, appears to have a greater effect on the educational performance of white pupils than any other ethnic group. In other words, being from a socially disadvantaged background makes it harder for white youngsters to improve than for other ethnic groups.

   • •

     The key factors that seem to lessen the impact of truancy on school achievements are parental involvement (such as attendance at parents’ evenings), school-based career advice and work experience. But while a good background and supportive family increase the chances of many low-achievers re-engaging in further education, for the more seriously disengaged these factors are unlikely to have an effect.

3. 3.

   Vocational qualifications at 16-plus:

   • •

     A significant number of those who truant at school and who also fail to achieve five or more good GCSEs nevertheless do acquire some vocational qualifications after leaving school.

   • •

     The former truants who are most likely to go on to study vocational qualifications after school are girls, plus pupils (both sexes) from a non-white ethnic background, living with their mother (or both parents), who receive career advice and do some work experience while at school.

   • •

     Many boys and girls who leave school with few or no qualifications fail to obtain them subsequently. But some go on to gain vocational qualifications, such as NVQs, at college or through an apprenticeship. This group quickly catch up with their school mates with GCSEs by finding jobs and moving up the career ladder into skilled occupations. Most significantly, these youngsters quickly reach a par in salary with their peers.

   • •

     There is still a hard core of young people, however, who leave school with no qualifications and seem resistant to all efforts to engage in learning, despite efforts to engage them.

Darshan Sachdev, LSDA research manager, said: “These findings give some cause for optimism. They show that some underachievers can be motivated to get involved in education and find jobs. But the more seriously disengaged seem to be impervious to change, presenting a significant challenge for teachers and politicians. The goal is to increase the number of low achievers from school re-entering education or training and acquiring vocational qualifications. But the problem lies not only with the education system – the effects of social deprivation and unstable family backgrounds need to be tackled as well.”

Disengagement from Secondary Education: A Story Retold, by Steven McIntosh with Nicholas Houghton, is available from: Information Services, LSDA, Regent Arcade House, 19-25 Argyll Street, London W1F 7LS. Tel: 0207 297 9123; E-mail: enquiries@LSDA.org.uk