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Today in Europe, for many students, leaving secondary school does not correspond to the starting point of their working careers. Large proportions of them continue in education, experience a period of unemployment, or attend a training program. Many factors, individual and institutional, can account for differences in students' destinations. This briefing reports the main findings of a study on the effect of individual and school factors on different students' destinations in three countries: the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, and Scotland. The briefing finds that, among the three countries, different proportions of young people attend various types of schools and enter various post-school destinations, and that without controlling for individual or school factors, the variation across schools in students' destinations tends to be higher in the Netherlands than in Ireland and Scotland. Individual factors are responsible for most of the school variations found in Scotland and both school and individual characteristics contribute to school variations in students' destinations in Ireland. (BT)

The United Kingdom (UK) has four separate education systems, each with different traditions. In Scotland and Wales all state-funded secondary schooling is comprehensive, whereas in Northern Ireland it is selective, and in England there are regional differences in the extent of selection. This briefing considers whether differences among the four education systems are associated with different levels of social inequality in attainment. The briefing focuses on students aged 16 in 1990. It finds that evidence from this research provides support for the comprehensive system. Cites 4 related publications. (Author/BT)

A study analyzed a range of factors associated with male and female low attainment and the subsequent routes of low attainers leaving S4 up to the age of 19, using the Scottish School Leavers Survey data from 1978-96. The most significant trend was the extent to which low attainment declined, although significant differences in terms of gender were also found. In 1978, the extent of low attainment was broadly similar between the sexes, but females improved at a faster rate. Social background and area characteristics were the strongest predictor of low attainment. A large fall was identified in the numbers leaving school and entering directly into employment. A desire among low attainers for employment rather than training prevailed. A small proportion found stable employment; the routes of the majority were characterized by uncertainty with frequent switching between statuses. While more females entered employment, on leaving school they had lower levels of participation in training. Compared to better-qualified S4 leavers, male low attainers were less likely to have been continually employed, complete training, and have a greater instability in routes followed. However, the majority were employed at age 18/19. Just over half of all low attainers gained any form of additional qualifications. Female S4 leavers were likely to gain some form of additional qualification. (Appendixes contain 55 references and data tables.) (YLB)

Based on a secondary analysis of the Scottish School Leavers Surveys from 1978-96, a study focused on low attainment with particular reference to gender. Findings indicated the proportion of low-attainers at ordinary or standard grade had more than halved since the 1970s; it declined more among women than men. Low S4 attainment was associated with social background and neighborhood deprivation. The proportion of low-attaining S4 leavers who entered full-time employment had fallen sharply since the 1970s. By the mid-1990s, the early careers of those who entered employment were characterized by frequent switching between statuses. Only a minority of low-attaining S4 leavers were female, but when trying to find employment, the consequences of low attainment were more severe for young women. Among S4 leavers, low qualifications and unemployment after leaving school were important predictors of unemployment at age 18/19. Training reduced the risk of unemployment for young men; for young women, personal characteristics appeared to be more important. Just over half of young people with low S4 attainment gained further qualifications by age 18/19. Those who continued in full-time education were much more likely to gain further qualifications than those who entered training or employment. (YLB)

Data that were originally gathered during the 1978-1990, 1994, and 1996 Scottish School Leavers Surveys were subjected to a secondary analysis to identify the qualifications, characteristics, and choices of high-attaining female school leavers. The following were among the key findings of the analysis: (1) on average, young women from all social backgrounds had higher attainment than did young men with the same social background; (2) no evidence was found that the gender gap varied between schools; (3) compared with young men, young women had higher average standard grade attainment and were more likely to remain in school after age 16; (4) having friends who took school seriously was related to high attainment, and more young women than young men had peer groups that took school seriously; (5) gender differences in subject choice emerged in S5/S6, after subject choices are no longer restricted; (6) like lower-achieving students, high-attainers showed traditional gender-specific preferences for certain subjects in S5/S6; (7) high-attaining young women were less likely to enter higher education than were higher-attaining young men, although they were equally likely to apply; and (8) the issues involved in redressing gender inequality for young women differ from those for young men. (Contains 18 references.) (MN)

Data that were originally gathered during the 1978-1990, 1994, and 1996 Scottish School Leavers Surveys were subjected to a secondary analysis to identify the qualifications, characteristics, and choices of high-attaining female school leavers. The analysis revealed that female and male high-attaining school leavers had broadly similar average qualifications, and most of them went on to further full-time study. However, males generally opted for more stereotypically "male" subjects such as engineering, technology, mathematics, and computing, while females generally chose more people-oriented subjects such as education, languages, and biological sciences. Those subject choices had an important impact on male and female school leavers' later attainment and opportunities. Female high-attainers generally outnumbered male high-attainers; however, the gap narrowed in later years of schooling. The study confirmed the relationship between social advantage and high attainment for students of both genders. The fact that girls appeared to take school more seriously than boys did appeared to be the only factor that could explain differences in males' and females' academic attainment. (Twenty-seven tables/figures are included. The bibliography contains 30 references. Appended is a table detailing responses to survey questions about parents' involvement in the secondary education of their high- and low-achieving male and female children.) (MN)

This report describes trends and patterns in school-leaver entry to higher education in Scotland. (School-leaver entrants to higher education are those who leave school and start higher education in the same year, or direct entrants.) The report uses data from the Scottish School Leavers' Survey (SSLS), a biennial sample survey of school leavers conducted in the spring after leaving school from 1978 to 1993. It is the first of a series of five reports based on analyses of the SSLS. The report is set in the context of recent developments in Scottish higher education, notably the rapid expansion of participation. It explores key policy issues, including the aim to widen access for school leavers from less advantaged social backgrounds, the role of sub-degree provision, and the role of secondary grades as preparation for higher education. The report maps school-leaver entry as of 1993, describes recent trends, and models the process of entry in order to understand student-level factors, which influence participation. Two appendices contain definitions and categories and statistical bases. Contains 22 references. (EV)

Patterns of school-to-work transition in Ireland and Scotland in 1979-1991 were compared by using data from the annual Irish and biennial Scottish school leavers surveys. Unemployment among school leavers in both countries increased rapidly over the study period. A comparison of both respondent groups' educational experiences, educational attainment, labor market history, training, and course enrollments established that, although both countries saw an increase in participation in postcompulsory education, participation rates remained higher in Ireland than in Scotland. Throughout the study period, greater proportions of Scottish school leavers departed from the junior level of education. Unemployment rates were higher in Ireland than in Scotland. Individuals who left school at the end of their junior cycle were more likely to be unemployed. In Scotland, approximately half of all junior leavers entered youth training programs or apprenticeships. In Ireland, only a small proportion of junior leavers entered some form of training. The study demonstrated that the Irish response to unemployment of allowing full-time education to expand was not always attractive to poorly qualified young people. On the other hand, the Scottish response of increased provision of training prevented immediate unemployment for poorly qualified young people and provided an alternative to continuing in school. (MN)

A project analyzed the impact of Youth Credits, a new system for funding youth training. The system was introduced as a pilot project by 10 English/Welsh Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs). Focus was on early school leavers' participation in training and on their achievement of vocational qualifications. Data were obtained from the Youth Cohort Study (YCS), a nationally representative postal survey of age cohorts in England and Wales. The YCS provided before-after data and control group data. The TEC areas in which Youth Credits were first piloted varied widely. On average, they had higher proportions of nonwhite youth, but were, in other respects, representative of England and Wales. Girls' rates of staying in full-time education rose faster in the pilot areas than elsewhere. Youth Credits had no effect on unemployment rates among those who left education. Youth Credits did not increase the total level of training among 16-year-old school leavers but did increase the proportion of training that was employment based and the proportion that was government supported. Youth Credits appeared to have a redistributive effect. They increased participation in government-supported training among young workers with medium or high attainments on the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), but reduced it among those with no GCSE grades. Government-supported training helped to compensate for inequalities in access to nongovernment training among early school leavers. It was also more likely to lead to vocational qualifications. (YLB)

The aim of this study was to consider the extent to which guidance provision in secondary schools in Scotland met the guidance needs of pupils and their parents. The approach taken was to focus on experiences and perceptions of both consumers and providers of guidance, to relate their views to guidance processes, and to judge the situation in project schools against national and regional policies about guidance. A main finding of the research was the extent to which pupils' opinion and experience of guidance was dependent on the attitude and approach of individual guidance teachers. However, it is strongly suggested that the majority of guidance staff would operate more effectively if the conditions within which they work were further developed. Chapters are: (1) Introduction; (2) The research; (3) Profile of school staff; (4) guidance provision in the Project Schools (1993/94); (5) The guidance needs of pupils and their parents; (6) Guidance in practice: the teacher perspective; (7) Guidance in practice: the pupil perspective; (8) Guidance in practice: the parent perspective; (9) Careers and the World of Work; and (10) Discussion and issues. Appendices are: (1) Pupil Questionnaires and (2) Parent Questionnaires. (JBJ)

In response to the (Scottish) government's decision to publish annual educational examination results, on a school-by-school basis, a three-year development program was established by Grampian Education Authority (Scotland) and the Centre for Educational Sociology (CES) at the University of Edinburgh. In this report, the main findings of the development program with respect to two different types of indicators of school performance are described. The types of indicators include: young people's perceptions of their experiences at school, and the "added value" of schools in terms of their pupils' attainment. Key findings include: (1) the majority of young people who attended Grampian secondary schools found their schooling a worthwhile experience; (2) over three-quarters agreed that "school work was worth doing,""discipline was fair," and "my teachers helped me to do my best"; (3) average attainment in public examinations has risen between 1993 and 1994; (4) although there are large differences between Grampian schools in the average attainment of school leavers, most of the difference between schools are attributable to differences in pupil intakes; and (5) league tables based solely on published examination results, which do no control for pupil intake, give a misleading picture of the relative effectiveness of Grampian schools. Tables showing results of the survey are provided. (EH)

The purpose of this study was to describe the recent extent and distribution of work experience of young people in Scotland, using data from the Scottish Young People's Survey (SYPS). SYPS, based on a 10 percent sample of all schools in Scotland, is conducted biennially in spring by mail and achieves a response rate of around 80 percent. In the 1987 survey, 20 percent of the respondents reported that they had had a work experience placement. Analysis of earlier surveys indicated that this was the highest percentage over the past decade. The range across local education authorities for work experience was from 12 percent to 32 percent. More girls, 22 percent, went on work experience than boys, 18 percent. The 5 Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) pilot projects had 70 percent of their students in work experience placement. The extent of part-time work during the school term was 45 percent, compared to the 20 percent of work experience placement. A greater proportion of girls than boys had a part-time job. It is suggested that the use of students' own part-time jobs could help to achieve work experience for all students. Integrating the part-time work of some pupils into work experience provision would enable schools to concentrate on finding additional placements for the 44 percent of students who have neither part-time jobs in term-time nor go out on work experience. (23 references, 10 tables) (CML)