Is mum's push more of a shove?

Issues concerning the fine line between a mother who wants to make sure that her child maximises its chances and an intrusive, 'intensive' mother are examined in relation to parental involvement in the higher education choices made by students. Stephen Ball, professor of the sociology of education at the Institute of Education, notes that it had been assumed that students made autonomous choices about higher education, but it has come to be realised that these choices are in fact composite choices made by the whole family, with the mother being particularly significant in the decision.