Cohort trends in educational qualifications in Britain

Maire Ni Bhrolchain and Debbie Davies, University of Southampton

(Project no. 30118)

The project is designed to investigate some anomalous findings regarding intra-cohort change in the proportions reporting degree level qualifications. A variety of data sources are being examined to establish how far the trends reflect a real underlying upward movement within cohorts in degree level qualifications, and how far it may reflect a bias or biases, and if so the origins of these.

The LS is unique in that it will allow an examination of the entire period 1971 to 2001; furthermore, the LS as a source is large enough to allow reliable comparisons to be made over time, with adequate precision.