Vocational GCSEs may be holding girls back, research suggests

They found that young people who took applied GCSEs were less likely to stay on at A-level and to take 'facilitating' A-levels favoured by prestigious universities. Vocational subjects appeared to put both boys and girls at a disadvantage, even after taking into account the fact that less privileged young people and those with lower prior Key Stage test scores were more likely to take applied subjects at GCSE.

This disadvantage linked to applied GCSEs was particularly strong for girls. In particular, the researchers found that girls studying applied GCSEs were less likely to take 'facilitating' A-levels such as the sciences and maths. These findings suggest that girls could be held back if their schools encourage them to take those options.

Dr Vanessa Moulton, lead author of the paper, argues that applied subjects can be particularly unhelpful for girls who want to progress in education:

"Applied subjects are particularly strongly gendered, with girls and boys taking completely different subjects. Essentially what you see is predominantly working class girls taking subjects such as health and social care, which do not necessarily enhance their future prospects," she said. "Boys are more likely to take subjects such as engineering or information and communication technology, which may be less limiting post-16."

The research also examined whether pupils had taken 'EBacc' subjects for GCSE, and found pupils studying them were more likely to stay in education after 16. This was particularly true for girls.

The findings appear to give some support to Government reforms, which see schools judged on the proportion of pupils gaining good GCSEs in academic subjects, including languages, history or geography (known as the 'EBacc'). Opponents of the EBacc have argued it leads to too narrow a curriculum, and that these subjects are not always suitable for less able pupils.

Speaking of the EBacc, Dr Moulton said:

"We are unable to find evidence to support the value of less academic - non-EBacc - or applied subjects, not just on average, but for any social group, including working class pupils. In fact, for white pupils and girls in particular, taking EBacc subjects was strongly associated with staying on in full time education past 16."

Meanwhile, another paper in the same series, also published today, highlights the influence that schools have on the GCSE subjects that pupils take. Researchers found that the biggest influence on whether or not pupils choose to study academically demanding subjects at GCSE is the average attainment at their school and not their own past performance. The paper uses data from the National Pupil Database on mainstream English state-funded schools for the academic year 2005-06.

According to the research, a bright pupil in an academically selective school is more likely to take an academic route than an equally bright pupil in a less selective school. Pupils in single-sex schools are also more likely to study academically demanding subjects.

Dr Jake Anders from the IOE, lead author on the study, said:

"These results highlight that we should be sceptical of considering young people's subjects of study purely in terms of 'choice.' They are, at most, constrained choices, potentially both for individuals and for schools."

Some schools with less advantaged intakes may be more likely to offer their pupils more applied subjects, the paper suggests. Alternatively, schools in poorer areas may struggle to recruit good teachers in more academic subjects, and this may prevent pupils from taking certain combinations of options.

The research was funded by the Nuffield Foundation and the Economic and Social Research Council.

Media coverage

• The Independent
• Schools Week
• TES

Media contact

Katherine Butler
Email: k.butler@ucl.ac.uk
Tel: 020 7911 5389

Links

• Read the paper: 'Continuing Education Post-16: Does What You Study at GCSE matter?' by Vanessa Moulton, Morag Henderson, Jake Anders and Alice Sullivan (PDF)
• Read the paper: 'The role of schools in explaining individuals' subject choices at age 14' by Jake Anders, Morag Henderson, Vanessa Moulton and Alice Sullivan
• Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS)
• Dr Vanessa Moulton's research profile
• Dr Jake Anders' research profile
• Next Steps study