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The research takes education and training in Great Britain as its focus. Education in Great Britain is at one and the same time unified as the major element on the UK system and divergent in its relative autonomy within Wales, Scotland and England. Similarly, while Great Britain as a political, administrative and social system shares many common elements and operates within the same macro-level framework of economic, social and political change, differences in its devolved education systems exist and may be deepening. This particular configuration provides scope for the examination of the extent of policy divergence and convergence within Great Britain. Furthermore it provides a unique opportunity to assess the outcomes of divergent policies on outcomes in education and training in contexts where we may be confident that the effects of overall changes in society and economy are shared. The study builds on the methodology that was developed successfully by the earlier ESRC-funded Home Internationals Project, while extending its scope to consider the dimensions of change over time, and variations between regions and localities within each system. The study will use time-series data from existing cohort surveys to map the changes since 1984 in young peoples experiences of education and training, their qualifications, attitudes and transitions from school to post-school destinations. It will analyse the factors influencing rising levels of attainment and participation in tertiary education and youth training schemes. It will consider the effects of long-term socio-economic trends that have affected the whole of Great Britain, such as the relationship between attainment levels and changes in the labour market. It will identify the extent of education policy convergence and divergence within Great Britain and assess the extent to which young people have different outcomes and transitions as a result of different institutions and policies in each country. The research will bring together existing data from cohort surveys, and create time-series datasets for England, Wales and Scotland that will make it easier for other researchers to undertake comparative research. As well as providing extensive and important empirical data, the research will contribute to theory-building in the field of education policy, through its assessment of the impact of divergent policy in convergent context. Outputs from the study will include a dissemination conference and briefings for policy-makers and practitioners, as well as academic papers

Award/Grant Outputs and Documents
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