Scottish Government

CHAPTER FOUR RESEARCH FINDINGS - P7 PUPILS

This chapter focuses on results of the P7 survey.

4.1 THOUGHT GIVEN TO WHAT PUPILS WILL DO WHEN THEY FINISH SECONDARY SCHOOL

A majority of P7 pupils have at least thought about life after secondary school but only two-fifths already know what they are going to do. Girls (43%) are more likely than boys (38%) to know what they are going to do.

4.2 Attitudes towards education and future

In general, P7 pupils are very positive about doing well in school (even more so than S4 pupils, in fact):

• 82% agree strongly that they like to do well in tests at school
• 79% agree strongly that it is very important to do well at school if you want to get on in life
• 73% agree strongly that their parents/guardians are always encouraging me to do well at school
• 64% agree strongly that they would like to go to university or college when I finish school

As with S4 pupils, very few agree strongly with the negative statements:

• 5% agree strongly school is a waste of time
• 6% agree strongly that even if you do well at school, there are no good jobs around here

* Percentages may not add up to 100 due to some pupils not answering

P7 pupils were shown a list of nine factors (i.e. two fewer than S4 pupils) and asked to rank them in order of importance when they come to decide on their first job.

As for S4 pupils, the most important factor, by some distance, was 'doing a job you enjoy'. 'Working as part of a team' was the second most important factor, just ahead of 'earning lots of money' and then another large gap to 'being your own boss'.

4.3 How P7 pupils believe they are perceived in different situations

P7 pupils were asked to state how they thought others would describe them in two different environments; at school and out with friends.

'Happy' and 'confident' come through strongly in both environments but there are a number of key differences according to environment. For example, they believe they are significantly more likely to be seen as 'loud', 'silly', 'easy-going' and 'popular' when they are out with friends than when they are at school. On the other hand, they feel they will come across as more 'responsible', 'hard-working', 'quiet' and 'shy' at school. In other words, just like S4 pupils, they think that they can successfully be 'different people' according to circumstance.

* Percentages add up to more than 100 due to multiple responses
Source: Benchmarking Research of young people's perceptions of Enterprise

4.4 EVALUATING SUCCESS

As with S4 pupils, parents / guardians was the top category amongst P7 pupils. However, famous business people, the second most popular category among older pupils, was ranked much lower by younger pupils, who were more likely to consider sports, film and pop stars as successful. Amongst P7 pupils, sports stars were seen as relatively more important by boys, whereas girls were more likely than boys to classify film stars, pop stars and famous artists/designers as successful.

* Percentages add up to more than 100 due to multiple responses

An even higher proportion of P7 pupils (82%) than S4 pupils (74%) believe they can achieve similar levels of success to those that they described as being successful.

4.5 Finding out information

P7 pupils also find out the information they are interested in from a variety of sources. The top two sources are television (86%) and parents/carers (77%). Overall, 75% of P7 pupils have access to the internet at home.

* Percentages add up to more than 100 due to multiple responses

4.6 Participation in extra-curricular activities

A majority of P7 pupils (83%) had taken part in fund-raising activities and a majority (62%) had run an enterprise or business project at school. Girls are significantly more likely than boys to have taken part in all three types of activity listed in the table.

* Percentages add up to more than 100 due to multiple responses

4.7 Attitudinal Segmentation

Factor and cluster analyses were also performed on the P7 'attitudinal' data to assess whether there are distinct segments within this age group. As with S4 pupils, four segments emerged and these have been given the following labels:

• Confidently Optimistic
• Potential Entrepreneurs
• Shy & Intelligent
• Drifters

Each of the segments is now described in detail:

4.7.1 Confidently Optimistic

Those who are 'Confidently Optimistic' account for 33% of P7 pupils.

Attitudinally, they are high in self-belief. They enjoy new experiences and challenges, are unlikely to worry and are very positive about education.

Other distinguishing attitudes/characteristics for members of this segment are as follows:

• They have thought much more than other segments about their future after school
• 'A job you enjoy' stands out even more as number one factor in job choice for this segment
• They have a very high opinion of themselves
• They are less likely than other segments to see friends as being successful but more likely to view their parents in this way
• They are most likely to believe they can achieve similar success

The role 'Determined to Succeed' needs to play for the Confidently Optimistic segment is to maintain their self-belief and their interest in education.

4.7.2 Potential Entrepreneurs

Those who are 'Potential Entrepreneurs' account for 25% of P7 pupils.

Attitudinally, they are very adventurous and like competing. However, they have lower than average self-belief and tend to worry about new situations. They are fairly neutral on the topic of education but less likely than others to go into further education.

Other distinguishing attitudes/characteristics for members of this segment are as follows:

• They have given less thought to life after secondary school than other segments
• They are more interested than other segments in having a job that earns a lot of money
• They also have higher than average interest in being their own boss
• They are most likely to be impressed by local business people
• They have high confidence in their own future success
• They are much more likely than other segments to have taken part in 'entrepreneurial' / fund-raising activities
• They are more likely to be boys than girls
• This segment is most likely to attend 'enterprising' schools

The role 'Determined to Succeed' needs to play for members of the Potential Entrepreneurs segment is to maintain their interest in being competitive, as well as their entrepreneurial spirit and participation in business-oriented activities.

4.7.3 Shy & Intelligent

Those who are 'Shy & Intelligent' account for 33% of P7 pupils. Attitudinally, they have the potential to be adventurous but are currently lacking confidence. They are not competitive and have a tendency to worry about things. They are very positive about education and would like to go into further education.

Other distinguishing attitudes/characteristics for members of this segment are as follows:

• This is the second most likely segment to have given thought to their future beyond school
• They are more likely than average to see teachers and politicians as successful
• They are less positive than other segments about achieving similar success
• They are more likely than other segments to be aged 11 years and much more likely to be girls than boys

The role 'Determined to Succeed' needs to play for the Shy & Intelligent segment is to develop its confidence.

4.7.4 Drifters

Those who are 'Drifters' account for 13% of P7 pupils.

Attitudinally, they like to compete but are low in self-belief. They are much more likely to than other segments to see school and education as a waste of time.

Other distinguishing attitudes/characteristics for members of this segment are as follows:

• This segment is least likely to have thought about its future beyond school
• They are more money-driven than other segments
• They are least likely to feel they can be successful
• They are much less likely than all other segments to have Internet access at home
• They are more likely to be boys than girls
• They are most likely to be an only child
• They are more likely than average to attend 'less enterprising' schools

The role 'Determined to Succeed' needs to play for the Drifters segment is to engage it in either education or non-education activities.