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1 Introduction
1.1 The period 1985-2005 witnessed major changes in Scottish education, caused partly by long-term social and economic changes, and also by changes and developments in education policy. It could be argued that changes in education policy -such as the introduction of Standard Grade - represent a continuum of the reform process set in train by comprehensive reorganisation in the 1960s. On a fairly regular basis over this period 1 the Scottish School Leavers Surveys ( SSLS) asked young people about their experiences and achievements, their views of schooling and their transitions to the labour market. Thus the SSLS provided a unique resource to examine the changing experiences of secondary schooling since the 1980s. Importantly, the SSLS also collected information on family background that made possible the analysis of social inequalities in education.
1.2 Data from the surveys between 1985 and 2001 were brought together as a time-series dataset for a recent research project on Education and Youth Transitions in England, Wales and Scotland 1984-2002 which was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council ( ESRC). The current study updates the Scottish time-series to 2005 by including the last SSLS cohort, thanks to sponsored research funding from the Scottish Government. 2005 is the end point for the time-series because the SSLS will not be carried out in future
1.3 This report uses the updated time-series to describe changes in the context of secondary schooling, and in young people's attainments and experiences of schooling. It uses statistical models to analyse inequalities in young people's outcomes in relation to gender, family background, school characteristics and location, and the extent to which these have changed over time. It seeks to address three questions:
- How did the context of secondary schooling change between 1985 and 2005?
- How did young people's school experiences and attainments change over the period?
- To what extent did inequalities in attainment change over this period?
1.4 The focus on inequalities in schooling is timely, in the light of the recent review of Scottish education by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development ( OECD) which highlighted serious problems of socio-economic inequality, a widening achievement gap, and large numbers of 16-19 year-olds who are not in education, employment or training ( OECD 2007). These are important issues for the Scottish Government as it seeks to create a fairer Scotland.
1.5 The report has the following sections:
- The Scottish School Leavers Surveys
- The changing context of secondary schooling
- Social segregation between schools
- Overall trends in attainment and participation
- Inequalities by gender, family background, school characteristics and location
- Discussion
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