Believing in Better: How Aspirations and Academic Self-concept Shape Young People's Outcomes

Report

Low aspirations are often cited as crucial in determining differences in students’ post 16 choices.1 In this report, we explore recent evidence about young people’s views and the importance they attach to going on to university, their beliefs about their own academic ability and their experiences of school to see how far these influences shape differences in A-level outcomes at age 18.

This report is the third in a series produced using EPPSE datai for the Sutton Trust and it explores students’ aspirations in relation to their views on the importance of getting a degree, their own university plans and their beliefs about their academic performance and abilities (described in this report as their ‘academic self-concept’). Our first report focused on high attaining students (identified at Key Stage 2 in primary school) who were followed up to Key Stage 5.2 Our second report investigated gender, ethnicity and 'place' poverty differences in academic outcomes during Key Stage 5 when students were in Year 12 and Year 13 of secondary education, attending either school or college.3 This report explores different factors that can shape young people’s goals, including parental, peer and school influences on students’ aspirations and their beliefs about their academic performance and abilities.

Authors: Sammons, P; Toth, K; Sylva, K

• Publication status: Not published
• Peer review status: Reviewed (other)
• Publisher: Sutton Trust
• Host title: Sutton Trust Research Papers
• Journal: Sutton Trust Research Papers
• Publication date: 2016-06-03
• Keywords: Aspirations Academic self concept A-levels