Do Less-Advantaged Students Avoid Prestigious Universities? An Applicant-Centred Approach to Understanding UCAS Decision-Making

Autor/inn/en	McGrath, Susan; Rogers, Lynne
Titel	Do Less-Advantaged Students Avoid Prestigious Universities? An Applicant-Centred Approach to Understanding UCAS Decision-Making
Quelle	In: British Educational Research Journal, 47 (2021) 4, S.1056-1078 (23 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (McGrath, Susan) ORCID (Rogers, Lynne)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0141-1926
DOI	10.1002/berj.3710
Schlagwörter	College Choice; Decision Making; Reputation; Selective Admission; College Applicants; Disproportionate Representation; Task Analysis; Secondary School Students; Student Characteristics; Student Motivation; Institutional Characteristics; Academic Advising; Information Sources; Knowledge Level; Career Guidance; Public Schools; Private Schools; Access to Information; Developmental Psychology; Cognitive Psychology; Foreign Countries; United Kingdom + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Studienortwahl; Decision-making; Entscheidungsfindung; Bildungsselektion; College applications; Studienbewerber; Aufgabenanalyse; Sekundarschüler; Schulische Motivation; Akademischer Rat; Information source; Informationsquelle; Wissensbasis; Berufsorientierung; Public school; Öffentliche Schule; Private school; Privatschule; Entwicklungspsychologie; Kognitive Psychologie; Ausland; Großbritannien
Abstract	Less-advantaged students are under-represented at prestigious universities, but can we infer that they actively avoid them? This research measured university applicants' knowledge of 115 UK universities. Using card-sort tasks within an interview format, 56 Year 13 students from different types of 16-19 education described how they chose five courses for their application form. Significant cross-cohort trends in knowledge and understanding demonstrated the influence of different educational environments, but within-cohort variation showed that applicant characteristics could over-ride environmental factors. The only cohort where every student understood relative status was an independent school providing individual, career-focused guidance. Limited resources in state-sector schools and colleges necessitated 'opt-in' models of guidance, meaning that only highly motivated students were well-informed. When students knew that universities are ranked by national league tables, this informed their decision-making strategy, but reliance on word-of-mouth rather than fact-based information resulted in some students over-estimating status and graduate outcomes. A new conceptual framework blending developmental and cognitive psychology explained persistent class-based progression trends whilst demonstrating how personal agency or educational interventions enabled some less-advantaged students to enter prestigious universities. There was no evidence that prestigious universities were actively avoided, but some students had insufficient knowledge or understanding to make status-based distinctions. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01