Expressions of student debt aversion and tolerance among academically able young people in low-participation English schools

an article by Steven Jones (University of Manchester, UK) published in British Educational Research Journal Volume 42 Issue 2 (April 2016)

Abstract

The 2012 rise in student fees, from £3375 to £9000 per year, made England one of the costliest places to attend university in the world. Drawing on evidence from higher attaining young people attending low-participation schools, this paper renews established types of student debt aversion and tolerance, with sensitivity towards whether they reflect the (financial) ‘price’ of participation or the (cultural, social) ‘cost’ of participation.

Findings point to a complex web of inter-related factors informing a decision-making process that is rational, but often lacking detailed knowledge of key variables, such as the range of bursaries and grants available and the terms of the loan repayment.

The Ellsburg Paradox is invoked to explain the tendency of some young people to self-exclude, contrary to rational choice theory. For those without family support or precedent, participation is not greatly incentivised by assumed lifestyle and identity gains, and generous repayment concessions for low-earning graduates do not necessarily ease anxiety about debt.

Data point to a heightened awareness of labour market alternatives and of continued disquiet, both academic and non-academic, about ‘fitting in’ at university. Naturally, higher fees demand a recalculation of return-on-investment estimates for all young people. However, the participation ‘bet’ of those from low-participation schools is framed in ways unacknowledged by (and sometimes discordant with) dominant public discourses.

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One System or Four? Cross-Border Applications and Entries to Full-Time Undergraduate Courses in the UK Since Devolution

an article by David Raffe and Linda Croxford (Centre for Educational Sociology, University of Edinburgh, UK) published in Higher Education Quarterly Volume 67 Issue 2 (April 2013)

Abstract

This paper uses Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) data on applications and entries to full-time undergraduate courses to examine the changing flows of students across the boundaries of the four countries of the United Kingdom (UK), over a period (1996–2010) that embraces parliamentary devolution.

It asks whether the emergence of more distinct administrative systems of higher education, following devolution, is reflected in more distinct social systems as reflected in reduced cross-border flows of students. It reveals a declining tendency for UK applicants to apply to, and enter, higher education in another UK country.

This trend is partly attributable to devolution and to consequent changes such as differential fees. However the detailed patterns vary widely across the countries of the UK, across categories of student and across types of institution and programme.

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