Young People's Choice of Higher Education, 1989-1991

Purpose #The purpose of the research project 'Unges valg af videregående uddannelse' (Young People's Choice of Higher Education) is to obtain information about young people's choice of higher education: # #- How do background factors such as sex, place of residence, and # social status influence the choice of study? #- What reasons do the young people themselves state for # their choice of study? #- Why do many young people regret their first choice of study # and choose another education instead? #- How do the admission restrictions influence the choice of # study and the considerations prior to the choice? #- Which types of information do the young people use? #- To which an extent is the young people's choice of study # influenced by information about future employment prospects? # #The purpose is to combine a 'decision' theory, which deals with the individual's considerations and choices with a so-called 'allocation' theory, which deals with the processes in society which form the basis of the distribution of young people on education and occupations. # The project was initiated in the autumn of 1988 and it will be completed in 1992. It is a longitudinal study in which a sample of young people is followed for nearly three years. # The project was funded by the Danish Social Science Research Council. It was initiated by the Danish Institute of Educational Research and it was carried out by a project group which includes researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the Technical University of Denmark. # #Education policy #Since the mid-60s the intake of students and the restricted admission to higher education have been the most discussed education political problems; and the introduction of the general numerus clausus in 1977 intensified the debate. At the end of the 1980s it was widely accepted that it was necessary to develop new methods of regulating and influencing young people's choice of education. One of the major issues of the debate has been the large number of young people who are not admitted. # Restricted admission based on examination quotients has been severely critized. However, this criticism has not been documented by means of major surveys. The project group hopes that this project may subject a number of points of criticism to a more detailed examination. # The drop-out rate has also been discussed in recent years as one of largest problems in connection with higher education. The drop-out rate should, to a large extent, be regarded as a stage of the long process which the choice of education is. In many cases it is about opting out rather than dropping out. Dropping out therefore has to be considered as an element in the young people's considerations, as a testing of themselves as well as the various types of study. # #Information and guidance #During the approx. 15 years in which restricted admission has been employed the education political intention has been to direct the young people's interests towards an education with good employment prospects. This has been done, primarily, by means of information and guidance, and the efforts have gradually been intensified. The Danish guidance and counselling system is - according to international standards - very extensive. # During the last approx. 15 years the attempts at influencing the young people's educational preferences have only to some extent been successful. Thus, there are many indications that the efforts concerning information and guidance have only to a limited extent influenced the young people's preferences. # The primary investigators hope to be able to map out the young people's use of information and guidance - including how the information influences the young people's own considerations. # #Part projects #The survey is divided into three part projects. The largest project by far is the longitudinal survey of a sample of young people who in the school year 1988-89 were in the third form of the 'gymnasium' (Upper Secondary School) or the second form of HF (Higher Preparatory Examination). The two minor projects are a register survey of 'patterns' in the young people's applications, and a survey of the historical development of the number of applicants. # #The longitudinal survey comprises a sample of approx. 1400 young people, in approx. 60 forms, who were about to complete their gymnasium or HF examination in the spring of 1989. # The survey population was followed until the spring of 1991. The purpose was to map out the young people's background, their considerations concerning choice of education, their first choice, an assessment of whether it was a right choice, and whether they made a second choice. # The longitudinal survey was carried out with the permission of the Directorate for Upper Secondary Education (Direktoratet for Gymnasieskolen og HF) and with practical assistance from the schools, the student counsellors, and their trade organization. # The longitudinal survey was carried out according to the #following schedule: # #Autumn 1988: Preliminary interviews, questionnaire preparation. #April 1989: Completion of questionnaire I in 1 or 2 student # guidance lessons in approx. 60 classes. #June 1989: Personal interviews with approx. 25 students. #November 1989: Questionnaire II sent to private address. # Followed by personal interviews. #March 1990: Questionnaire IIA sent to private address. # Followed by personal interviews. #April 1991: Questionnaire III sent to private address. # Followed by personal interviews. # #The purpose of the register survey was to map out and examine various aspects revealed as regards the young people's education preferences when their choice of education of first priority is compared with choices of a lower priority. Are the choices based on any logic as regards type of study, do they reflect the wish for a certain type of job, or are the choices based on totally different connecting principles. # The register survey consists of an extract from the Co-Ordinated Enrolment System (Koordinerede Tilmelding - KOT) in January 1992. # #The historical survey is a collecting and systematizing of already existing available information about the development of the number of applications for various types of education, completion percentage, etc. The survey deals with possible connections between the young people's preferences and general social and cultural trends