Background to the Research

• Interviews with Year 13 students and their parents in 1996 suggested that they had limited information on the cost of higher education participation and that financial considerations played little role in students' decisions on higher education destinations. The relatively high proportion of entrants who left Northern Ireland was explained by a desire to seek independence or a perception that entry grades to preferred courses were lower outside Northern Ireland than in either University of Ulster or Queen's University Belfast. This led to the conclusion that a proportion of 'leavers' would stay if the number of higher education places in Northern Ireland was increased.This report constitutes a summary of key findings of a follow-up study which took place in early 1998 and involved a survey and focus group interviews with Year 14 students from a sample of grammar and schools and further education colleges within Northern Ireland.

Research Approach

• The sample of nine schools and colleges included two further education colleges and seven grammar schools, of which two were under Catholic management arrangements. The sample was deliberately skewed towards those institutions which in the past had high proportions of pupils leaving Northern Ireland to enter higher education.
• The survey and focus groups interviews were conducted in two stages which coincided with key points in the UCAS process. The first point of contact was in February/March 1998 when students had completed their applications to higher education, selecting up to six choices, and the second when they were at the point of making two choices from offers received. Two sets of interviews with groups of ten students in each of the sample colleges took place after the survey of questionnaires had been completed by all students seeking a place in higher education.

Research Approach

Demand for higher education places in Northern Ireland

• From this sample of schools, which in the past had sent a higher than average proportion of leavers outside Northern Ireland, data indicated a clear preference for entering higher education in Northern Ireland. Sixty three per cent of those responding had firm choices in HEIs within Northern Ireland.
  
• Data from the two stages of the survey provided evidence of a distinct shift in preferences towards Northern Ireland between the point of initial application and the stage where final choices were being made.

Differences between schools/colleges

• Distinct differences between schools/colleges were apparent on a number of issues. This was notable particularly in the location and type of HEI chosen, in the differences A-Level points scores required for entry, in the shifts in preferences towards Northern Ireland between the stages of the survey and by the extent to which students within different institutions were influenced by factors such as costs and perceptions of the quality of higher education both inside and outside Northern Ireland.
  
• A particular incidence of these differences related to perceptions of ease of entry to universities and colleges outside Northern Ireland. Almost one half of those who described themselves as reluctant leavers were from a further education college. Many of these students believed that was easier to gain entry to higher education outside Northern Ireland because they held GNVQ or BTEC qualifications.

Those who wish to remain in Northern Ireland

• The main factors influencing the decision to remain in Northern Ireland were cost, family ties and a positive perception of higher education in Northern Ireland, particularly at the second stage of the survey. Between the time of application and point of making final choices, cost has assumed greater importance.
  
• Cost was a particularly significant factor in two schools (both Catholic grammar schools) which had the highest percentage of pupils receiving school meals. Both of these schools had more than 70% of students with firm choices in Northern Ireland. Students in these schools were more likely to be influenced by cost as a factor in deciding to remain in Northern Ireland but appeared determined not to give up the aspiration to enter higher education. The main options indicated by these students should they be unable to gain a place in their preferred institution, were to try 'clearing' or repeat A-levels. It is worth pointing out that those who are prepared to enter clearing do so in the context of both universities in Northern Ireland currently offering very few clearing places. It is felt that these students may be at risk ultimately of abandoning their hopes should they not attain grades for entry to the two Northern Ireland universities.

Those whose preference was outside Northern Ireland

• The main factors influencing the decisions to leave Northern Ireland were the desire for greater independence, employment opportunities after graduation and ease of entry into some institutions in GB. The availability of specific courses such as veterinary medicine was also a factor. Employment prospects had become a more important factor at the point of making final choices.

Attitudes to higher education

• Overall, very little evidence emerged from the schools and colleges that individuals were turning away from higher education. Less than 10% of the students included in the survey indicated that they would be likely to abandon their hopes of entering higher education should they not achieve their initial objective. These results are not surprising given the nature of the sample. Moreover it is also the case, as individuals recognized, that there are very few labour market opportuneness for A-level leavers in Northern Ireland.

Teacher Training

• Only a small number of interviewees has applied for a teacher training place in Northern Ireland at Stage 1 (73). The majority of these were female.
  
• Of those seeking to undertake teacher training, only a small minority (11%) would prefer to leave Northern Ireland to study.