453

Higher Education 6 (1977) 453 476 9 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam - Printed in tile Netherlands

THE DECISION TO ENTER HIGHER EDUCATION: THE CASE OF POLYTECHNIC SOCIOLOGY STUDENTS*

B. HARRISON, J. P1DGEON, M. RIGBY and C. VOGLER**

Polytechnic of the South Bank, London, SEIOAA, England

ABSTRACT This paper examines the decision to enter higher education by students who entered British polytechnic degree courses in sociology/social studies. It is concerned with the extent to which occupational considerations affect the decision to enter and with relating these findings to theories of occupational choice. The paper commences with an examination of three models of occupational choice and summarises the findings of studies that have focused on the entry into higher education and occupational decisionmaking. The results of our own study, based on questionnaire and interview data, indicate that occupational considerations are of limited importance in the decision to enter sociology/social studies courses at polytechnics. Rather our data favours a model emphasizing the role of socio-cultural background of home and school creating expectations for higher education. Data on past decisions which affect educational careers indicated that entry into higher education was seen in terms of an automatic process rather than a conscious decision made for particular goals. In our population there was, however, a small vocationally oriented group who differed from other students, in which females and those under 18 years of age were over-represented, and who were predominantly from two colleges which offered vocational training in their courses. Our results, we conclude, lend support to a fortuitous model of occupational choice in respect of the decision to enter higher education. Expectations derived from socio-cultural backgrounds of the students were more important in determining entry than conscious occupational goals.

Theoretical Problems - Occupational Choice and Higher Education

as

Theoretical perspectives on occupational choice have been characterised f a l l i n g i n t o t h e r a t i o n a l - d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g , f o r t u i t o u s or s o c i o - c u l t u r a l

* The research on which the paper is based is located in the Department of Social Science, Polytechnic of the South Bank, and supported by the Social Science Research Council. **Work on this project has also been carried out by Dr I. C. Cannon and Ms. A. Scambler. An earlier draft of this paper was presented at the Standing Conference of The Sociology of Further Education, London, June 1975.

454 models (Pavalko, 1971). In the first case, choice is emphasized as being deliberate and conscious from the individual's viewpoint. The individual is assumed to make a personal and well thought out choice that represents a compromise between the work ideally desired and the work realistically expected to be attained. Such a compromise is often portrayed as resulting from a series of prior and interrelated decisions of increasing "realism" which are continually narrowing down the possibilities available (Ginzberg et al., 1951). The fortuitous approach views occupational choice as less a purposive, deliberate choice than a process in which alternatives are eliminated as a result of prior decisions in the individual's life, taken often for non-occupational reasons. Occupational choice becomes occupational drift which results in the individual being fortuitously (and infortuitously) located in proximity to a narrow occupational sector (Katz and Martin, 1962). The socio-cultural approach, typical of sociologists in this field, tends to view occupational choice within the framework of the individual's socialisation. Musgrave (1967), for example, suggests making socialisation the focus for developing a theory of occupational choice and he relates the individual's of occupational values and expectations to experience in family, school and peer group. In this context he is criticised by Coulson et al. (1967) for assuming that a close fit inevitably develops between the individual's values and the perception of the opportunities for their realization in the labour market, a problem created by his assumption that there exists an integrated societal value system based on consensus. In this paper we examine the decision to enter higher education in the context of these three approaches. It is clear and well documented that a strong relationship exists between educational and occupational attainment. The entry into higher education is an important stage in this relationship. The decision to undertake a degree puts an individual for the first time in the vicinity of a wide range of "graduate" occupations (although certainly this issue is not as clear cut as it was a decade ago). In the light of the three perspectives on occupational choice referred to above, we examine three specific problems in respect of this decision: (i) To what extent is the decision to enter higher education influenced by occupational considerations on the part of the student, i.e., to what extent is it compatible with the "rational", decision-making approach to occupational choice? Does the decision form part of a project belonging to the student which is aimed towards attaining entry into a particular occupation or range of occupations, or is the decision taken without reference to occupational considerations, thus falling into a fortuitous pattern? (ii) What is the relationship between the decision to enter higher education and previous educational decisions? Can all such decisions be seen

455 as part of a narrowing down process in which the individual moves through the conventional academic sifting process and into the proximity of a range of occupations reserved for grammar school, "O" level, " A " level [ 1 ], straight from school to degree products, or are such decisions marked by inconsistencies as Coulson et al. suggest, stemming from tile individual's varied and often contradictory experience? (iii) Finally we ask what role the socialisation process plays in the decision to enter higher education and its occupational emphasis, by examining student values in relation to their sex, family, educational and age backgrounds. At this point we shall briefly indicate the dominant trends in comparable data in the problems raised above; particular points from which will be picked up in more detail when we discuss our data. Most data on the reasons offered by students for wanting to enter higher education suggests that only a minority of students view the entry into higher education primarily in an occupational context. Marris (1964) shows how students often chose to enter higher education more as a natural outcome of their school career, without much conception of its rewards. The university students in his study gave their reasons for entry more in terms of external pressures, e.g., parents, school, sixth form. Choice of subject was made for its vocational relevance by only 25% of the students. The tendency for students to progress automatically from school to higher education was also indicated by Jackson and Marsden (1962), and Miller (1970) in his review of the literature, suggests that for many students the entry into higher education is not part of a decision-making process. Rather students view their under-graduate years as a moratorium during which they can postpone decisions and gradually find themselves. They are very weakly motivated in respect of both occupational and more intrinsic course reasons. In another study, Abbott (1971) found that 12% of the students at Newcastle University had no particular reason for entering university. For them it had been an automatic process, and occupational considerations were again only mentioned by a minority; the rest stressed desire to study, interest in a particular subject and desire to be independent, as the reasons for wanting to move into higher education. Morris (1969) found that most of the sixthformers applying to university in his study did not see higher education as a prerequisite for their future career, but were more influenced by past experience and future expectations of success and failure, seeing their entry into higher education mainly as a function of the academic process. They had an intrinsic orientation to higher education, adhering to traditional views of higher education as providing an opportunity for self-development. McCreath (1970) also found little evidence that sixth-formers consciously plan pro-

456 gress, taking rational choices concerning long-term aims. To summarize, the data referred to so far, which mainly related to university students, provides little evidence that most students view their entry into higher education primarily in occupational terms. For many it is an automatic progress, in which the school plays a strong supportive role along with parents. Sixthformers seem often to be encouraged to set their sights on higher education to the exclusion of everything else, including the provision of careers advice. When positive reasons are given, they are more often intrinsic reasons. The very limited data on polytechnic students suggests similar conclusions. In a study of Enfield Polytechnic students, involving a longitudinal analysis of student culture, Crutchley et al. (1971) found that the students were mainly "expressively" committed to their course, entailing expectations of immediate gratification and a concomitant lack of interest in future social roles. Similarly, in a study of sociology entrants to Manchester Polytechnic, Jary (1969), found that entry for vocational reasons was not typical. He classified the reasons for study entry into two areas, those laying stress on sociability reasons for entering the course and those stressing self-expressive reasons. The major difference between those students and university students was that the former had failed to obtain a university place. There is little data examining the relationship between the decision to enter higher education and previous educational decisions in terms of the meanings attached to these decisions at the time by the students. However one can construct the traditional educational career of entrants into higher education from the time of their entry into secondary school. It is suggested that students who diverge from this traditional pattern are in some way not taking part in a narrowing down process. This traditional pattern of progression is well documented in the literature on university students referred to above. The pattern commences with the type of secondary school attended. Traditionally public/private, direct grant and grammar schools were the schools attended by university entrants, i.e., schools with sixth forms in which later entry into higher education was an accepted objective for students. Then the pattern continued through the taking of "O" levels, movement into the sixth form, the taking of "A" levels and finally the m o v e m e n t of students directly from the sixth form into higher education. Patterns of divergence from this established pattern include attendance at a secondary modern school, leaving school at 15 or 16 with or without "O" levels being taken, leaving school in the sixth form with or without "A" levels being taken and not going directly into higher education. Such divergences do not prevent entry into higher education but they can be seen to impede it in so far as they result in students following them leaving the smoothest and best laid path into higher education. In this sense therefore students diverging in these ways can be said to be not taking part in the ),

457 typical narrowing down process. Data on polytechnic students suggest that far more entrants diverge from the traditional path to higher education than university entrants. One study, (Entwistle et al., 1971) found that more polytechnic students had been to secondary modern schools and had not come straight from school to college. The students in Crutchley's study of Enfield were older, and had more often left school at 15 and 16 years of age, than is the case with most university entrants. A study of Kingston Polytechnic students (1972 and 1973) showed also that they were more likely to have had prior work and further education experience, and were older than university students. The different orientations of students entering higher education have most often been correlated with their socio-economic, sex, educational and age backgrounds. Most evidence suggests that students from working-class backgrounds are less likely to make the decision to enter higher education from occupational considerations than students from middle-class backgrounds. It has been found (Jackson and Marsden, 1962), that it was the working-class child in the sixth form who was most likely to drift into higher education and was carried through by an automatic school process. Further supporting evidence is given by Marris (1964) who found that middle-class students were more likely to emphasize the practical vocational value of the courses they were entering than working-class students. The working-class students tended to see university as a final prize, the vocational value of which was taken for granted. They were vague about the future to which higher education would lead. Middle-class students in the study at Newcastle University were also more likely to consider the value of higher education for professional training purposes than students from working-class backgrounds (Abbott, 1971). Research suggests that female students tend to be more intrinsically motivated to enter higher education. For example, in Abbott's (1971) study, the girls placed less emphasis on the desire to obtain professional training as a reason for entering higher education. Working-class girl students were particularly highly represented among the 12% of Newcastle students who had no particular reason for going to university. A recent study by sociology students (Reading University, 1973) also pointed to one way in which many girls drifted into higher education, influenced more by the desire to leave home and the attractions of university social life than by career goals. Age and educational background of students tend to be closely related in so far as the old students are usually those who have not passed along the traditional path to higher education referred to above. For many students at the college of advanced technology in Marris's (1964) study the progress towards higher education had by no means been automatic and they had more obstacles to overcome than the students coming straight from school. For such students, and for the students from technical colleges in Abbott's

458 (1971) study, an intrinsic orientation to higher education was more likely than for students arriving by the more traditional route. Similarly Abbott found students entering higher education from grammar school were more intrinsically motivated than students from non-maintained schools who were not likely to be entering higher education for vocational reasons. The ex-grammar school students were most likely to be drifting into higher education under the influence of a school ethos which assumed higher education to be the objective for more able students. Finally the literature also suggests that students with an arts/social science subject background are more likely to be intrinsically oriented to higher education.

Population for the Study The entry into higher education and the process of occupational decision-making of the population studied in this research, polytechnic sociology/social studies students, had not been previously examined. This was because both the colleges and the courses are recent innovations, (Robinson, 1968). The polytechnics have been formed normally by an amalgamation of existing colleges which had already developed a substantial amount of high level work. In the case of sociology/social studies this was through the external degree courses of the University of London. These degrees continued in the early stages of the polytechnics' work but were rapidly replaced by degrees developed by the polytechnics themselves and validated by the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA). The polytechnics in our study included both those with courses leading to the External London Degree, and others with courses validated by the CNAA. The colleges and several of the courses involved in this study have explicit vocational objectives, and some involved a sandwich, professional training or work placement, element. The study was, therefore, at its outset, located in a period of change and transition, with newly formed institutions, the development and commencement of new courses, and also, in 1971, of relatively high graduate unemployment. These considerations as well as our own location in a polytechnic explain our interests in this study. The entry requirements for polytechnics are the same as for universities in as m u c h as both require at least two "A" level passes, but grade requirements set by universities tend to be higher, and some polytechnic departments have no grade requirements. Both institutions normally have provision for admitting mature students without formal requirements. The different entry requirements of polytechnics and universities impinges on our population both in comparisons that can be made with university studies, (Abbott, 1971 and Webb, 1972) and in the perceptions our population has. Another

459 important difference between the two types of institution is that it is common in universities for sociology and social studies/social administration to be institutionally separated; that is, social studies and social work students are located in a different department to sociology students. This is less common in polytechnics, and thus also raises difficulties for comparability. The population for the study consisted of all students embarking on polytechnic honours degree courses in sociology/social studies in 1971-2 with two exceptions - students from our own college for obvious methodological reasons and students from Middlesex Polytechnic. The latter were excluded because, (i)from the second year onwards the course is very different from the rest, offering economics and land-use branches as well as sociology and social work and thus not strictly comparable; (ii) a study was already being conducted there and we wanted to avoid the students being "over-exposed". Thus we were left with students at ten polytechnics: Birmingham, Kingston, Lanchester, Manchester, Newcastle, Teesside, Portsmouth, North East London Polytechnic, Polytechnic Central London, Polytechnic North London. The total population was studied. It is important to stress that although we were studying students embarking only on courses in sociology/social studies, there were considerable differences between the courses in respect of their degree of specialization and vocational implications. For example, two of the colleges, Birmingham and Lanchester, offered substantial specialisations in social work, industrial sociology, etc., including sandwich components. At the other extreme were colleges offering more academic sociology courses such as Kingston and the Polytechnic of Central London. It might be expected that students opting for the former would display clearer vocational commitments and we examine the implications of these course differences in our discussion of the data.

Methodology This study was part of a larger longitudinal study which followed the students through their course and into first employment. Students were surveyed by questionnaire on entry to their course. The questionnaires, which were structured with a mixture of fixed alternative and open-ended questions, were returned to us directly by the respondents in the stamped envelopes we provided. Our response rate was 72 percent. In addition we sought more in-depth data by open-ended interview, structured only by a series of topics to be covered. For these interviews, we took all students at two colleges, Manchester and Polytechnic of Central London. These two colleges were chosen because we wanted to interview

460 students studying for a CNAA degree (Manchester) and an External University of London Degree (Polytechnic Central London). The Polytechnic of Central London had one of the few External University of London courses remaining in the subject area while Manchester's CNAA degree was the longest established. We considered the interviews to be particularly important because, (i) they provided a means of checking questionnaire responses; (ii)they provided qualitative data to illustrate quantitative relationships; (iii)they reduced the positivist element in the methodology which we considered particularly important because of the problems stressed by writers in the occupational choice area, (Katz and Martin, 1962), which indicated that individuals feel it is socially acceptable to appear rational about occupational decision-making. Only by semi-structured interviews could we therefore hope to minimize this tendency.

Characteristics of the Respondents The population was fairly evenly split between males and females, 48% and 57.6% respectively. The majority were also from the United Kingdom (95%), and were single (59%), with 31% engaged. In terms of age, 33.5% were 18 and under on entry, 44% 1 9 - 2 0 , with 15% 2 1 - 2 4 and 5.5% 2 4 - 2 9 years. Only 3% were 30 and over. The majority of our students' parents had no higher education (65.1%) while the class spread using the Hall Jones Scale was biased toward middle- and upper middle-class occupations with 13.7% from professional, and higher administrative (Class 1), 24.9 managerial, executive (Class 2), and 33.7% from supervisory inspectional and lower inspectional grades (Classes 3 and 4). There were only 4.6 from routine non-manual (Class 5a), and 13.4% from skilled manual (Class 5b). Semiskilled manual (Class 6) contributed 8.3% and routine manual (Class 7) only 0.9%. The age, sex and social class distribution of our population can be seen in Tables I and II. The majority of our students went to a polytechnic from secondary schools which we have classified as selective, mainly grammar, 55.5%, with 4.5% from comprehensives, 13.8% from direct grant grammar, and 10.1% independent schools. Only 13.5%came from the non-selective secondary m o d e m schools. Fifty-eight percent left school at 18, with 34% leaving before that age. However, the majority of the population did not go straight from school to the polytechnic, with only 35% doing so. Of those who did not, some (37%) worked and/or studied for "A" levels in the intervening periods, particularly that group who entered polytechnics beyond the age of 21, while the majority of the remainder entered work of a temporary nature in non-

461 TABLE I The Age and Sex of Respondents Sex

Age 18 and under

19 or 20

21 to 24

25 to 29

30+

%

%

%

%

no.

%

no.

no.

no.

no.

Total %

no.

MALE

11.3

40

20.1

71

11.0 39

3.7

13

2.3

8

48.3

171

FEMALE

22.0

78

24.0

85

3.7 13

1.4

5

0.6

2

51.7

183

TOTAL

33.3 118

44.1 156

14.7 52

5.1

18

2.8

10

100

354

TABLE II Social Class of Respondents' Fathers, according to the Hall Jones Scale of Occupational Prestige Class Professional/higher admin. Managerial/executive Inspectional]supervisory Inspectional lower grades Routine non-manual Skilled manual Semi-skilled manual Routine manual Non-response Not applicable TOTAL

Number 48 88 65 53 16 47 29 3 4 2 355

% 13.7 24.9 18.3 15.4 4.6 13.4 8.2 0.8 1.1 0.6 100

m a n u a l o c c u p a t i o n s ; ( 2 7 % o f t h o s e w h o h a d w o r k e d were in this c a t e g o r y ) . O t h e r s ( 7 % ) b e g a n cllHerent degree courses, 2% t e a c h e r training, 8% m a n u a l w o r k , and 7% u n q u a l i f i e d social w o r k . A f u r t h e r 14% s t a t e d t h e y had n o w o r k e x p e r i e n c e at all in this i n t e r v e n i n g p e r i o d and were n o t s t u d y i n g " A " levels, t h u s were p o s s i b l y engaged in travel or v o l u n t a r y w o r k o f s o m e kind. T h e m a j o r i t y (59%) o f s t u d e n t s h a d studied f o r " A " levels at school, 29% at colleges, and 10% did s o m e at b o t h i n s t i t u t i o n s . Seventy-six p e r c e n t had b e t w e e n five and eight " O " levels, and 96% h a d t w o o r m o r e " A " levels. T h e d a t a also revealed t h a t m o s t s t u d e n t s h a d applied to universities in the first i n s t a n c e b u t settled f o r a p o l y t e c h n i c place w h e n t h e y w e r e r e j e c t e d b y

462 universities, usually for not meeting the grade requirements. The interview data showed that students did consider the polytechnics to be second-best, or in cases where they personally did not believe this, still felt that there was a generally held belief that polytechnics are considered as second-best. The most frequently mentioned inadequacies were facilities, but the rating was most often felt to be based on status or prestige. I feel inferior coming here. It's because it's the second thing you apply to, you get rejected by the universities and accepted by the Polys, and therefore you get the impression that they're inferior even if perhaps they're not. (Female, " A " levels at college). Most people think of a polytechnic as a second rate university (Male, straight to polytechnic from school).

Many students expected that candidates with polytechnic degrees would be discriminated against by employers. Differences in the courses were not mentioned, and many indicated that the status differences did not matter to them personally and some felt polytechnics might suit them better. A poly will be better for me personally, it will be better because it provides a training for a career rather than something of just academic value. (Female, straight to polytechnic from school).

The Importance of Occupational Considerations on Entry One of the central hypotheses to be examined was that suggested by the rational decision-making model in the literature; that the decision to enter higher education will be influenced by occupational considerations. Essentially the model posits that the reason why certain decisions are taken, like entering a degree course, is to realise ambitions or goals that are directly occupational in kind. To test this hypothesis we examined data from four areas of questioning in the questionnaire and the interview; the reasons given by students for (a) entering higher education; ( b ) t h e choice of sociology; (c) for application to polytechnics and finally (d) whether they considered their chosen course as providing specific training for occupations. Students were asked to give their two most important reasons for desiring to enter higher education. The reason mentioned most frequently was "the desire to develop their interest in community and world problems" (234 times) followed by "the desire for a basic general education" (119 times) with "the desire to develop an interest in the particular subject" next (98 times). Occupationally related reasons such as "the desire for a general job qualification" or "for a vocational qualification" were mentioned only

463 62 and 74 times respectively. In respect of reasons for the choice of subjects, again occupational considerations did not figure prominently. Only 36% chose their subject with a particular job in mind, whereas 70% stressed their intrinsic interest in the subject as an important factor in their choice. It is surprising in view of the responses to reasons for entry into higher education that only 3% mentioned a desire to promote social and political change as a factor in subject choice. The limited importance attached to occupational considerations in taking educational decisions was also evident in student responses to being asked reasons for their choice of college. Only 21% gave the practical and vocational nature of the course as their reason. Against this 29% gave geographical location of the college; 21% reputation of the department; nearness of college to home 12%; and 10% the fact that the college was easy to get into. In addition, 42% of the students indicated "no" in reply to whether their course provided training for a specific occupation. For the rest, social work was the only occupation for which many considered the course as providing a training (47%). We shall return to this group later. Support for this data, which suggests occupational considerations were not important in making decisions about higher education in our sample, also comes from the responses of how definite these students were in their career plans on entry and from the qualitative data covering these same areas. Only 31% of our student population claimed to have definite career plans with 69% having no such clearly crystallized plans ranging from 7% "not at all" to 34% who "had given some thought to but not reached any decisions" to those "who had some idea but nothing definite," 28%. In addition only a minority, 45%, had sought information on careers. We considered that it would be those with definite career plans who would most probably give occupational reasons for entry. The data showed that 55% of students indicating the desire for vocational qualifications as an important reason for entry had definite career plans compared with 31% overall, and similarly 53% of students giving a vocational course as the reason for choice of polytechnic had definite career plans against 31% overall. An examination of reasons for entry in relation to the polytechnic chosen revealed that the consideration of occupational factors in decisions was concentrated among students following more vocational courses, i.e., Lanchester and Birmingham. These two polytechnics accounted for 60% of students giving occupational reasons, though students from these colleges contributed only 30% of the population as a whole. 59% of Birmingham students and 61% at Lanchester gave a vocational course as their reason for entry, whereas at no other college was there more than 12% in this category. Students from these polytechnics with vocational courses were most likely to have definite career plans, with the interesting exception of Manchester [2]. 49% at Lanchester, 40% at Manchester and 38% at Birmingham had definite career plans.

464 The qualitative data from the interview illustrated that the narrow definition of definite career plans and vocational reasons for entry as indicators of vocational motivations, may not cover the range of motivations adequately, and in fact throws some doubt on the adequacy of such indicators in the model of rational decision-making. While the numbers having definite career plans influencing their decision to enter higher education in general, and sociology in particular, was small and cited in very few specific cases, there were a considerable number of interviewees who saw entry into higher education and having a degree as an advantage for future jobs, so while other reasons for entry and subject choice were also cited, the outcome of higher education was seen as having some vocational pay-off. l didn't want to go to work, and I thought that by getting an extra qualification such as a degree I'd perhaps be able to get on later in life. (Male, straight to polytechnic from school). I thought, what am I going to do the year after next and then I liked the idea of doing a degree. You get a better job, but also the process of doing a degree it's very pleasant and rewarding and I didn't like the idea of going to work. (Male, late entry, " A " levels at both school and college).

However it is also necessary to point out another important factor in entry into higher education which the questionnaire categories did not really elicit, and which was suggested in the literature. This is that the majority of students had motivations for entry that were expressed essentially in terms of the expectations others and they themselves had. This lends support to what might be called a "drift" model into higher education. Evidence for this model as applicable to polytechnic sociology/social studies comes from their conception o f higher education "as an automatic follow on from where they had reached at school", a lack of goals in terms of career, and their comments on socio-cultural background expectancies such as school, "where it was expected everyone would enter university", and home where they were encouraged to, or it was expected that they would, go on to higher education. Within this group there would also be those who may see some vocational pay-off,_and indeed some o f the vocationally committed were subject to similar expectational factors. What we want to suggest, however, is that the model which suggests the students actually have some conscious motivations for entry and ambitions to be realised, does not apply for the majority of cases in our population. Rather their values and expectations, derived from socio-cultural backgrounds, resulted in entry into higher education being seen as part of a logical and inevitable process. Well I don't really suppose I decided - it's just that well my parents always had it in mind and I suppose coming up from that background and my school has always

465 been very biased towards degrees . . . and so it's really I haven't had to make an actual decision ' T m going to do a degree" as much as its always been there. (Male, straight from school). I can't ever remember thinking I've definitely decided I'm going to do it. I automatically thought I would you know. (Female, straight from school). I suppose I just took it for granted as soon as I started s c h o o l . . , the standard system, "O" and " A " levels then university. (Male, " A " levels school, year off before entry). C l e a r l y s o c i a l f a c t o r s a r e o f s o m e i m p o r t a n c e in t h e d e c i s i o n t o e n t e r h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n a n d w e w i l l e x a m i n e t h e s e l a t e r in t h e p a p e r . t h e q u a l i t a t i v e d a t a also s u p p o r t s t h e d o m i n a n c e o f n o n - v o c a t i o n a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s in e n t r y a n d c h o i c e o f s u b j e c t b o t h in r e v e a l i n g t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e " d r i f t " p r o c e s s o u t l i n e d a b o v e a n d r e a s o n s s u c h as a n i n t r i n s i c i n t e r e s t in t h e s u b j e c t , p e r s o n a l s a t i s f a c t i o n , b a s i c e d u c a t i o n a n d g e o g r a p h i c a l location. Well it wasn't vocational reasons - it was just to get a broader knowledge sort ot thing. (Male, late entry, " A " levels technical college). I'm not on this course to get the degree really, its just a purely self-satisfying thing for me. Its the actual studying of the subject rather than what I'm going to get at the end of it. (Female, began different course, changed to polytechnic). I see the idea of doing a degree as a kind of mental l u x u r y . . . I would like the idea of studying until I find my academic ceiling. (Male, worked 4 yrs., " A " levels college). I didn't think I'd finished learning. I wanted to learn more. (Female, straight from school). I wanted to come to Manchester, I wanted to get away from home. I wanted to get up here and I've loads of friends up here. (Female, " A " levels college then to polytechnic). The first reason would be just to prove to myself that I can do it, to be quite frank, and just enjoyment in actually achieving something. (Male, worked, " A " levels college). I n t e r e s t i n g l y t h e d o m i n a n c e o f a n i n t e r e s t in c o m m u n i t y / w o r l d p r o b l e m s r e v e a l e d in t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e r e s p o n s e s w a s m u c h less in e v i d e n c e in t h e i n t e r v i e w d a t a . H e r e is o n e o f t h e f e w p o s i t i v e r e s p o n s e s in t h i s c a t e g o r y . What I hope to get from a degree course is obviously something of educational value . . . that will help me to understand the situation, environment and nature of Britain at the moment. (Male, year at teachers' training college, " A " levels school).

466 Perhaps the reason for this discrepancy lies with the method of giving respondents two choices in answering the question, and that, as a consequence, students with strong vocational ambitions, which, as we have already stated were strongly social work oriented, used this category as one of their choices, or that a category of this kind in questionnaires has strong "prestige appeal" and is less conscious in open-ended responses. The data therefore reveals that there is no single model that fits the reasons why our group of polytechnic sociology/social studies students chose to enter higher education or their conception of it. The majority did not follow a rational decision making pattern o f choosing higher education for vocational reasons. Of those that did, social work as a career was the outstanding choice. At the time I was thinking of what I wanted to do as a career and I decided I wanted to do some kind of social work and that to get a degree first would be the best way of doing it, plus a diploma course afterwards. (Female, straight from school). I need it to do what I want to do when I finish (social work). If I didn't have to do a degree I wouldn't do one. I wanted to do social work before I thought about doing a degree. (Female, "A" levels school, then entered polytechnic, 1 yr. nursing). For the majority, a wide range of perceptions and ambitions were revealed. More importantly a model of conscious decision-making, of a vocational kind or otherwise, did not seem to operate. Rather students perceived expectations from socio-cultural factors such as home and school which operated in a way to make the taking of a conscious decision seem unnecessary to them.

The Relationship to Previous Decisions We then examined the data for the relationship of entry into higher education to previous decisions. The findings, mainly from the interview data, revealed some differences in this respect between those students who were vocationally committed a n d those who were not. For the vocationally committed expectational processes, .as mentioned previously, may also operate, but additionally they reported actively seeking information at an earlier stage, choosing "'A" levels that would suit their chosen career, choosing a degree course, including subjects offered, that was suitable, and applying only to those polytechnics offering what they considered to be the right courses for their jobs. Thus their past decisions were related to future decisions and to routes necessary, e.g., post-graduate work, for their careers.

467 For a large proportion of our student group, the vocationally uncommitted in particular, their decision to enter was related to previous decisions but took on an automatic pattern. Thus having "decided" to do " O " and " A " levels it was the next logical step to apply for a university place. As we stated earlier the majority applied to universities in the first instance and " c h o s e " to enter polytechnics only after failing to get a university place. Few had any conception of what they might have done if they had not entered higher education except to apply again next year. The pattern of applying to universities first could also be observed in the vocationally committed group but less so, since some saw polytechnics as offering more suitable courses for their careers. Although we have not had the time to analyse our data fully, our impressions are that there are a number of subgroups within our polytechnic population representing different paths of educational decisions prior to entry into higher education. On the one hand there were those who entered straight from school with " A " levels (35%), and on the other, the majority, 65%, who did not go straight from school. Within this second group, there were those (24%), who had taken " A " levels at school only, and in the intervening period either t o o k work o f a temporary nature or had a year off; (14% of those who did not go straight from school indicated they did not work). A further subgroup took " A " levels at college and within this group there were firstly those who, because of dissatisfaction with school, or desire for change of course, decided to take " A " levels at college. Some of these would be those who spent only one year between school and entry into a polytechnic, others would be early school leavers. Secondly, within this subgroup there were a group o f students who entered polytechnics at an older age (21+) who typically had unsuccessful school careers, a dissatisfaction with their current work situation, made a decision to re-enter education to take " A " levels, and sometimes even " O " levels, and found themselves in a situation where higher education was an expectation and they themselves desired it. I was working in London in a library and I decided that wasn't much fun so I decided I better go and get some "A" levels at college... My course tutor said "Have you thought of doing a degree course". I said "No, but I will do" and I did. (Male, worked, "A" levels college). While there are many unique routes involved in the entry into higher education particularly in the latter subgroup of those who took " A " levels at college, we believe the patterns described are fairly typical for these groups. The relationship between previous decisions and the decision to enter is a very general one and as suggested, an automatic process of decisions rather than conscious decisions about routes to goals. In more specific decisions

468 such as subjects chosen at "A" level and the decision to enter specific degree courses little relationship was seen. The interview data again revealed that "A" level subjects may be chosen for intrinsic interest, "what was available," and "because I was good at history," etc., rather than what would be suitable for future courses and/or careers. Some students also found they could not enter chosen courses because they did not have the right subjects (e.g., some psychology courses require maths at "A" level). Only 26% of our population had done sociology at "A" level. In fact the choice of sociology at degree level was often a negative reaction to previously chosen subjects, although in some cases this negative reaction was that previous subjects, such as English or history, provided even more limited occupational futures. This lack of relationship between course subject and "A" level subjects may be a function of having studied sociology/social studies entrants, and may not be true of higher education entrants in general, since the requirements for sociology/social studies degrees are more general, and there are fewer opportunities for making the relevant choices earlier.

Relationship with Socio-Cultural Variables At the beginning of this paper we drew attention to the fact that a central and disputed theme in the literature on occupational choice is the possible role of socialisation processes in determining entry into the occupational world and hence higher education, since the latter can be seen as a means of gaining the skills and knowledge necessary for entry into specific occupations. We have, therefore, examined students' past experiences and social locations in relation to their ambitions (career crystallization), and the meanings attributed to higher education (reasons for entry, choice of subjects, etc.). Some general remarks can be made from the interviews about the general influences of two principal social locations - home and school. We then examined the questionnaire for other variables in relation to two groups of students: those vocationally committed and uncommitted. As has already been implied the school seems to be an extremely important source of socialisation into expectations and perceptions of higher education. As stated at the beginning of the paper the majority of our students went to selective secondary schools, principally grammar. For students at grammar schools very strong expectations were experienced, and although students often expressed negative reactions to actual advice, or the lack of advice, offered, it was a situation where academic success was stressed, verbal support for entry into higher education, usually university, expressed, and few alternatives to higher education ever presented to them. Also the majority of their school peers were planning to, or expecting to, enter higher education (university or teachers' training college).

469 1 mean they (schools) sort of funnel you through to a college or university. They sort of push as many people through the 6th form and beyond as they can - and they didn't care where you went, or give you much as to how to get there. (Male, " A " levels school, began other course). If you didn't want to do a degree they thought you were mad. (Female, straight from school). I went to a grammar school and it was the accepted thing that that's where you should be going. (Male, " A " levels school, year out before entry). At school they said you will be going to college. (Female, straight from school). We had a careers master who devoted about one afternoon a week to 600 boys. They expected everyone to go to university and if you weren't going to do that sort of tough. (Male, straight from school).

School environments and values seemed to be quite explicit in terms of presenting a goal of higher education, and, as the data above suggest, the orientation is towards higher education rather than careers. Thus students reported little help or advice with particular jobs, and those with specific careers in mind frequently sought information outside the school situation. This headmaster we had was rather fond of everybody at his school going to University so there was no need for them to go to the Youth Employment Officer. (Male, straight from school).

The lack of vocational orientation among students entering higher education, does not, therefore, seem surprising since the values and orientations of the school would not seem to be to encourage such a conception. The influence of home background on students' conceptions was more varied than that of the school and less explicitly formulated, as might be expected since the goals of the latter institution are more narrowly defined. Some students did experience rejection of their educational decisions or goals, and disinterest, but this was a minority [3]. Well, they wanted me to go to University and were terribly upset when I didn't get the grades and insisted that I did something else. To them it was absolutely second best. My father had his own personal ambitions for me unfortunately and it got quite harrowing. (Female, straight from school). My parents were extremely weak and knew nothing about education at all. They didn't know what the 1 1+ was either as far as I can gather. They seemed to have a vague idea that education was a good thing, but had no idea about actually finding out how it could be achieved, or how they could help me in encouraging it. (Male, worked, " A " levels college)

470 For the majority support and encouragement was experienced, and for some of this group there were strong expectations, similar to those of the school, that they would enter higher education. The extent of parental involvement and the values expressed did, however, vary, ranging from tacit support for whatever they (the students) did, and non-interference, to strongly expressed desires for their future and attempts to push in particular directions; from a desire that their children should have, if it were possible, what they had been denied, to a belief that higher education was what their children should have and not expecting them to do otherwise. They wanted me to have more than they were given so they hoped that naturally education would give me this. (Male, "A" levels school and college). They never tried to influence me or push me in any direction - their basic concern was as long as I'm happy. (Female, "A" levels school, 1 year different course). It was drummed into us from childhood this idea that we did have ability and therefore we were just being damned lazy if we didn't get on and do something. (Female, "A" levels school, year out before entry). They encouraged me towards higher education, they never even talked about me going to work, it didn't seem to occur to them that I wouldn't actually do some form of higher education. (Female, "A" levels college, then straight to polytechnic). Since the parents of the majority of our students did not have higher education (65.1%), and certainly few had training in social science (although brothers, sisters and spouses sometimes did), socialisation was not provided by example, but by valuing higher education positively, giving support to decisions to enter, and showing expectations in that direction. Home background did seem to present stronger expectations where older brothers or sisters had also entered higher education. In this section we want to examine the two groups distinguished by ambition and meanings given to higher education in terms o f background and experience variables. The vocationally oriented group differed from the population as a whole and from the vocationally u n c o m m i t t e d group. The vocationally committed group differed by age and sex, and the data revealed that within this group there were largely two subgroups of students: ( a ) t h o s e 18 and under of whom 40% were vocationally committed and (b) those age 2 5 - 2 9 o f whom 46% were vocationally committed. This latter subgroup is a very small one however, involving only seven respondents, and we have concentrated our analysis on the former. The first group contained a larger proportion o f females than in the population as a whole and in the population of the vocationally committed. There were also more females who were

471 TABLE 111 Table to show the sex distribution of students in: (a) the total sample (b) the vocationally committed group (c) the group who are 18 years old or less (d) the group who are both vocationally committed and who are 18 years old or less (a) Total sample

Females Males Total

(b) Vocationally committed group (31% of total sample)

(c) 18 years old and under (33.3% of total sample)

(d) Vocationally committed and 18 yrs. or under

% 51.6

no. 183

% 62.2

no. 69

% 66.6

no. 78

% 78.7

no. 37

48.4

171

37.8

42

33.3

40

21.3

10

100

355

100

111

100

118

100

47

vocationally c o m m i t t e d than in the population as a whole. This data is summarised in Table III. Likewise females were under-represented in proportion to their p r o p o r t i o n in the population as a whole in the vocationally u n c o m m i t t e d group. Vocationally u n c o m m i t t e d females dominated in the y o un g er age groups o f this population (this being due to 89% o f our female population being 20 or under), while males are over-represented in the older age groups o f 21 years and over. Other socialisation variables, however, did not produce significant differences that could be considered independently of the variables of age and sex. Thus the finding, that there was an over-representation of students that are vocationally c o m m i t t e d who come straight from school (41% compared with 35% in population) and have taken " A " levels at schools, is due to the over-representation of the 18-and-under age group in this c o m m i t t e d population. Females are more likely than males to be represented in these groups. O f the two variables, age and sex, sex would seem to be a greater contrib u t o r y factor since females are more likely than males to enter polytechnics straight from school, 42% compared to 27% males, and 47% o t females who come straight from school have definite career plans compared with 27% o f the males in the c o m m i t t e d group who are straight from school. As far as the variable of school attended is concerned, the only school t y p e which discriminated between the two groups, definite and uncommitted, was secondary modern. The proportions of students from the ot her types did n o t differ markedly (no more than 1 - 2 % ) from the p r o p o r t i o n in the population as a whole. F o r the secondary m o d e r n population (13.5%),

472 the proportion of definites was 9.9% and 15.2% uncommitted. In considering the population of schools, we did find that different school types contributed higher proportions of their students to the two groups e.g., comprehensives 38% (highest) compared with secondary moderns 22.9% (lowest). However, in view of the lack of difference between their proportions in the two groups and proportions in the population as a whole, it is doubtful if these different contributions are meaningful. Again the variable of whether their fathers had higher education revealed only a slight difference between the two groups. Of those whose fathers had higher education (23.9%), the proportion in the definite group was 27.9% and 22.2% in the uncommitted, and of those that did not have higher education (65.1%) the proportion in the definite group was 62.2% and 66.3% in the uncommitted. Thus there was only a slightly greater representation (not significant), of students who had fathers with higher education in the committed group and under-representation in the uncommitted group. In addition to the home background variable of fathers' education, we also examined the two groups in relation to social class, using the Hall Jones Scale, and Crutchley's Typology of Occupational Sub Cultures [4]. Again nothing signifcant appeared in our data. Only two of Crutchley's subcultures deviated in our two groups from their proportion in the population: the functionary group (14.9%) were over-represented in the vocationally committed group, 19.8%, and the business culture (29.6%) over-represented in the uncommitted group, 31.7%. Thus these two subcultures are likely to contribute a greater proportion of their number of the committed and uncommitted respectively than other subcultures. The Hall Jones Scale likewise did not discriminate significantly, with only a slight over-representation of the professional higher administrative (13.7%), lower inspectional grades (15.1%) and routine non-manual (4.6%) in the committed group with, 17.4%, 17.4% and 6.4% respectively, and an under-representation of the inspectional supervisory (18.6%) and skilled manual (13.4%) class or proportions of 13.8% and 11.9% in this group. Thus the social background variables do not relate significantly t o different degrees of vocational commitment other than in terms of sex and age. The focus, therefore, in explaining a rational decision-making model of entry into higher education for females who leave school and enter the polytechnic sociology/social studies course at age 18 or less, must be in terms of characteristics other than school and home. The data revealed that the majority of these students opted for careers in social work. The qualitative data showed that these students did not differ in their exposure to the socialisation influences of the school and its expectations for its pupils, or the kind of parental expectations and encouragement given in the home. It did reveal a more thought out pattern of decision-making with routes to careers more clearly worked out in advance of entry into higher education.

473 The question then becomes, what is it in the experiences of this group that enables them to be more definite about careers at an early stage, and therefore more committed to certain educational goals? What is it that influences and enables these students to decide on this particular career for themselves with that degree of definiteness while others do not? The questionnaire or interview data did not really enable us to answer these questions. It is not intervening work experience, since they were less likely to have had any, their summer vacation jobs appeared to be no different from other students, and they came into contact with people in that kind of work only after they had made an initial choice. One thing we do not know until we proceed with our analysis is how stable these career ambitions were and what influences, particularly intra-college experiences, had on the continued stability of career plans or their possible changes. This is a major focus of our longitudinal study. It is therefore difficult to argue from our study of polytechnic sociology students, in support of Blaikie (1972) and Ginzberg et al. (1951), that the internalisation of middle-class and upper middle-class values during socialisation at home and at school have determined occupational goals, and that, therefore, entry into higher education represents a conscious decision to realise these values in the occupational world. Certain socialisation values derived from socialisation did determine entry but not for occupational ambitions. While our vocationally committed group do seem to perceive higher education in terms of realising occupational ambitions it does not seem that either those vocationally committed or those uncommitted were exposed to different socialisation experiences which would lead to different perceptions of higher education and careers. Similarly both groups were structurally placed by virtue of socialisation in close proximity to higher education. It has been suggested (Roberts, 1968) that ambitions may be adjusted to persons' experience of occupations structurally available to them, and this may throw some light on the dominance of females with clearly specified occupational goals predominantly in one field, social welfare. That is to say women may feel constrained to make definite decisions earlier since the professional career opportunities may seem structurally more limited. So women, while being placed by socialisation in school and home to think of higher education, are also by virtue of female socialisation made to feel they have to justify entry into higher education in instrumental terms. For the older males in our sample, who also showea vocational commitment, their position is somewhat different since they are not placed in the same degree of structural proximity until they re-enter an environment where university or higher education is expected (i.e. technical college etc.). They did show how ambitions adjust to experience, and it is suggested that for this group the entry to higher education may represent a conscious

474 attempt to realise previously formed occupational goals or minimise goal deprivation. Although, as our interview data showed, for a considerable number of these students also, higher education meant as much to them in terms of opportunities for study, self-satisfaction and personal growth as it did in realising higher occupational ambitions.

Conclusions

From our study of a population of polytechnic sociology/social studies students we conclude that for the majority the meanings attributed to higher education and their orientation towards the decision to enter, are not in terms of achieving vocational training or specific occupational goals. In our population only a small group of entrants, predominantly young, female, school leavers, saw higher education as realising any occupational ambitions in the area of social welfare. Webb (1972) in his study of university sociology graduates concluded that "university education is not seen as a setting in which technical skills are transmitted but as a way o f assimilating a particular perspective". He argued that they embrace the ideal of a liberal education in which vocational skills are awarded second place, and this results from their pre-college experiences both at home and in the academic atmosphere of their predominantly grammar and independent schools. Our data provides supporting evidence for this thesis. Donaldson (1971) has shown that the social characteristics of Enfield Polytechnic students were akin to those of university students and, therefore, it might be supposed that meanings attributed to higher education will be similar for polytechnic and university students. The principal difference between the two was in respect of "A" level grades and that polytechnics would seem to provide higher education for middle-class students whose grades were not high enough for university places. Our findings support this; a population of entrants predominantly middle-class, of grammar school origins, whose first option was university. We would also, therefore, expect our students to be similar to university students and to the Enfield students in their orientations [5]. What is interesting about the similarity in these comparisons is that the popular conception of polytechnics offering in their courses higher education that is more vocationally oriented, was not a relevant motive for entering higher education for the majority of entrants in our study. Of the three models discussed in the literature there is little in our data to support the rational decision-making model as being applicable for the majority of students in our sample. Rather the evidence points to a fortuitous model in which certain socio-cultural variables play their part. The students in our study, while being placed in structural proximity to higher

475 e d u c a t i o n s u p p o r t the value o f e n t r y in terms o f n o t i o n s o f liberal e d u c a t i o n reflected in their school and h o m e b a c k g r o u n d s . Their decision to e n t e r is in t e r m s o f ideals o f this kind r a t h e r than a deliberate c o n s c i o u s a t t e m p t to realise o c c u p a t i o n a l goals via the e d u c a t i o n system. O u r future analysis s h o u l d enable us to see w h e t h e r the progression t h r o u g h e d u c a t i o n and into w o r k c o n t i n u e s to c o n f o r m to these models.

Notes 1 Refers to G.C.E., certificate awarded on the results of external examinations set by nine examining bodies in England and Wales at two levels: Ordinary level ("O") normally taken at 16 after a five year course and Advanced ("A") level normally taken two years after "O" level, generally by students wanting to enter higher education for which they are a matriculation. These external examinations may be taken by individuals outside the secondary school institutions, e.g., at the further education or technical colleges. 2 In some respects Manchester may be regarded as offering a vocational degree with branches in social administration and government. The data from interviews lends some support to this, since applicants perceived these branches as being suitable for social work, civil service and journalism careers. 3 These students did, however, come mainly from the group who entered higher education later than the majority, so this negative environment may also serve to illustrate the importance of parental expectations. 4 Crutchley, J. et al. The latter offers an alternative approach to empirically ascertained occupational prestige, representing a theoretical demarcation of class subcultures on the basis of occupational values. Thus it is an attempt to surmount a major problem of the Hall-Jones scale, i.e., groups though perceived as possessing equal amounts of occupational prestige inhabit distinct subcultural worlds. 5 Earlier we drew attention to the difficulties of comparability in studies based on university and polytechnic populations of sociology students. Additionally the university studies have focused on employment rather than entry into higher education. A certain amount of caution is therefore required in drawing any firm comparative conclusions with other studies.

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