Suchergebnisse

This report was commissioned by the Northern Ireland Department of Justice to review the sex purchase legislation that was enacted in the jurisdiction from 1st June 2015. The report deals with the supply and demand of commercial sexual services, the views of those that are enforcing it such as the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Public Prosecution Service as well as the effects of the legislation on sex working populations in Northern Ireland.

ObjectivesThis study examined the individual and collective impacts of socio-demographics and school-level factors on GCSE outcomes in Northern Ireland, using linked administrative data. A pupil's sex, religious affiliation and socio-economic background (measured by eight measures) were examined, along with parental socio-economic background, attended school type (grammar/non-grammar) and school management structure.
MethodThis study used the first linked administrative dataset for education in Northern Ireland. The dataset linked the 2011 household Census, School Leavers Survey (2010-2014) and School Census (2010-2014) for the first time. Data were provided for three pupil cohorts who completed their GCSE examinations in consecutive academic years (2010/2011 – 2012/2013).
The study conducted multilevel models to understand the nested effects of pupil-, household- and school-level factors on GCSE attainment outcomes. Interaction models were also executed to examine the multiplicative effects of a pupil's sex, religious affiliation and socio-economic background on their educational attainment.
ResultsThe findings of this study highlight that the impact of socio-economic status is multidimensional, with some measures having a greater impact on GCSE attainment than others. For example, a mother's education qualifications had the largest impact of socio-economic measures included in the multilevel models. The analysis also found that Free School Meal Eligibility remains an important predictor of attainment outcomes. When considering pupils' sex, females had higher GCSE attainment scores than males. However, religious affiliation had a varied influence on GCSE outcomes, indicating the need for a more nuanced approach when considering this factor. The importance of interaction terms to gain an in-depth understanding of the multiplicative effect of factors on attainment outcomes was also highlighted in the analysis.
ConclusionThrough the use of linked administrative data, this study highlights the hierarchy of socio-economic effects on GCSE attainment outcomes in Northern Ireland. It also highlights the importance of collectively considering the factors that make up a pupil's demographic profile to garner a holistic understanding of attainment trends in Northern Ireland.

Educational attainment disparities across social groups remain at the forefront of contemporary UK society. Despite this, Northern Ireland reflects a somewhat different context to the rest of the UK due to its transition to a post-conflict society and its dually selective education system (academically and religiously). In Northern Ireland, post-primary (GCSE) attainment differences are often reported according to gender, religious affiliation and socio-economic background. However, due to the lack of available education data that encompasses a wide range of pupil- and school-level factors, discourse informed by the statistical testing of such factors has been limited. This study aims to overcome this current gap by examining the effects of socio-demographics, namely gender, religious affiliation and socio-economic background (through eight measures), and school-level factors on GCSE attainment, using the first linked administrative dataset for education in Northern Ireland. The data combined the household Census (2011) with the School Census (2010-2014) and School Leavers Survey (2010-2014) for the first time in Northern Ireland. To this end, this paper discusses data analytics of the study including data linkage, cohort size, constructed GCSE attainment measures, socio-demographic measures and school-level factors. The multilevel modelling (including interaction models) construction, execution and results will also be discussed. The paper concludes with a reflection upon whether the results of this analysis support existing literature in the Northern Ireland context and wider UK GCSE attainment trends.