Suchergebnisse

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics' (STEM) knowledge and skills are of increasing importance to the Scottish (and UK) economy in terms of economic growth and better-paid employment opportunities. Shortages of suitably qualified individuals mean that policymakers are concerned to increase the study of STEM subjects at both tertiary and secondary education levels, as the latter feeds the former. Persistent, gendered patterns of STEM subject choice exist at all school qualification levels with, for instance, Biology more likely to be studied by females and Physics by males. These differences have been attributed to social conditioning and gender-biased environments rather than any innate, biological differences with little known about the latter. This paper used Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) administrative data for 2002-2009, linked to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), to explore whether biological factors may play a part in STEM subject choice in Scottish state secondary schools. Specifically, it examined the impact that potential exposure to increased levels of testosterone, in-utero, for female twins with male co-twins (the Twin Testosterone Transfer hypothesis) may have on their STEM subject choices. Twins and a control group of closely spaced sibling pairs were identified from SQA administrative data. Logistic regression was employed to examine Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, general Science and Computing subject choices. No evidence of any testosterone effect was found despite clear patterns of gender segregation. The impact of socio-economic background was stark. The odds of individuals from more disadvantaged backgrounds taking named sciences fell as deprivation levels rose. Age-14 educational choices and general age-16 attainment were seen to be critical for studying STEM subjects at Higher, the crucial qualifications for university entry, indicating that policy interventions to increase uptake need to begin well before this to redress social inclusion and gender imbalance issues.

Attainment in Scottish Secondary education is characterised by entrenched socio-economic and gender gaps. Pupils from the most deprived 20% of households are significantly less likely to achieve benchmark attainment thresholds set by policymakers in terms of the number of awards gained at different levels. In general, females have outperformed males in secondary education since the 1970s. Subjects studied for formal qualification are important too, not just the number of awards and/or grades. Some subjects carry more weight than others, facilitating entry to more prestigious universities and degree programmes that attract higher labour market premia and social status. This paper used Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) administrative data for 2002-2009, linked to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), to investigate the influence of gender and socio-economic background on attainment in so-called facilitating subjects: English, Maths, Geography, History, Modern Studies, Modern Languages, Biology, Chemistry, Physics. Multinomial logit models were estimated for each subject, at each qualification level, to examine within subject attainment in terms of the likelihood of achieving either a low, middle or high pass compared to failing. The impact of socio-economic background was greater than that of gender. Individuals' relative ability was important for securing low passes but not strong enough to overcome disadvantage to achieve high grades. The effects were particularly stark for age-16 qualifications, with the likelihood of securing any pass grade, in any subject, falling dramatically as disadvantage increased. Socio-economic effects were much reduced at Higher, the crucial qualification for university entry in Scotland, but increased as pass grades rose. Females outperformed males in most subjects at different qualification levels with the notable exceptions of Maths and named sciences at Higher, where males were significantly more likely to pass these at all grades.

Changing Scotland uses longitudinal data from the British Household Panel Survey to improve our knowledge and understanding of the impact of devolution on the lives of people in Scotland. It is the first time that BHPS data has been used in this way. The book provides a detailed examination of social, economic, demographic and political differences, especially those involving dynamic behaviour such as residential mobility, unemployment duration, job mobility, income inequality, poverty, health and deprivation, national identity, family structure and other aspects of individual's lives as they change over time. This data provides a 'baseline' for policy formulation and for analysing the impact of subsequent differential developments arising out of devolution. The book is also an invaluable resource for establishing pre-existing differences between England and Scotland and evaluating the impact of policy initiatives by the Scottish Executive