October 19, 2013

Profound Employer Engagement in Education: What It Is and Options for Scaling It Up

October 19, 2013

A report for the Board of Trustees of the Edge Foundation by Dr Anthony Mann and Dr Baljinder Virk, Education and Employers Taskforce. This report aims to provide a critical review of research and public policy literature concerned with the characteristics of engagements between employers and schools, focusing on school provision for the age group 11-18: it does not examine provision in Further Education Colleges or Apprenticeships.

Read more

October 18, 2013

OECD’s Skills Beyond School Project: Reflections on the Position in England

October 18, 2013

This seminar focused on the success of the Skills Beyond School project in England. Abstract: Across the world’s most developed economies, countries are looking beyond secondary school to more advanced qualifications to provide the skills needed in many of the fastest-growing technical and professional jobs. The OECD project, Skills Beyond School, reviews policy and practice […]

Read more

September 26, 2013

Young People’s Backgrounds, Aspirations and Outcomes: Identifying Patterns, Seeking Explanation, Proposing Solutions

September 26, 2013

This seminar focused on the impact of social background and aspirations on employment outcomes for young people. Abstract: There has been a long-standing concern expressed by politicians, media outlets and social scientists with young people’s occupational aspirations, and particularly with the notion that low aspiration or lack of aspiration might be having a significant impact […]

Read more

May 29, 2013

Advancing Academic Achievement Through Career Relevance in the Middle Grades: A Longitudinal Evaluation of CareerStart

May 29, 2013

M.E. Woolley et al American Educational Research Journal pp1-27 May 2013 Woolley et al (2013) evaluate the long-term impact of the CareerStart programme, an instructional programme that introduces career-focused education into the middle school curriculum, on achievement scores and well-being among participating students in the United States. They find that CareerStart has a significant positive […]

Read more

May 23, 2013

Young People’s Career Expectations and their Impact on the Transition to Adulthood

May 23, 2013

This seminar focused on the relationship between aspirations and school to work transitions for young people. Abstract: This paper examined the antecedents and long term outcomes of teenage career aspirations. What are the expectations young people have regarding their educational and occupational pathways? Have these aspirations changed over time? What are the predictors of teenage […]

Read more

April 24, 2013

Comparative Research into the Experiences of Vocational Learners Across Seven European Countries

April 24, 2013

This seminar presented the findings of the 7EU project to inform the policy discussion on vocational education in the UK. Abstract: The 7EU project is a pioneering attempt to investigate and compare the learning experiences of vocational learners across Europe. The research is intended to provide a European and comparative perspective to discussions about practice […]

Read more

March 21, 2013

Employer Engagement in British Secondary Education: Wage Earning Outcomes Experienced by Young Adults

March 21, 2013

By By Dr Anthony Mann (Director of Research and Policy, Education and Employers), and Christian Percy (An Independent Academic and Econometrician).   An article by Dr Anthony Mann and economist Christian Percy from the peer-reviewed international Journal of Education and Work exploring the links between the earnings of young adults and the extent of school-mediated employer contacts they were exposed to […]

Read more

March 19, 2013

Nothing in Common: The Career Aspirations of Young Britons Mapped Against Projected Labour Market Demand 2010-2020

March 19, 2013

By Dr Anthony Mann (Director of Research and Policy, Education and Employers), David Massey (UKCES), Peter Glover (UKCES), Elnaz T. Kashefpakdel (Research Analyst, Education and Employers) and James Dawkins (Research Analyst, Education and Employers). A report in the Taskforce’s Occasional Research Papers series in collaboration with b-live and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. The report maps the career aspirations of 10,729 British teenagers […]

Read more

February 14, 2013

“Not girly, not sexy, not glamorous”: primary school girls’ and parents’ constructions of science aspirations

February 14, 2013

Louise Archer et al in Pedagogy, Culture and Society 21:1 (2013) pp.171-194 Archer et al investigate discourses surrounding popular femininity and the importance of social background and social capital in career aspirations and educational or vocational attainment, in relation to science and STEM aspirations. The perception that science is a field for white, middle class […]

Read more

December 21, 2012

Closing the Gap: How Employers Can Change the Way Young People See Apprenticeships

December 21, 2012

By Dr Anthony Mann (Director of Research and Policy, Education and Employers) and Sara Caplan (Education and Skills Consultant, PriceWaterhoouseCoopers)   This thinkpiece by the Education and Employers Taskforce and PriceWaterhouseCoopers explores young people’s views of Apprenticeships, and the practical steps employers can take to help them to gain a more informed understanding of them. The report includes a […]

Read more