Paths in education: how students make qualification choices at Level 3 and what influences these choices

ABSTRACT This study explores how young people in England make choices about the qualifications they study at the age of 16, when they move to post-compulsory education, and the impact on further progression. Given the potential impact on students’ lives, it seems vital to understand how they make their choices, and whether the current decision-making process could be improved. There is increasing research into the provision of career guidance, on how students are making choices about higher education (Diamond et al., 2014). However, the majority of research into qualification choice has been about progression to Higher Education or choices made about GCSEs, leaving a gap in the literature relating to vocational education and training. It has been argued that some students are poorly prepared when it comes to choices about the qualifications after 16 (Leatherwood, 2015). This is still true for young people today. Using a mixed methods approach involving questionnaires (n = 50); 35 student interviews; 2 focus group discussions, and 4 staff interviews, the study found five main influences on choice. They included peer influence, career aspirations, parental or family influence, advice from careers officers and media influences. The role played by schools in shaping qualification choice is considerable: young people need both good impartial information as well as good advice and guidance in how to use this information. However, these structural factors can play a significant role in the choice of qualifications, to the point where it is effectively a ‘non-choice’.