Canaries in the Coalmine: An investigation of the relative age effect within further education
The month in which they are born is consequential for some students as they progress through the educational system. Those born later in the academic year cycle, the summer months of May, June, July and August in England, are more likely to experience educational challenges due to their relative age within their year cohort. This study reports on a mixed methods research project, undertaken through a critical realist lens, in which I investigated quantitative patterns of enrolment in a large further education college and subsequently undertook qualitative research with a group of students, who were selected based on the earlier quantitative findings. Drawing on established international research evidence from the field of the relative age effect, this study challenges the unproblematic view that the effect of month of birth virtually disappears beyond the age of sixteen in England. Analysis of the findings shows that students born in the summer months disproportionately enrol onto further education courses in comparison to the underlying monthly birth rate in England, with comparative under-enrolment detectable for those students born in the first four months of the academic year. Study participants were aware of social and physical differences due to their relative age but identified their academic differences as unrelated to their relative age. This study argues that the relative age effect is evident in enrolment patterns in further education, most strongly for enrolments to Level One and Level Two courses. The evidence suggests that this enrolment pattern is due to the systemic generation of lower achievements in General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations, specifically in English Language and Mathematics, for some students born later in the academic year. In contrast, once enrolled in college, summer-born students have higher attendance and achievement rates than those students born in the first four months of the year. GCSE English Language and Mathematics achievement at Grade 4 is still a significant hurdle that many summer-born students are not able to surmount. Consequently, educational choices and thus life trajectories are fundamentally altered due to the relative age effect.
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