Sixth form students' experiences of the process of choosing to study a subject at undergraduate level

With over 18,000 undergraduate subject courses and combinations in the UK from which to choose in addition to the constantly changing opportunities of apprenticeships and full-time employment, sixth form students have a range of potential options. When this is considered with the ever-increasing wealth of information from multiple sources available for these options, students must effectively reduce the number of items in consideration to make sense of their potential choices. In behavioural economic terms, students experiencing choice and information overload may employ ways of simplifying the range of options and information in consideration. This thesis investigates how students may navigate the complexity and range of the information and options available. The primary research uses four questionnaires, three to collect data from a cohort of students at three times during their choice process and one from the Head of Sixth Form. The picture that emerges is one where students act on their early preferences and use information to confirm their choices rather than engaging in an active choice process that is assumed in a marketised system. These findings are despite the cohort being from a geographic area of high participation in higher education who are normally considered to have better access to Careers Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG) than their disadvantaged peers. The implications of the research are that for many sixth from students, the choice process is not a linear and rational appraisal of options using a wide range of relevant information. Instead, it is shaped by the individual circumstances and embedded preferences of the student. Furthermore, for some students the application process of the school may encourage university access in place of the alternative options of apprenticeships or employment. This thesis shows that there is further potential to use behavioural economic concepts to learn more about the choice process that students experience and the unintentional influences on their preferences.

Grantor dc:publisher

Oxford Brookes University

Author dc:creator

• Tilley, Paul Ivan

Contributors dc:contributor

• Wright, Susannah
• Brown, Carol

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved

Language dc:language

en

DOI dc:identifier

https://doi.org/10.24384/z450-mw30

OAI identifier oai:identifier

tle:f03e7847-0141-48d1-8efd-37bc624aa3d4:d6bd9758-527a-46cd-bfe2-c433766e8fca:1