Scottish Government

7 Education

INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT

Ensuring that everyone in Scotland has equal access to learning opportunities to achieve their full potential and increase skill levels across the population is one of the Scottish Government's five strategic objectives: ⁶⁰Expand opportunities for people in Scotland to succeed from nurture through to life long learning ensuring higher and more widely shared achievements.

Although the Scottish Household Survey ( SHS) is not the definitive source of information about education and qualifications in Scotland, it can contribute to the measurement of key education indicators. Education level is also an important factor that can be used in the wider analysis of the Survey's data, for example to explore differences in people's characteristics and attitudes by educational attainment.

This chapter starts with an overview of educational qualifications achieved across the population as a whole and across key sub groups. It then looks at levels of participation in training and education programmes, with a focus on the relationship between both age and deprivation on the uptake of both. Finally, levels of satisfaction with schooling, and how these vary with the type of area and age of the child, are explored.

HIGHEST QUALIFICATION LEVEL

Table 7.1 and Table 7.2 present the proportions of people who attained qualifications by gender, age and, for those of working age, by household income. Respondents to the SHS are asked about a wide variety of qualifications and these have been condensed into the categories presented in the tables.

Just under one-quarter (23%) of all adults had none of the qualifications presented in Table 7.1. Of these, by far the highest proportion was in the 75 and over age group, with 7 times as many of those aged 75 and over reporting having no qualifications than those aged 16 to 24 (56% and 8% respectively). There was little difference between men and women on the highest level of qualifications they held.

Table 7.1: Highest level of qualifications held by age and by gender
Column percentages, 2007/2008 data

Established links between degree level qualifications and higher incomes can be seen among working adults interviewed as part of the SHS. One-in-seven (14%) of those in the lowest income bracket have a degree or professional qualification compared with almost one half of the working age respondents with the highest incomes (48%). Additionally, those of working age in the highest income brackets were considerably less likely to have no qualifications. Around a third (34%) of adults with a household income of between £6,001 and £10,000 had no qualifications, compared with 5% of adults earning over £40,000.

Table 7.2: Highest level of qualifications held by adults of working age, by net annual household income
Column percentages, 2007/2008 data

Includes all adults for whom household income is known or has been imputed.
Household income in the SHS is that of the highest income householder and their partner only.

PARTICIPATION IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING

As Table 7.3 shows, 23% of all adults were undertaking some kind of training or education at the time of interview, with participation highest in the youngest age group (54%) and lowest among those aged 60 to 74 (6%) and 75 plus (2%). The type of education and training people were undertaking changed as age increased. University based courses were the most common form among those aged 16-24 while on the job training was the most common form for all other age groups except for those aged 75 plus where adult education or evening classes were the most common.

Table 7.3: Adult participation in education and training by age
Column percentages, 2007/2008 data

Columns add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.
From June 2007, this question was asked of three quarters of the sample. From January to May 2007, it was asked of all random adults.

A slightly lower proportion of adults living in the 15% most deprived areas in Scotland ⁶¹ were undertaking training and education (19% compared with 23% in the rest of Scotland) (Table 7.4). The main difference between the two areas was in the proportion who were undertaking on the job training (9% and 11% respectively).

Table 7.4: Adult participation in education and training by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
Column percentages, 2007/2008 data

From June 2007, this question was asked of three quarters of the sample. From January to May 2007, it was asked of all random adults.

SATISFACTION WITH SCHOOLING

Parents of school aged children were asked about their satisfaction with the following three aspects of their child's schooling: ⁶²

• the education provided;
• the school's explanation of how parents can support children's learning outside school; and
• the amount of information provided about their child's progress.

Type of area

Table 7.5 and Table 7.6 look at satisfaction with schooling according to the type of area in which parents live, based on the level of deprivation and urban rural classification. Overall levels of satisfaction with schooling are high. Over nine in ten (92%) of all parents with school-aged children are satisfied with the education provided by their child's school, slightly fewer (88%) are satisfied with the amount of information about their child's progress, and 80% are satisfied with the school's explanation of what support children need outside school (the tables present the items in order of the level of satisfaction, rather than the order presented in the questionnaire).

Table 7.5 shows that for two of the three aspects noted above, satisfaction levels are similar for parents in the 15% most deprived areas and in the rest of Scotland. However, there is a small difference when it comes to feedback about children's performance: 90% of parents in the 15% most deprived areas say they are satisfied with this compared with 87% of those in the rest of Scotland. Table 7.6 demonstrates that levels of satisfaction with all aspects of schooling are similarly high across all urban and rural areas.

Table 7.5: Satisfaction with schooling by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
Percentages, 2007/2008 data

Columns add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

Table 7.6: Satisfaction with schooling by urban/rural classification
Percentages, 2007/2008 data

Columns add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.

Age of child

Parents' satisfaction with schooling can differ depending on the age of their child, this could reflect different levels of satisfaction with primary schools compared to secondary schools, or it could be the result of changing expectations for their children as they get older. As Table 7.7 demonstrates, satisfaction with the first two aspects does not vary by the age of child in any consistent manner. However, the proportion who agree that their child's school explains how they can support their learning outside school is lower among parents of children aged 13 and over (75%) than it is for parents of younger children (ranging between 80%-85%).

Table 7.7: Satisfaction with schooling by age of random school child
Percentages, 2007/2008 data

Columns add to more than 100% since multiple responses were allowed.