Survey shows that girls favour going to university more than boys

Survey shows that girls favour going to university more than boys: A recent education survey suggests that almost 65 per cent of girls view going to university in a positive light and see it as important. In comparison to 58 per cent boys who think the same.Survey shows that girls favour going to university more than boys

According to the research, which was gathered by the Sutton Trust education charity, girls at the age of just 13 believe that going to university will help them in later life. The young girls had a very positive attitude towards attending, even at such a young age, whereas their boy classmates did not see it as important. A study carried out by Oxford University found that by the time children reach year 9 at secondary school (age 13-14), 65 per cent of girls believe that it’s very important that they go to university when they are old enough. However, only 58 per cent of boys agreed that it is important to go to university.

Evidence from the research also suggests that 15 per cent of boys at the school did not see any point in attending university or even continuing into higher education. They were found too much prefer to get a job and earn money. However, only 10 per cent of girls did not attach any importance to going to university and getting a degree.

It could be argued that more girls aspire to go to university more than boys due to the gender performance gap, as statistics show that girls are outperforming boys at school, and many more of them are moving into higher education to strive towards the good jobs and better income.

35 per cent of women are more likely to go to university than men and white men from poor backgrounds are least likely to attend. Just 8.9 per cent of white men from poor backgrounds choose to continue their studies.

Sutton Trust carried out a report and called it ‘Believing in Better’. Their data is based on surveys with over 3,000 pupils that were tracked from the age of three. The respondents were examined about whether attitudes and aspirations towards university affect a child’s academic outcomes post-GCSEs. Their results showed that the child’s attitudes about university are mainly shaped at early ages by their background and upbringing.

Children who are from backgrounds of an ethnic minority were found to have had higher levels of aspiration about going to university than their white peers . Also students from neighbourhoods with high levels of unemployment wanted to be different – they wanted to not be like the rest of their neighbourhood. This gave them the motivation to try harder and thus were five times more likely to consider a university degree.

Sutton Trust started a campaign which would help improve social mobility for those children in low-income areas with high aspirations.

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