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Educational studies as a discipline is now a feature in many British universities, but little research has been undertaken to explore what kinds of student choose the subject, how easily they access it or how they fare as undergraduate students. This article attempts to address this paucity of research by drawing on a selection of findings from a study undertaken with undergraduate students between 2004 and 2007. The study tracks the progress of a single cohort of students, some from vocational backgrounds and some from traditional academic backgrounds, on a full-time, three-year [Bachelor of Arts] BA Honours educational studies degree. The article initially provides a discussion relating to the historical place of educational studies as a subject for study at undergraduate level and suggests how this links to the British widening-participation agenda. This provides a context for the subsequent sections, which present a selection of findings from the three-year research project. The project was designed to explore the students' experiences by asking which of them were accepted to undertake the degree by admissions staff, how they fared on the degree and, critically, whether their pre-entry qualifications had an impact on their progress and success. This article provides some answers to these questions which suggest that admissions staff are more cautious in accepting vocational entry qualifications, but that the nature of these has little bearing on ultimate success on the degree. It concludes by suggesting how this knowledge might impact on information for potential applicants and on the selection of students in the future.

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Term time employment of tertiary students has increased dramatically following funding policy changes in the global higher education sector. Taking a comparative approach, this study of students at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, investigates the decision to work during the academic term, the characteristics of such employment, and the perceived impacts on the university experiences of New Zealand domestic and Chinese international students. The study revealed similarities and differences between the two largest student populations. Compared to their New Zealand peers, Chinese international students are less likely to take term time employment. Among those who have worked, New Zealand domestic students do so for financial reasons, while Chinese international students value the work experience in the host country. Chinese international students receive much lower wages and tend to have shorter employment durations. In terms of perceived impacts, both New Zealand domestic and Chinese international students express a generally positive attitude towards their employment decisions, with a limited but clear awareness of the negative impacts. Interestingly, for those who have never worked, Chinese international students indicate a much stronger willingness to join the student workforce in the future. New Zealand domestic students, however, are much less likely to work if they can afford not to. This research provides empirical information about international students' term time employment in the New Zealand context. Specific advice and mentoring services are needed at both university and government levels to provide 'a more safe and supportive' employment environment, especially for international students.

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This article describes and analyses some crucial aspects in the latest reforms of Swedish upper secondary education. For decades Sweden stood out as a special case in several respects, in particular the integration of different tracks in upper secondary education; offering second chances to dropouts, and success in terms of equality and equivalence, as well as in terms of socially equal recruitment to higher studies. But, as in other OECD countries, the neo-liberal combination of markets, accountability and institutional rankings has begun to dominate educational policies in Sweden. This development has had a noticeable impact on the upper secondary school system as a whole. For instance, through the independent school reform of the 1990s, there has been a gradual shift from education as a common good to stressing the individual’s freedom of choice. As a result of the new reform that begins in 2011 there will be a stronger division between tracks - academic and vocational education, and apprenticeship training will be organised in separate schools.

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Using a survey of a cohort of UK graduates, linked to administrative data on higher education participation, this paper investigates the labour market attainment of recent graduates by subject of study. We document a large heterogeneity in the mean wages of graduates from different subjects and a considerably larger one within subject with individuals with the most favourable unobserved characteristics obtaining wages almost twice as large as those with the worst. Moreover, gender differences in wages within subjects are also large. We then simulate a graduate tax to calculate a willingness to pay - in form of tuition fees - to capture these subject wage premia.

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Using a survey of a cohort of UK graduates, linked to administrative data on higher education participation, this paper investigates the labour market attainment of recent graduates by subject of study. We document a large heterogeneity in the mean wages of graduates from different subjects and a considerably larger one within subject with individuals with the most favourable unobserved characteristics obtaining wages almost twice as large as those with the worst. Moreover, gender differences in wages within subjects are also large. We then simulate a graduate tax to calculate a willingness to pay - in form of tuition fees - to capture these subject wage premia.

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We estimate the expected returns to personality taking endogenous occupational sorting into account using data from Germany for the years 1992 to 2009. Individual personality is captured by the use of seven different facets. These facets show significant but heterogeneous impacts on choice of occupation and wages. In order to consider the high interdependency between facets we identify typical combinations. The corresponding estimates of the joint effects indicate a large variation in expected returns. Beside qualification, personality reflects an important part of individual skills affecting wages directly and indirectly via occupational sorting.

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This publication reports on a study commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to determine the type of information that would most effectively support learners, employers and advice and guidance intermediaries in making choices about post-16 provision. This included all government funded post-16 education and training, but not higher education provision. York Consulting LLP was commissioned by the Skills Funding Agency, with funding provided by BIS, to undertake the research. Key aims were to: (1) determine the type, level (subject or course) and format of information about post-16 provision that is most useful for learners, employers and advisor intermediaries; (2) explore the extent to which different groups of learners may need different information; (3) determine which method of publication, or combination of methods would be most suitable for learners and employers; (4) define the range of information that is currently collected by [further education] FE institutions in addition to published prospectuses, and the range of new information that could feasibly be provided; (5) assess the extent to which additional and new information to learners, employers and advisor intermediaries would be used to inform choice; and (6) explore which information would be useful at the provider and the national level.

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The purpose of this research study was to predict occupational choices based on demographic variables and high school curriculum tracks. Based on an analysis of the 1997 [National Longitudinal Survey of Youth] NLSY data set that examined high school graduates' occupational choices in 2006, findings indicated that [career and technical education] CTE graduates were 2.7 times more likely to be in [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] STEM fields, while college preparatory graduates were 1.8 times more likely to be in business, management, and administration careers. In addition, gender was significantly related to all career choices. Implications of this study call for CTE teachers and leaders to find new strategies to attract more diverse students, particularly females and minorities, into programs that are predominately White and/or male.

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While traditional forms of career counseling are effective for many individuals, some clients may perceive a strong religious or spiritual call to a career and may therefore require a different understanding of career counseling. This qualitative study sought to describe the process through which individuals perceive and follow a religious or spiritual call to a career, for a small sample of Roman Catholic participants. Themes emerging from the study included a sense of career choice arising from a mutual relationship with God, and struggles both with faith and with being called. Participants described various sources of support as well as challenges in following their calling. The results of the study can assist psychologists and career counselors when working with religious clients who want to incorporate religion and spirituality into the career decision-making process.

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This paper evaluates the impact of immigration on the labor market outcomes of natives in France over the period 1962-1999. Combining large (up to 25 per cent) extracts from six censuses and data from Labor Force Surveys, we exploit the variation in the immigrant share across education/experience cells and over time to identify the impact of immigration. In the Borjas (2003) specification, we find that a 10 per cent increase in immigration increases native wages by three per cent. However, as the number of immigrants and the number of natives are positively and strongly correlated across cells, the immigrant share may not be a good measure of the immigration shock. When the log of natives and the log of immigrants are used as regressors instead, the impact of immigration on natives' wages is still positive but much smaller, and natives' wages are negatively related to the number of natives. To understand this asymmetry and the positive impact of immigration on wages, we explore the link between immigration and the occupational distribution of natives within education/experience cells. Our results suggest that immigration leads to the reallocation of natives to better-paid occupations within education/experience cells.

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