Parents – key influencers on children’s academic and

employment choices

Chris Phillips, Research Director, GTI/TARGETcareers

June 23, 2015

Trendence and school leaver research

• Research into parental influence December 2014– Undergraduates– Parents– Careers advisers– HELOA members– Employers

• Trendence School Leaver Barometer 2014

Years 10-13 plans for study and work– 7,000 students– Produced annually

Download both reports from:gtimedia.co.uk/expertise/research-reports

New careers products for 2015areechool leaver print products

The UK’s 100 most popular employers for School Leavers

Features over 100 UK employers as voted for by 7,000 school students and top 20 universities

The UK’s first and largest employer ranking product aimed at school and FE college students

50,000 copies circulated free to students and careers contacts at over 4,000 schools and FE Colleges plus digital editions

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Mainly for employers in these sectors to promote alternatives to university

Print copies distributed to key contacts at every school and FE college in the UK, along with the digital version

TARGETcareers

• Careers information to help school and college students choose the degree courses and universities to reach their careers goals

• Building on TARGETjobs’ 25-year history of editorial excellence for university students

TARGETcareersLaunched in September 2015

‘When I was eighteen, I thought my father was a fool. When I was 21, I was pleasantly surprised at how much he had managed to learn in three years.’

Mark Twain

THE HEADLINES

PARENTS ARE INFLUENTIAL

THANK GOD

• Only 7% of students believe that parents have had no influence on their key education and career choices

• 57% believe that parents have influenced them a fair amount or a huge amount

“AND THEY ARE RIGHT TO BE...”

SAY THEIR KIDS

• 66% think it’s the right thing for parents to do

• Only 7% think it’s wrong

• Students believe that parents seek to influence their children because they want them to have a better life than they had

• 69% of students say that their parents tried to influence their choice of university/degree

• 54% their choice of career

UNIVERSITY – THE DEFAULT OPTION

• 76% of students say that their parents encouraged them to go to university

• 70% of parents say they would or did encourage their children to go to university

ALTERNATIVES TO UNIVERSITY

PARENTS IN THE DARK

• 73% of students say that their parents never discussed alternatives to university with them

• 25% of parents say that they didn’t discuss alternatives because they believed that university was a much better choice

PARENTS ON HAND TO HELP

• 56% of students say that their parents accompanied them to university open days

• 47% have had some help with job applications and interviews

• 39% of students say that their parents have offered to put them in touch with family, friends or work colleagues

INFLUENCE IS NOT A CONSTANT

It changes depending on: • Whether parents have been to

university• Where they live• What they do for a living• Whether their children have studied at

state school or an independent school• Whether the children are boys or girls

IT’S WHO YOU KNOW...

• The level of parental influence is much higher for students who were independently educated

• Parents of independently educated students are much more likely to put their children in touch with family, friends and work colleagues

• But parents of independently educated students are less likely to attend university open days

VIVE LA DIFFERENCE

• At university open days, women were much more likely to take their parents

• Men are more likely to receive parental help to contact friends, family and work colleagues

PARENTS WHO HAVE A DEGREE

• The level of influence exerted by parents who had been to university is much higher than that of parents who hadn’t

• Parents who hadn’t been to university were much less likely to help their children with job applications and interviews compared to those parents who had

IT DEPENDS WHERE YOU LIVE

• Most likely to encourage their children to go to university– Northern Ireland (91%)– East of England (62%)

• Most likely to discuss alternatives to university with their children– South West (70%)– London (47%)

ON THE FRONT LINEOUTREACH, ADMISSIONS,

MARKETING

• 57% say there has been an increase in the number of parents at open days compared to five years ago

• 83% say it was important for their university to encourage parents to attend open days

• 57% say they have had experience of parents seeking to influence the university application process in favour of their child

WHAT ARE CAREERS SERVICES SAYING ON THE

SUBJECT?

• 62% believe that parents are more visible or involved in their children’s career choices post-university compared to five years ago

• 32% say that their own service is already making guidance or information available to undergraduates’ parents

• 28% plan to make it available

• 88% say the Careers and Employability Service is involved in university open days speaking or presenting to prospective students’ parents

WE ALL KNOW WHO KNOWS BEST

Students think their mothers are significantly more active than fathers in attempts to

influence decisions

Dr Paul Redmond, Director of Student Life

Cabinet Ministers, Spin Doctors, Yes Ministers and Backbenchers: charting the influence of parents on students’ careers.

If you can read this thank a

teacher. National Union of Teachers

Parent Typology

• Cabinet Minister• Civil Servant• Spin Doctor• Backbencher

The Cabinet Minister

• Highly influential and well-connected;• Holder and purveyor of cultural capital;• Direct access to elite networks;• Able to achieve results;• Metropolitan and cosmopolitan.

“”The biggest influence my parents gave me was their own example – they both went to Cambridge and while they in no way TOLD me to apply there,

they did tell me about their own experiences, which made me want to go there myself.”.”

‘Parental influence on children’s academic and employment choices’ 2014

Civil Servant

• Informed adviser;• Guides from the side-lines;• Familiar with processes and conventions;• High levels of knowledge, but may pull back

from exerting direct engagement and influence;

• Aims for neutrality.

’56% of students said their parents had accompanied them to university open days.’

‘Parental influence on children’s academic and employment choices’ 2014

“As I do not receive student finance, my whole education was an investment from my

parents, so the minimum I can do is show some gratitude is to listen and take into

account what they have to say.”

‘Parental influence on children’s academic and employment choices’ 2014

The Spin Doctor

• Ferociously loyal;• Uber-competitive and willing to go to extreme

lengths to gain a positional advantage;• Expert at communications and image

management;• Excels in the curricula and extracurricular;• Overstepping the mark is but an occupational

hazard.

’25% of employers say that they had experience of parents seeking to influence the

selection process for their child.’

‘Parental influence on children’s academic and employment choices’ 2014

“I received huge pressure from the private school I attended with regard to

going to university, despite feeling it wasn’t the right choice for me.”

‘Parental influence on children’s academic and employment choices’ 2014

The Backbencher

• Loyal and hard-working but likely to wield limited influence;

• Has limited capacity to shape proceedings;• Likely to lack key knowledge;• May act on outdated intelligence; • Can find it difficult to identify with new

economic realities.

‘Students with parents who had not been to university were much more likely to be left to

make their own decisions.’

‘Parental influence on children’s academic and employment choices’ 2014

“From my own experience, parents with little or no higher education don’t know

much about the university process, therefore they didn’t have much input

into my decisions.”‘Parental influence on children’s academic and employment

choices’ 2014

(Low) Knowledge (High)

Spin Doctor Cabinet Minister

Back Bencher Civil Servant

(Low

)E

ng

agem

ent

(

Hig

h)Influence

How careers services collaborate with student recruitment and marketing teams in order to

engage prospective students and parents.

Destinations data:

•Quantitative - Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE)•Qualitative – Elaboration on the DLHE data, case studies, etc.

Careers information inprospectuses, websites, newsletters to prospective students and offer holders, etc.

OFFA-funded posts:• Careers Consultants• Data Analysts• Work Experience Specialists

All working to ‘level the playing field’ for widening participation students.

OFFA-funded posts

Pre-entry Careers Consultants – outreach in schools– produce Information Sheets and other resources– deliver workshops and talks– Attend recruitment events (including webchats)

An especially valuable service given the decline in careers education, information, advice and guidance in schools

Open Days

Attend open days to help potential students and parents understand the occupational implications of degree choice (and other things)

Key messages/themes

• Advice on strengthening personal statements when applying to university

• Latest information on the graduate recruitment market (don’t always believe media headlines!)

• What do employers look for?• How universities develop students’

employability skills and experience

Download both reports from:gtimedia.co.uk/expertise/research-reports