Project Leader: Joan Payne
Sponsor: Department for Education and Employment
Period: February 2000-May 2001
Background
This project is the third in a series of contracts held by PSI to provide in-depth analyses of data from the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study (YCS) in order to inform policy making on issues concerning education and training provision for 16-19 year olds and the transition from full-time education to the labour force. The topics for analysis will be agreed between the DfEE and PSI and have not yet been finally determined.
Study Design
YCS has followed successive cohorts of young people over the three years from the end of compulsory education. Each cohort forms a large nationally representative sample of the age group and is surveyed by postal questionnaire, supplemented recently by telephone interviews. The surveys are sponsored by the DfEE and have been carried out by the National Centre for Social Research (formerly SCPR) and Research Services GB. The YCS Work Programme uses a range of analytical techniques, including statistical modelling, but aims to produce reports written in plain English that can be readily understood by non-specialists.
Importance
The two previous YCS Work Programmes carried out at PSI have produced a total of eleven published reports, plus a book that brings together many of the findings of the first Work Programme. These have been used extensively both within government and by academic researchers and practitioners as one of the major sources of information on the 16-19 age group in England and Wales. The new Work Programme is likely to prove equally valuable.
Publications
Payne, J. Post-16 students and part-time jobs: Patterns and effects - A report based on the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study. Department for Education and Skills Research Report 323, 2001
Payne, J. Patterns of participation in full-time education after 16: An analysis of the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study. Department for Education and Skills Research Report 307, 2001
Wilkinson, D. Changes in the wage structure and participation in education and training for young people: Data from the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study. Department for Education and Skills Research Series Research Report 306, 2001
Payne, J. Work-Based Training for Young People: Data from the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study. Department for Education and Skills Research Report RR276, 2001