Eleven Plus Job Aspirations

Is there any recent research about the job aspirations of grammar school children?

It does seem likely that a grammar school child will have had a number of years of `indoctrination’ about the value of university and the chances of developing a satisfying career.

It is likely that a child who does not want to go to university will be reasonably content with a job that is `just down the road’.

An eleven plus child from a leafy suburb may have to leave home to go to university whereas a child looking for a local job may choose to stay at home. Some university undergraduates, however, choose to stay at home because of increasing costs of tuition and accommodation fees.

Do grammar school children every build their job aspiration in university courses? Of course some must. An A level student who sets out to become an economist may find a university place to read economics.

What we do know is that there are likely to be a number of changes of career. Gone are the day when a young person could take a civil service examination – and then have a job for life.

The next time you ask your child what he or she would like to do after school and university – you could consider pointing out many graduates have at least three changes of career. You could follow this by saying that at eleven years old there is plenty of time.