Raising Educational and Occupational Aspirations: Encouraging Family Conversation

Abstract

This paper considers the importance of conversations at home about the educational qualifications and aspirations of family members and how these may impact on post-16 choices. It presents previously unpublished data gathered in an 11–16 school situated in a post- industrial community in the south Wales valleys. Pupils in Year 11 were asked on several occasions to find out about the educational qualifications of household members – it is the responses to these questions that became the focus of this paper. In conclusion, the need to consider the support and information provided to pupils and their families at key transitional points in their educational careers is emphasised in light of continued debates about underachievement in Welsh schools.