Richard Hatcher & Tricia Le Gallais Birmingham City University R Hatcher & T Le Gallais BCU_WEP1

Richard Hatcher & Tricia Le GallaisBirmingham City University

R Hatcher & T Le Gallais BCU_WEP 1

Our original research was undertaken in 2006-7 and a report published in 2008. We investigated:

the distribution of students to placements with particular emphasis on differentiation by social class

the processes utilised by the various schools in the allocation of placements formed an important part of the research

the pupils’ experiences on placement the impact of their placements as described by the

pupils (increased confidence, future plans, etc.)

2R Hatcher & T Le Gallais

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Five schools participated in our research. 1,000 questionnaires &100 interviews + pupils; interviews

with staff at the five schools involved One of these schools, anonymised as Avon School, has an

intake selected by ability; the other four schools, namely Bedford, Cumbria, Devon and Essex School, are comprehensive schools.

Eligibility for free school meals (FSM) was used as a proxy indicator of the socio-economic status (SES) of the school populations, which, whilst limited as an indicator, allowed us to categorise the schools as high SES (Avon), middle SES (Bedford and Cumbria) and low SES (Devon and Essex).


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Work placements tend powerfully to reflect and reproduce patterns of social class inequality, rather than to widen students’ vocational horizons:

Well they expected me to clean the toilets on the last day so I walked out of my placement saying I’m not here as a cleaner because I had already done it three times throughout the week already. (Low SES school pupil)

Well the first week I was in a barristers and I was like and saw what they did in and out of chambers and everyday I went to the City crown courts so and followed the course for a murder trial and rape trial and that was really interesting and I just saw the work the barristers do. One day we sat in the judge’s office with the judge and spoke to the judge and that. (High SES school pupil)


Four of the five schools adopted a ‘hands-off’ approach to their pupils’ choice of WEPs, encouraging pupils to find their own placement, in some cases regardless of quality

Let’s be honest, my concern is to get 156 people 156 places. And relax, you know. The more worthwhile they are, great, whoopee. I’m even happier, sort of thing. But there is not enough time provided to go around and check that everybody has got a super placement… They might be bored witless after three days…(Teacher, Avon, 2008)

Essex was found to have a distinctive approach; its pupils had far more school support and direction and far less independent choice than the other schools.


High SES - AVON:80% Middle SES – BEDFORD:78% Middle SES - CUMBRIA: 94% Low SES - DEVON: 76% Low SES - ESSEX: 17%


Well I was interested in law and my dad helped me find a placement. It’s because well the barrister was a friend of my dad and the judge is a friend of a friend of so I got it sort of like that. (High SES school pupil)

I went to lots of stables, but they didn’t do placements but my Dad had a friend who owned stables and she knew the manager so I got in contact with them. (Middle SES school pupil)

I knew people who went there, workers. (Low SES school pupil)



Parental occupations

Avon Bedford Cumbria Devon Essex

Managerial & professional occupations

63% 17% 10% 0% 4%

Intermediate occupations

24% 50% 30% 21% 21%

Lower occupations

3% 33% 35% 45% 33%

Unemployed 8% 0% 25% 28% 38%

A lot of what they choose is because their aspirations are low and that is because a lot of their parents don’t have jobs. Quite a lot of them don’t even speak English and they usually aspire to what their older brother or sister is doing, and in a lot of cases that is working in a shop. (Low SES staff)

we’ve had one parent who said to a member of staff they didn’t really want her to go far because she’s not used to travelling that far. Maybe they don’t perceive their life travelling far. (Low SES staff)

…there is this ceiling of where (the parents) would not want their child to go and experience the other side of things, as it were, because they would never want them in the manufacturing hands-on side of things. (High SES staff)


Menial tasks: Avon+ 2%; Devon+34%

Work shadowing: Avon+ 24%; Devon+3%

Responsible tasks - e.g. putting up medicines etc: Avon+ 19%; Devon+3%

Treated as colleague: Avon+ 17%; Devon+3%


I learnt a lot about time management because I could found it quite difficult to handle all the responsibilities when you’ve got to unload the queue of people or handle the prescriptions; file all the paperwork; get the prescriptions and everything at the same time but I finally got to grips with it towards the end. I found it a lot easier. (High SES school pupil)

Basically just stacking shelves. We weren’t allowed to go on the till because you need months and months of training and we only had two weeks and packing bags for customers and date rotating and stuff like that. Sometimes I was just doing nothing and it was so boring and I don’t want to work in a supermarket and I didn’t really get on with some of the staff. (Low SES school pupil)


I need to grow up, that is what they said.(S)he also said that me and (my friend) have got a lack of energy, but she never spoke to us, the only time she spoke to us was when she was telling us to do something. (Low SES school pupil)

It was just, I learnt stuff about, at the dentist, I learnt about the qualifications and things that you need and the kind of work that you can do and the branches of dentistry that you can go into work and specialise in and the options. (High SES school pupil)


How to act more responsible and how to communicate with people better now…Well when I first met people I was shy whereas now I just talk to them.(Low SES school pupil)

Well when I was sitting there watching the cashiers I learnt that you have to be really patient because sometimes customers are ranting and raving about things and you have to know how to deal with situations like that. (Middle SES school pupil)

Oh I learnt a lot. I learnt a lot about the workings of law and how the barristers like for example, the crucial differences between solicitors and barristers and then the second week I learnt how to manage my time and take orders and work as a team; meeting deadlines and things like that. So it was all pretty useful to me. (High SES school pupil)


1.Local available fields of employment


2. Social class – differentiated field of work placements



3. Social selection by employers




4. Student choice and arrangement





5. Social class – reproductionist school strategy prioritises student choice






6. School support may be social class - reproductionist







7. Work placements tied to vocational courses








8. Social class- differentiated horizons for action









9. Non career related factors










10. Students’ work-related socioscapes e.g. shops, sports centres, workplaces










10. Students’ work-related socioscapes

11. Students’ emerging vocational identities










10. Students’ vocational socioscapes e.g. shops, sports centres, workplaces

11. Students’ emerging vocational identities 13. Parents’

social and cultural capital

12. Parents’ aspirations










10. Students’ vocational socioscapes



13. Parents’ social and cultural capital










10. Students’ vocational socioscapes



13. Parents’ social and cultural capital

Tricia Le Gallais, Birmingham City UniversityE&E Taskforce Seminar: 24th January 2012


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Taking into account the data from our 2008 research for all five schools the number of professional placements accessed by one of the schools, namely Essex School, was higher than one might reasonably have anticipated from its low socioeconomic status.

It was also the most directive regarding pupil choice of placements

These intriguing anomalies provided the stimulus for undertaking this piece of small scale research in 2010-2011.


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At the time of this research in 2010 schools had a statutory requirement to provide work-based learning. This usually takes place in Key Stage 4.

DfE advise that Whilst schools will clearly need to be sensitive to the risk that placing students into areas of work in which they feel uncomfortable may be counterproductive, they should, nevertheless, consider how far they should allow their students free choice of placements. (DfES 2002a, p12)


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The Headteacher’s response to the DfE’s advice:

Comfortable? I don’t want them to be comfortable. I want them out of their comfort zone. Otherwise (this area) is it for them! Broadening their horizons is so important.

In discussion about the school’s interventionist stance regarding their pupils’ WEPs, she acknowledged it to be a necessary approach in order to fully support her students

We have to be the parent for our pupils. Our (pupils’) parents are not able or cognisant enough to play the game and the children here make choices according to bus routes. Our directing them means showing them a different side of life.


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Inner city suburb, West Midlands Its catchment area is one of the most socially and

economically disadvantaged areas in the country City unemployment rate= 12.5%; school’s suburb=27.8% In 2010: 66% Free School Meals (2011 72%?) According to figures for January 2011 provided by Essex

School the percentage of pupils with English as a second language is 86%.

The predominant ethnic make up of the school is Bangladeshi (43%), Pakistani (29%) and Black Somali (11%).


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Small scale qualitative research Two members of staff at Essex School with specific

responsibilities for the school’s work experience programme took part in interviews

36 Year Twelve students took part in interviews and/or questionnaires.

Additional documentary data from the school and other relevant staff

Interview with the Headteacher


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From the Headteacher's point of view a quality placement should be one where pupils are encouraged to look beyond the narrow horizons of their neighbourhood

For Essex WEP staff, quality also resides in the activities the pupils engage in on placement and how they are treated:

When I talk with employers I am clear about what I want for our pupils. In the medical centre for example, they will sit in with the doctor; at the library in town they will work as librarians; if they are with a solicitor they will go to court every day. One lad working in the hospital was given a research project where he was asking patients about their anti-emetic medication and his report was used by the staff.


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42 (26%) professional placements (eleven in medical and pharmaceutical; eight in banking or accountancy; fourteen in architecture/design; three in legal organisations and six in management services or organisations where they were located in managerial areas)

34 (21%) placements in educational institutions, mainly primary or nursery schools and some FE college placements - arguably some of these WEPs could fit into in the professional category

37 (23%) in retail –these ranged from department stores to shoe shops and internet cafes

Remaining WEPs in a variety of organisations such as hotels, IT firms, etc.


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Students responded as follows:78% - ‘the school found it for me’8% - ‘found it on my own’

These figures serve to confirm the continued directive stance of Essex School with regard to identifying placements and matching them to their students.

This clashes, however with Sian’s statement that ‘it’s very much (the pupils’) choice’

So, what is happening? The directive approach is there – however, it concerns the

quality of WEPs available to the pupils. To the pupils they are found by the school; to the school the pupils can choose ( but only from a quality pool of WEPs)


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69% felt they were treated like colleagues 64% ‘played an active role like a ‘real’ member of staff’ 58% talked of work shadowing which helped them to understand

more about the job. Only 9% referred to carrying out basic tasksA student’s comments:

I worked at a medical centre. I worked with different nurses and doctors as they taught me how to deal with different patients; how to enter information on the computer and how to carry out injections. My placement has helped me to decide on my career and I want to do something in the medical field. I am so much more confident now about talking to staff and being in a work environment. I have far greater expectations for my education and I feel my aspirations are higher. It has made a big difference to me and I am now even more excited about going to university. (Maham, Yr 12 student)

R Hatcher & T Le Gallais

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Students’ key responses were as follows: Improved communication skills (89%) Learning to work with people they didn’t know

(89%) Learning how to work with adults (86%) Increased confidence (86%) Increased sense of responsibility (83%) Understanding what the job was like (78%) Learning about the world of work (72%) Widening their ideas about the type of job they

can apply for (70%)


75% felt that their work experience placement had encouraged them to work much harder at school

70% said their ideas about future careers had been widened

Pupils were asked whether their decision about university had been influenced in any way by their experiences on placement, to which 69% said it had encouraged them to consider university as a serious option

50% said their WEP had given them the confidence to think about a career they did not think they’d be able to do

Note : There is a contrast for many pupils between the type of professional placement they experienced and the employment background of their family. This is best shown by the pupils’ comments


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No one’s been to uni in my family. They’re in shop work. I did my placement in the children’s hospital and I really want to go to uni because of my placement.

None of my family’s been to uni. My work experience was in the city council offices and the staff there encouraged me to consider uni. They treated me well and gave me responsible tasks. I was encouraged to attend meetings and to give my opinion.

I had a placement in a pharmacy. Working there’s motivated me to pursue my chosen career as a pharmacist. My family work in restaurants and are self-employed. One of my relatives went to university.


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Data show that the number of professional placements has increased considerably since the previous research

Many students state that they are now intending to go on to university as a direct result of their placements.

In addition, students’ aspirations have been raised with regard to the types of future careers they are considering, i.e. 50% of students now say that they now have the confidence to explore careers they would not have aspired to before their placement


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This research confirms the marked directive stance adopted by Essex School in terms of students’ freedom to choose their own placements.

Placements are identified which will provide a challenging and worthwhile experience for the pupils in terms of what tasks they perform and the support they receive from placement staff

The work experience programme at Essex forms just one part, albeit a significant one, of the school’s overall strategy of enhancing their pupils’ psychological capital and addressing the dearth of social capital amongst their families


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Don’t postpone work experience till after 16

Don’t postpone work experience till after 16 Work experience must be high quality

Don’t postpone work experience till after 16 Work experience must be high quality Experiences of a range of workplaces

Don’t postpone work experience till after 16 Work experience must be high quality Experiences of a range of workplaces Begin in the primary school

Don’t postpone work experience till after 16 Work experience must be high quality Experiences of a range of workplaces Begin in the primary school A range of engagement between school and the world of

work


work Open up the world of work to critical educational enquiry


work Open up the world of work to critical educational enquiry Towards the ‘School-Friendly Workplace’:

- committed to widening horizons, particularly for students from poorer backgrounds- open to critical educational enquiry

Documents

Richard Hatcher & Tricia Le Gallais Birmingham City University R Hatcher & T Le Gallais BCU_WEP1