A report about the aspirations of young people living in rural areas has been published by the Local Government Group. Its authors, the National Foundation for Educational Research, reviewed existing evidence and gathered new evidence from young people, parents, teachers and more in Suffolk, Lincolnshire and Cumbria.
The report can be seen by clicking here.
They note that young people in rural areas, on average, attain slightly better exam results than their peers in urban areas. Rural areas similarly have the edge in terms of numbers who stay on in post-16 education. However, the authors conclude this has nothing to do with rurality per se. Rather, it reflects typical socio-economic characteristics in rural and urban areas. Which explains the wide variation among rural areas; those places with more deprivation have lower figures for exam attainment and post-16 staying on rates.
A range of factors have been cited by previous studies as curtailing the aspirations of some young people in rural areas. These include structural factors like poor access to higher education facilities, narrower employment opportunities in the area and a lack of larger employers who are more likely to offer on-the-job training.
Whilst not specifically rural, both cultural and personal factors can also act as a constraint. Parental aspiration is generally regarded as the most significant factor of all. Others include neighbourhood characteristics, gender and ethnicity. One interesting study found evidence of young Black and Indian people making less progress at school if in a rural area.
The authors conclude that rural young people are no less ambitious than their urban counterparts, but certain characteristics of rural areas can influence and (sometimes) constrain aspirations.
Most of the rural young people, aged 14 and 15, who were interviewed for this research could be said to be ambitious in terms of their career plans. The things which had most bearing on their aspirations were exam attainment, the views of their parents and the influence of other role models. However, a minority took a different and less ambitious view. In some cases this was because of their attachment to the local area and way of life.
One particular rural facet could be the willingness or ability of parents either to subsidise their children's travel or to ferry them to and from education, training or employment. All three of the counties covered by this research have a coast and the prevalence of seasonal employment came through as an additional structural constraint.
Some of the young people interviewed came from farming families, where many had plans to go straight from school onto the farm. There could be parental pressure for them to do so. However, the report is careful not to make a simplistic association between this pathway and a lack of aspiration. Some of the young people held optimistic views about the opportunities in farming and the scope for diversification.
Teachers and organisations in these counties confirmed that a number of approaches had been adopted to try and lift aspirations. Typically these included visits to universities – perhaps meeting undergraduates from similar rural backgrounds – as well as careers events and 'taster' sessions or work placements with local employers. As one teacher put it, these are "all about raising expectations and opening minds".
One school in Suffolk had even introduced an Employability Charter for its pupils, which was moderated by local employers. To meet the charter, young people provided evidence of how they had demonstrated a range of employment skills whilst at school.
The authors of this report conclude that schools and local authorities could perhaps to more to target those employers most likely to recruit young people and to seek their involvement in forging school-business links. A number of the employers interviewed indicated they would welcome being involved.
Rural-urban differences should not be exaggerated and it is heartening to know that most of the young people interviewed were found to be suitably ambitious. At a time of dispiritingly high youth unemployment such ambition can surely only help. Nevertheless, those living in rural areas clearly can face some distinct challenges. It would be fascinating to hear from any Rural Services Network members who have initiatives in place specifically to address the structural rural issues identified by this research.
This article was written by Brian Wilson whose consultancy, Brian Wilson Associates, can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Brian is also director of research for the Rural Services Network.
