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Title:
Youth Cohort Study of England and Wales, 1986-1988; Cohort Two, Sweep One to Three

Subject Categories:
Youth Cohort Study of England and Wales - Major studies
School leaving - Education
Youth - Social stratification and groupings
Training - Employment and labour

Depositor(s):
Courtenay, G., Social and Community Planning Research
Department for Children, Schools and Families

Principal Investigator(s):
Courtenay, G., Social and Community Planning Research

Sponsor(s):
Employment Department. Training Agency

Project Number: P ; 865, P ; 920, P ; 971


Other Acknowledgements:
I. McAleese.

Abstract:
The Youth Cohort Study (YCS) is a major programme of longitudinal research designed to monitor the behaviour and decisions of representative samples of young people aged sixteen upwards as they make the transition from compulsory education to further or higher education, or to the labour market. It tries to identify and explain the factors which influence post-16 transitions, for example, educational attainment, training opportunities, experiences at school. To date the YCS covers thirteen cohorts and over forty surveys. The first survey was carried out in 1985 and the most recent in 2007. The questionnaires have been designed, over the years, to be broadly comparable, but external changes and shifts in policy interest have brought about changes - some minor, some fundamental. Cohorts One to Twelve cover England and Wales but a change to the methodology means that from Cohort Thirteen data cover just England. For Cohorts One to Six cohort members were contacted by post three times, at yearly intervals, when they were 16-17, 17-18 and 18-19. For Cohorts Seven and Eight the sweeps were carried out at bi-annual intervals instead of annual. Thus Cohort Seven, Sweep Two took place when the respondents were aged 18-19 whereas previous second sweeps have taken place at age 17-18. Cohort Nine surveys were carried out annually for Sweeps One and Two in 1998 and 1999 respectively, and Sweeps Three and Four were both conducted in the same year, 2000. Cohort Ten, Sweeps One and Two were also both conducted in 2000, and Sweep Three in 2002. Cohort Eleven sweeps were carried out annually in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 respectively. Cohort Twelve sweeps were carried out annually in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 respectively. The first sweep of cohort Thirteen was conducted in 2007.

The UK Data Archive currently holds data for the cohorts listed below:

• attitude towards school in 4th and 5th years
• qualification attainment in 5th year
• education and career advice
• activities since last September (unemployment, youth training scheme (YTS), employment, education)
• family
• plans and views on the future
• classificatory variables include gender, socio-economic grade of parents, school type and region

• activities since last summer (unemployment, YTS, employment, education)
• part-time employment
• extra qualifications achieved since 5th year at school
• plans and views on the future

• activities in the past year (unemployment, YTS, employment, education)
• part-time employment
• qualifications since 5th year at school
• courses in higher education
• plans and views on the future

Coverage:
Dates of Fieldwork: 1986-1988
Country: England and Wales
Spatial Units: No spatial units
Observation Units: Individuals

Universe Sampled:
Location of Units of Observation:National
Population:16 to 19 year olds in England and Wales.

Methodology:
Time Dimensions: Longitudinal/panel/cohort
Sampling Procedures: Simple random sample; Multi-stage stratified random sample
Multi-stage stratified random sampling was used for Cohorts One-Five, but the YCS sample has been a single-stage simple random sample since Cohort Six (see Courtenay, G. The YCS - the first ten years). In spring of the sampling year all schools in England and Wales (excluding special schools), both state maintained and private sector, are sent a return form for sampling. This gives a number of dates, e.g. the 5th, 15th and 25th, and all pupils on the Year 11 roll whose birth dates coincide are sampled. Usually three dates are specified giving a simple random sample of just under 10%. Occasionally more dates are given, either to draw a larger sample overall or only in specific geographical areas where the Principal Investigators wish to over-sample, e.g. the sampling for Cohort Eleven specified three dates for most schools but four dates for schools in LEAs with a high proportion of pupils in ethnic minorities. There are some difficulties with school-level non-response at the sampling stage and to compensate for this there is a further stage of sampling before Sweep One. Here the initial sample is sub-sampled to give a Sweep One final sample that is representative of a population matrix of pupil numbers by school type by sex by region.
Method of Data Collection: Postal survey

Language(s) of Written Materials:
Study Description: English
Study Documentation: English

Access:
Access Conditions: The depositor has specified that registration is required. Available to all registered users. The depositor may be informed about usage.
Availability: ESDS Access and Preservation, UK Data Archive
Contact: Help desk: help@esds.ac.uk

Date of Release:
First Edition: 29 September 1993

Copyright:
Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland

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