31st October 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
A new study conducted in the University of Oxford has shown that the level of qualifications attained by adults aged between 40 and 60 was influence by their social background as much as their intelligence. The study of exam results demonstrated that children of the same ability achieved markedly different results. Oxford University’s Department of Social Policy and Intervention has produced the data as part of a wider report on social mobility, which looks at the opportunities of people born between 1940 and 1970. Academics at the university tracked the progress of 5,000 people in the UK, examining the results of IQ tests usually taken aged 11, with their achievements as young adults.
The study showed that children from wealthier, educated families were much more successful in exam results than students who were from poor backgrounds but had the same intelligence level. According to the results, the brightest poorer children were only half as likely to obtain A’Levels than their better-off peers. Of the bright but poor children who left school in the 1980s, under one in five went on to go to university, while those who left school in the 1970s had only a one in twenty chance of entering higher education. Notably, although poorer people of this generation were considerably by their backgrounds, a recent study showed that they have stronger literacy and numeracy skills than today’s 16-24 year olds.
The study highlighted that there is a long-standing gap between wealthy and poorer students and the lack of social mobility available in the UK’s education system. Throughout the last fifty years the link between social background and academic achievement has not diminished. In the 1970s, of the most intelligent children the wealthier students achieved at least 2 A’Levels or their equivalent compared with only 40% of the poorest students. Although the results showed that social background was a significant factor in achievement, it also showed that it was possible for bright children from disadvantaged backgrounds to out-perform their wealthier peers who were less intelligent. However, where students shared the same level of intelligence, wealthier students have continued to outperform their peers for decades.