Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ability to learn, or ability to pay? How family and finance influence young people’s higher education decisions in Scotland

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Educational Research for Social Justice

Part of the book series: Education Science, Evidence, and the Public Good ((EDUS,volume 1))

Abstract

Scottish Government policy explicitly frames higher education (HE) as a public good, stating that access should be based on the ‘ability to learn rather than the ability to pay’. But while Scotland’s system of free tuition distinguishes it from the rest of the UK, students must still fund their living costs and most do so through a combination of parental contributions, student loans, bursaries and part-time work. This chapter explores the ways in which young people’s HE decisions are bounded by family and finance. Longitudinal semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 young people and their parents before and during their time in HE. The research finds that despite free tuition, the ‘ability to pay’ constrains young people’s institutional and accommodation decisions. It illustrates how students’ horizons for action are broadened and limited by their family backgrounds, challenging the popular misconception that Scottish students are more immune to financial considerations in their HE decisions than in the rest of the UK, and that the system is thus fairer. While finance is but one of many factors influencing HE decisions, the living costs associated with HE study continue to reproduce inequalities in HE transitions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. 1.

    Scotland retained the non-means-tested Student Nurses Bursary. England abolished this in 2016/17 but announced plans to reinstate this in some form in 2020/21.

References

  • Audit Scotland. (2012). Health inequalities in Scotland. Edinburgh: Audit Scotland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P., & Wacquant, L. (1992). An invitation to reflexive sociology. Oxford: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, R. (2002). Young people’s higher education choices: The role of family and friends. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 24(3), 283–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CfFA [Commissioner for Fair Access]. (2019). Building on progress towards fair access: Annual report 2019. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christie, H. (2007). Higher education and spatial (im)mobility: Non-traditional students and living at home. Environment and Planning, 39(10), 2445–2463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christie, H., Munro, M., & Wager, F. (2005). ‘Day students’ in higher education: Widening access students and successful transitions to university life. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 15(1), 3–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Croxford, L., & Raffe, D. (2014). Social class, ethnicity and access to higher education in the four countries of the UK: 1996–2010. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 33(1), 77–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donnelly, M., & Gamsu, S. (2018). Home and away: Social, ethnic and spatial inequalities in student mobility. London: The Sutton Trust.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, A., & Furlong, A. (2000). Socioeconomic disadvantage and access to higher education. Bristol: Policy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsyth, A., & Furlong, A. (2003). Losing out? Socioeconomic disadvantage and experience in further and higher education. Bristol: Policy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, H. (2019). Local students in higher education cold spots: Placed possible selves and college-based higher education (unpublished PhD thesis). University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/8841/

  • Hodkinson, P. (2008). Understanding career decision-making and progression: Careership revisited. John Killeen Memorial Lecture, Woburn House, London. 16 October. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/eb46/0f06a00fc7e4393e245a6e7d57cb0d576d2b.pdf?_ga=2.71264024.964808906.1582895097-224337217.1579726202

  • Hodkinson, P., & Sparkes, A. (1997). Careership: A sociological theory of decision making. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 18(1), 29–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodkinson, P., Hodkinson, H., & Sparkes, A. (1996). Triumphs and tears: Young people, markets and the transition from school to work. London: David Fulton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter Blackburn, L. (2016). Student funding in the UK: Post-devolution funding in a UK context. In S. Riddell, S. Minty, & E. Weedon (Eds.), Higher education in Scotland and the UK: Diverging or converging systems? (pp. 31–55). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter Blackburn, L., Kadar-Satat, G., Riddell, S., & Weedon, E. (2016). Access in Scotland: Access to higher education for people from less advantaged backgrounds in Scotland. London: Sutton Trust.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hutchings, M. (2003a). Financial barriers to participation. In L. Archer, M. Hutchings, & A. Ross (Eds.), Higher education and social class (pp. 155–173). London: RoutledgeFalmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • ICISF [Independent Committee of Inquiry into Student Finance]. (1999). Student finance: Fairness for the future. The ‘Cubie’ Report. Edinburgh: Independent Committee of Inquiry into Student Finance.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macpherson, S. (2019). The price of free tuition in Scotland, SPICe Spotlight, SPICe Information Centre, Scottish Parliament. Retrieved from https://spice-spotlight.scot/2019/12/18/the-price-of-free-tuition-in-scotland/

  • Minty, S. (2016a). Getting into higher education: Young people’s views of fairness. Scottish Educational Review, 48(1), 48–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Minty, S. (2016b). Young people’s attitudes towards student debt in Scotland and England. In S. Riddell, S. Minty, & E. Weedon (Eds.), Higher education in Scotland and the UK: Diverging or converging systems? (pp. 56–70). Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Minty, S. (2018). Higher education decision-making and young people’s horizons for action in Scotland. In S. Riddell, S. Minty, E. Weedon, & S. Whittaker (Eds.), Higher education funding and access in international perspective (pp. 39–59). Bingley: Emerald.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Paterson, L. (1993). Regionalism among entrants to higher education in Scottish schools. Oxford Review of Education, 19(2), 231–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • RBS [Royal Bank of Scotland]. (2019). July 2019 Student living index. Edinburgh: RBS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reay, D. (1998). ‘Always knowing’ and ‘never being sure’: Familial and institutional habituses and higher education choice. Journal of Education Policy, 13(4), 519–529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reay, D., David, M., & Ball, S. (2005). Degrees of choice: Social class, race and gender in higher education. Stoke on Trent: Trentham Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riddell, S., & Hunter Blackburn, L. (2019). Social justice and widening access to higher education in Scotland: The role of Scottish colleges. In J. Gallacher & F. Reeve (Eds.), New frontiers for college education: International perspectives (pp. 182–202). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • SAAS [Students Awards Agency for Scotland]. (2014). Higher education student support in Scotland 2013–14: Statistical summary of financial support provided to students by the Students Awards Agency for Scotland in Academic Session 2013–14. Edinburgh: SAAS.

    Google Scholar 

  • SAAS. (2019). SAAS funding website. Retrieved from https://www.saas.gov.uk/full_time/

  • Save the Student. (2019). The big fat guide to student finance 2019. Retrieved from https://www.savethestudent.org/student-finance/the-big-fat-guide-to-student-finance-2012.html

  • Scottish Government. (2013). Scotland’s future: Your guide to an independent Scotland. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scottish Government. (2019). Summary statistics for attainment and initial leaver destinations, No. 1: 2019 Edition. Edinburgh: National Statistics Scotland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sturgeon, N. (2015). A world leader in education. Speech at Wester Hailes Education Centre, Edinburgh, 18 August. Retrieved from https://news.gov.scot/speeches-and-briefings/a-world-leader-in-education

  • West, A., Roberts, J., Lewis, J., & Noden, P. (2015). Paying for higher education in England: Funding policy and families. British Journal of Educational Studies, 63(1), 23–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whittaker, S.. (2016). Higher education students crossing internal UK borders: Student and country differences and their contribution to higher education inequalities (unpublished PhD thesis). University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. https://era.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1842/23633/Whittaker2017.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research in Education, Inclusion and Diversity (CREID), University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland

    Sarah Minty

Authors
  1. Sarah Minty
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah Minty .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Studies, London Metropolitan University, London, UK

    Alistair Ross

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Minty, S. (2021). Ability to learn, or ability to pay? How family and finance influence young people’s higher education decisions in Scotland. In: Ross, A. (eds) Educational Research for Social Justice . Education Science, Evidence, and the Public Good, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62572-6_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62572-6_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-62571-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-62572-6

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation