Understanding young people’s motivations and barriers to learning
With latest official figures still putting the number of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) at around 1 million, it is more important than ever to understand young people’s motivations and barriers to learning.
This is exactly what our latest research report, published by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS), aims to do. The data for this report was collected by learning providers across the country who undertook interviews with people who were, or had recently experienced being, NEET. In total we received data from over 2,000 interviewees, 800 of whom were aged between 18 and 24. As the researcher for the project, it was my task to read through these 800 interview transcripts and explore the motivations and barriers to learning for young people.
Many of the stories told through these transcripts were sadly all too familiar to me. Many of my friends were pushed down the academic route by Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) providers at school, when they really wanted to pursue a vocational career. They’re now stuck in limbo where they can’t afford university, can’t get a job with the qualifications they have, and lack the practical skills to take steps into their desired vocational career.
As well as the issue around quality and appropriateness of IAG, I was particularly struck by the complex role of family and friends in the decisions that young people took about learning. These groups were simultaneously the main barrier and a strong motivation to learn for interviewees. Many spoke of peer pressure to do well or badly at school, positive and negative role models within their family, and varying levels of support from friends and relatives. These relationships were often complex and combined with other barriers or motivations. For example, young people were motivated to learn and get into work in order to provide for and be a positive role model to their children. However, childcare costs and time commitments meant that being a parent was simultaneously a barrier to many interviewees in this situation.
This example alone demonstrates the complexity of the barriers that these young people may face. While some may face very few barriers and will therefore need relatively little support to start learning, others may need a number of interventions which take account of the complex issues they face before they can take those first steps to engagement.
The fact that we identified 14 motivations and 12 barriers in the report shows the range of issues that these young people may potentially have to overcome to engage in learning. We need to be aware of these and how they interact together in order to help these young people build a better life for themselves and their families.
