We are also interested in whether first in family students make different choices regarding their degree subjects.
For example, do they choose more vocational subjects and less selective universities than their peers who have degree-educated parents even if they have the same secondary school performance?
In addition to this we will make use of the india rcs data age 25 sweep of Next Steps to identify how they are faring in the labour market to explore whether parental education casts a long shadow in the labour market returns of their children. is that we have a sample of the entire population, followed over time, which has also been linked to administrative school records.
Our research on first in family graduates will contribute to the social mobility agenda by shedding light on the characteristics, decisions, and outcomes of this disadvantaged yet upwardly mobile group.
Beyond better understanding this group, we hope that by the end of the project we will be able to say whether first in family is a good indicator for widening participation as compared to other measures of disadvantage (e.g. Free School Meal status, neighbourhood level measures of deprivation, etc).