Narrowing the Gap 
The relationship between socio-economic status and the educational attainment of children and young people is well-established. Previous research has found that there also appears to be a relationship between socio-economic status and educational aspirations and attitudes. It seemed worthwhile to explore the extent to which the gaps in educational attainment – and, therefore, in life chances – could be narrowed by changing attitudes and aspirations.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation commissioned the University of Newcastle to evaluate research on the existence of interventions to improve the educational aspirations and attitudes of disadvantaged children and young people in order to improve educational attainment. We were sub-contracted to:
- review the robustness of the evidence and its usefulness for developing policy;
- estimate the costs and benefits of promising interventions
- contribute to finalising the report so that it is accessible to a wide readership
The report will be published in early 2012.