Dr Steve Strand presented some of his findings from the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (2007) in order to explore Boys' underachievement: Contextualising ‘gaps' in educational attainment. His research has shown the attainment gap at age 16, in terms of gender, ethnic group and socio-economic class, to be in inverse rank to the extent of press and media attention (total points score 0.22, 0.61 and 1.29 respectively). However, the interaction effects of these variables are significant (e.g. the gender gap is much larger for Black Caribbean and Bangladeshi pupils than for White British pupils), and call for more "nuanced interpretations"; care also needs to be taken not to over-generalise to the individual. http://www.ttrb.ac.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?ContentId=15098

1. Boys’ underachievement: Contextualising ‘gaps’ in educational attainment DCSF Gender Agenda Conference Great Hall, King’s College, 28 th November 2008 Dr. Steve Strand Associate Professor University of Warwick [email_address] 024 7652 2197

5. Ethnic gaps

6. Ethnic gaps Ethnic group Total Points Score 5+ A*-C incl. Eng & maths Black Caribbean -0.29 31% Pakistani -0.13 36% Black African -0.09 42% Mixed heritage -0.09 41% White British -0.05 45% Bangladeshi -0.04 42% Any other group 0.18 50% Indian 0.32 59% Gap (lowest vs highest) 0.61 28%

7. Socio-Economic Classification (SEC) gap

8. Socio-Economic Classification (SEC) gap

9. Summary – attainment gaps at age 16 In inverse rank to the extent of press and media attention Gap Total points score (standardised) 5+ A*-C incl. English & maths Gender 0.22 7% Ethnic group 0.61 28% Socio-economic class 1.29 57%

11. KS4 points score by ethnicity, class & gender

13. Mothers educational qualifications and IDACI by ethnicity % 5+ A*-C Incl. En & Ma Mothers educational qualifications Ethnic group Degree or other HE GCSE A*-C or A/AS Less than GCSE White British 69% 47% 24% Indian 85% 66% 49% Pakistani 71% 47% 31% Bangladeshi 54% 56% 41% Black Caribbean 40% 29% 23% Black African 60% 44% 26%

16. High social class - Key Stages 2-4

17. Low social class - Key Stages 2-4

19. Educational aspirations

25. APPENDIX 1: Ethnic group*gender*class