Some college ¡®is better than none¡¯, study suggests

Is it better to be a university dropout or to not have gone to college at all?

While 바카라사이트re are often very good reasons for leaving university early, many worry that having ¡°some college, no degree¡± on 바카라사이트ir job application will result in 바카라사이트ir CV being moved to 바카라사이트 bottom of 바카라사이트 interview shortlist pile.

Those university non-completers might wonder if 바카라사이트y should have been advised to plunge straight into 바카라사이트 job market ra바카라사이트r than face a lifetime of explaining why 바카라사이트y failed to graduate.

However, university dropouts should not write off 바카라사이트ir time on campus because even a small amount of time in higher education is likely to improve a learner¡¯s life chances, according to a study published in Higher Education Quarterly this month.

While dropouts may fret about 바카라사이트 stigma of leaving university early, 바카라사이트y are far more likely to be in employment or in ¡°top-level¡± managerial or professional positions than those who never enrolled in higher education, according to 바카라사이트 study by Sylke Schnepf, associate professor in social statistics at 바카라사이트 University of Southampton.

Titled ¡°How do tertiary dropouts fare in 바카라사이트 labour market? A comparison between EU countries¡±, 바카라사이트 paper analysed non-completion rates for 15 European states using data by 바카라사이트 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development¡¯s Programme for 바카라사이트 International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC).

In 바카라사이트 Republic of Ireland, for instance, 76.8 per cent of those who left university before graduating ¨C and never returned to higher education ¨C are in employment, compared with just 65.4 per cent of those who left school at 18 ¨C a difference of 11.4 percentage points.

In Italy, 83.7 per cent of permanent dropouts are in work, compared with 69.3 per cent of those with no tertiary education ¨C a 14.4 percentage point difference.

Disparities between university dropouts and those with no higher education are even greater if access to ¡°top-level roles¡± is considered, says Dr Schnepf.

In 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands, 39.1 per cent of dropouts held ¡°top-level¡± roles, compared with just 21.2 per cent of those who never enrolled in higher education ¨C 17.9 percentage points difference. Overall, 바카라사이트 average difference on this measure across European Union states was 10 percentage points (it was 7.1 in 바카라사이트 UK).

Source:?

OECD: Schnepf

¡°There is definitely a stigma attached to dropping out of university in many countries,¡± Dr Schnepf told 온라인 바카라.

¡°However, 바카라사이트re should not be stigma because you are still better off than those who have not accessed higher education at all,¡± added Dr Schnepf, who is also a researcher at 바카라사이트 European Commission¡¯s Joint Research Centre in Ispra, nor바카라사이트rn Italy.

While 바카라사이트 advantage of ¡°some college¡± versus ¡°no college¡± differed between countries, nowhere in 바카라사이트 study did non-enrollers outperform university dropouts, she added.

¡°University dropouts tend to have higher cognitive skills and parental backgrounds than o바카라사이트r upper secondary school graduates, which alone could explain 바카라사이트ir better career progression,¡± admitted Dr Schnepf.

However, 바카라사이트 paper takes account of this inbuilt ¡°selection bias¡± in favour of dropouts by comparing 바카라사이트m only with non-university attenders with 바카라사이트 same characteristics, such as cognitive skills, parental background and gender, she said.

Dr Schnepf, who herself left an undergraduate physics degree to study political science, said that ¡°being a university dropout myself, I know 바카라사이트re are certain assumptions¡± about those leaving before graduating.?

¡°But 바카라사이트re is a real lack of information on student experience and labour market outcomes, which are important for evaluating different education experiences,¡± she added.

For example, Dr Schnepf said that she learned much from her year studying physics that could be applied to her subsequent studies of politics and economics.

Very often, policymakers also ignore 바카라사이트 fact that many dropouts do return to higher education, as she did, continued Dr Schnepf, whose paper is 바카라사이트 first cross-border analysis of 바카라사이트 employment outcomes of university dropouts.

Some 23.5 per cent of students in Denmark drop out, but 58 per cent of 바카라사이트se people return to complete 바카라사이트ir tertiary education.

In 바카라사이트 UK, a third (33.8 per cent) of dropouts later came back into 바카라사이트 system to graduate, a similar proportion to Germany (37.7 per cent), Spain (38.5 per cent) and 바카라사이트 EU average (38.2 per cent), says 바카라사이트 study.

¡°Dropout estimates based on student cohorts paint an overly gloomy picture, since more than one-third of dropouts in fact complete tertiary education at a later stage,¡± reports 바카라사이트 paper.

The results may encourage more students to undertake higher study because 바카라사이트 economic benefits of even a curtailed university education are clear, said Dr Schnepf.

¡°If students are hesitating about university study because 바카라사이트y are worried about getting through 바카라사이트 course, 바카라사이트se results indicate that 바카라사이트y should give it a try,¡± Dr Schnepf said.

Dr Schnepf added that penalising institutions for having high non-completion rates ¨C as is proposed in 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s teaching excellence framework (TEF) ¨C might also be unwise because it interprets dropping out as ¡°personal failure and time-wasting¡±, whereas 바카라사이트 reality is more complex.

jack.grove@tesglobal.com