ESRC Society Today

The 2006 ESRC annual debates focused upon the issue of choice in education. Under the theme Your Voice: Whose Choice?, audiences in London and Cardiff debated the important choices being made by parents, pupils, teachers and the government about education today.

Below is a selection of ESRC publications, research and resources available online at ESRC Society Today, on the theme of choice in education.

Debates

• Information about the 2006 annual debates in London and Cardiff
• Summary report on the London debate  

The Edge

Issue 23 of The Edge provided an accompaniment to the debates and is full of articles and opinion on the choices facing us in today's society - not just in education, but in health and public services too.

Previous issues of The Edge also include articles which relate to the theme of choice in education:

• Pupils need greater flexibility to shine at school (Issue 19, June 2005)
• Does better education mean better health? (Issue 18, March 2005)
• The contradictions of higher education policy (Issue 14, November 2003)
• Educating the very able (Issue 2, November 1999) 

Discussion Forum

Logged on users of ESRC Society Today can create and contribute to discussions on any of the issues mentioned in The Edge - as well as any previous issues - using a dedicated forum.

Press Releases

• Your Voice: Whose Choice? - London (8 November 2006)
• Your Voice: Whose Choice? - Cardiff (8 November 2006) 

Some other relevant press releases from the ESRC Press Office:

• Scots more likely than English to reach university (19 June 2007)
• Education systems have little impact on social mobility (17 February 2006)
• Fitter by degrees? Higher education no panacea for adult health (3 June 2005)
• Slow road to independence is a problem for the young and their parents (14 August 2004) 
• Schools choices are limited for working class children (13 March 2002) 

News articles

Topical news articles which originally featured under the Our Society Today section of the website.

• How working class students cope with Higher Education (31 March 2006) 
• An uncertain future for graduate employment (23 January 2006) 

Fact sheets

ESRC fact sheets provide a brief overview on a range of social science issues.

• Education in the UK 

Research

The ESRC-funded Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) researches a broad range of issues relating to education.

A small selection of ESRC-funded research on the themes of education and choice is listed below:

• The Formation and Transmission of Educational Values and Orientations (2004)
• Choice and Provision in Local Pre-School Child Care Markets (2004)
• Choices and Experiences of Higher Education Students Living in the Parental Home (2003)  
• Secondary School Transfer: Children as Consumers of Education (2001) 

You can also browse the In Plain English section of the website to find brief summaries of ESRC-funded research in subject areas such as:

• Knowledge, Communication and Learning
• Lifecourse, Lifestyles and Health
• Social Stability and Exclusion