The great divide: regional differences in education and training

Abstract

While regional disparities in the overall rate of participation in further education and training among young people are relatively small, marked differences persist in the pattern of investment across the regions. The proportion of young people continuing in full-time further education in the northern regions continues to lag far behind that in the south. This paper analyses the sources of this 'north-south' divide and the role played by differences in the educational and socio-economic composition of the regions. The results indicate that differences in schooling and levels of educational attainment play a modest role in determining such regional disparities. Further, eliminating all compositional differences across the regions - not only in terms of educational attainment, but also social and ethnic background and local labour market factors - would leave a significant north-south gap in participation in further education. These results point to continuing differences in underlying attitudes to further education and training, and these appear to be particularly marked among young women.

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