Another factor in the decisions is the career the student is aiming to achieve. The career they choose would also go down to the grades and/or qualifications the student requires to fulfil the job requirements. Such as, someone who is intending on stacking shelves in a supermarket isn’t going to want to go on and receive further education whereas someone who intends on being a barrister would!
Social influence also plays a major role in any students’ decision. Peer pressure is the most important factor, for instance, if friends are not staying on and continuing their education, the pupil while feel less inclined to stay on without them as they don’t want to lose their friends and have to make new ones. Parental expectations also come under this category. If the parents are putting a lot of pressure on the student and are very expectant of their child to do well (especially if they are investing their well earned money into it!) the child feels they owe it to their parents to continue their education and make their parents proud of them and make a better life for themselves. The better they do, the prouder they feel their parents will be. If a students parent continued into further education then the student feels obliged to do the same but if a students parents left school after their GCSEs the students feel less pressured to continue with their education.
As I said before, unless students have very rich parents that can afford to fund the extra years in education following sixth form, the students normally have to get a student loan. These have very high interest rates and some students find themselves in debt until they have left university or collage and have been in full time employment for a long length of time. This can put students off following up an education. If students leave school after they have taken their GCSEs they can go straight into full time employment and be earning money immediately which is a very appealing thought to a sixteen year old girl in need of a new wardrobe for the summer!
There are also other circumstances where a student may not feel they wish to go on and further their education. Some of these circumstances may be avoidable, such as health issues and home life difficulties. Some students feel they couldn’t cope with the work load and stress that goes with further education. Others may find the school they are at does not provide a level of teaching they feel they should be receiving or that the school does not offer the options they would enjoy doing. Some students simply just might not want to carry on or don’t believe they could do it.
So, in conclusion, there are many factors that affect a students decision to continue with further education or not. They are all valid reasons and at they end of the day, it comes down to the students own decision and desires.
