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Can Community-Based Interventions on Aspirations Raise Young People's Attainment?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2011

Ruth Lupton  and
Keith Kintrea
Ruth Lupton
Affiliation:
Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion, London School of Economics and Political Science E-mail: r.lupton@lse.ac.uk
Keith Kintrea
Affiliation:
School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow E-mail: K.Kintrea@socsci.gla.ac.uk
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Abstract

Against the background of the ‘Inspiring Communities’ programme to raise ‘community-level’ educational aspirations in England, this article considers whether the existing evidence about place and aspirations suggests that it will be beneficial.

We address three questions: Do neighbourhoods have an influence on educational attainment? Are ‘community level’ aspirations a mechanism by which neighbourhoods affect individual aspirations? Is there evidence that aspirations are lower in poor neighbourhoods?

The article suggests that the available evidence does not lead to firm conclusions; a key problem is that few studies have measured aspirations at a neighbourhood level. It suggests that limited spending on a pilot is a reasonable response. However, aspirations are shaped by a wide range of other influences. This suggests that any interventions on ‘community’ aspirations’ should be conjoined with other programmes to support schools and to address inequalities between neighbourhoods.

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Type
Articles
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 10 , Issue 3 , July 2011 , pp. 321 - 335
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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