An investigation into the aspirations and perceptions of future selves of young learners in Staffordshire

This study is funded by Staffordshire County Council and is commissioned research. It is known that some pupils in Staffordshire schools achieve lower than expected educational outcomes at the end of secondary education in comparison to their higher achievement in the early years (aged 0-5 years). This is the context which led to the research presented in this report. As such, this research centres on the aspirations of pupils in low-socioeconomic areas in Staffordshire. The performance of one secondary school, located in a low-socioeconomic area, is identified as low attaining (LA). Research was also conducted with one of its feeder primary schools (LAF). The other secondary school in the study is located in a different low-socioeconomic area and is identified as high attaining (HA). Similarly, research was also conducted with one of its feeder primary schools (HAF). The primary pupil participants are in Year 5 (Y5) and Year 6 (Y6). The secondary pupil participants are in Year 9 (Y9). The project team interviewed 69 participants this included 40 pupils, 15 parents and 14 teaching staff. This is a small-scale project, essentially a pilot study, which explores and compares the aspirations and self-efficacy of young learners in Staffordshire and their investment in education.