ESRI research suggests working-class pupils given poor guidance

Some schools may be setting college and other targets too low for students from working-class backgrounds, research suggests.

The ESRI says guidance counsellors in schools serving working-class populations are more likely to emphasise personal support aspects of their role than those in other schools.

As part of its long-term study tracking 900 children through second-level, the ESRI focused on the guidance given to sixth-year students at a mixed-gender, fee-paying school and a working-class girls’ school where there were strong aspirations among students to attend higher education.