Morag Henderson
Biographic Data
| ID | 3580904 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Morag Henderson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Morag |
| FAMILY NAME | Henderson |
| SIGNATURE | HENDERSON M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University College London |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0107-4899 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 61 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2013 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
More is more
Does school-based careers education, advice, information and guidance (CEAIG) have any influence on later life outcomes? This paper reports regression analyses using 7,635 survey responses from young people in England aged 21–22. Significant positive relationships were found between self-reported CEAIG activities experienced at age 14–16 and a range of adult outcomes reported at age 21–22. Both the quantity and quality of these CEAIG activities w…
An exploration of the impact of science stratification in the English school curriculum
Supply of students to ‘the science pipeline’ remains an important imperative for economic policy, and for individual life chances. In England, Science courses from age 14–16 have been divided into ‘Double’ and (extended) ‘Triple’ Science. This article draws on data from 6,053 students to investigate the effects of science course designation on progress to further science study and qualifications, as well as exploring the representation of student…
Parenthood and mental health
Studying the mental health effects of parenthood is challenging due to unequal selection into parenthood. This study used data from the English longitudinal cohort Next Steps (N = 7095) to examine the association between parenthood, psychological distress and life satisfaction at age 32, accounting for observable selection effects. A lifecourse perspective offered insights into early life inequalities that influence fertility decisions and parent…
Private school pupils’ performance in GCSEs (and IGCSEs)
Using rich longitudinal data from the UK’s Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), the authors compare the performance of private and state school pupils in age 16 national examinations (GCSEs) in England, where private schools are particularly well resourced by international standards. Performance among pupils attending private secondary schools is superior. However, this raw difference ignores the highly socially selective nature of the English private …
The role of academic self-concept in post-compulsory achievement, transitions and labour market outcomes
Pupils’ Academic Self-Concept (ASC) has been shown to be related to educational outcomes during compulsory school years, but there is little evidence on the role ASC plays beyond this stage. Using longitudinal data from the English Next Steps survey the authors examine whether young people with higher ASC are more likely to study A levels, participate in further education and attend university. For university attenders, they examine whether highe…
Reasons for not/choosing chemistry
There are international concerns about decreasing rates of chemistry degree enrolment. This article seeks to understand students' reasons for not/choosing to pursue a chemistry degree, drawing on (i) open‐ended survey responses from a sample of 506 students in England aged 21–22 who had studied advanced level (“A level”) chemistry at age 18 (as either a full A level or a half “AS” level) and had either chosen ( n = 70) or not chosen ( n = 436) to…
Get lucky? Luck and educational mobility in working-class young people’s lives from age 10–21
Scant sociological attention has been given to the role of luck within social mobility/reproduction. This paper helps address this conceptual gap, drawing on insights from over 200 longitudinal interviews conducted with 20 working-class young people and 22 of their parents over an 11-year period, from age 10–21. We explore the potential significance of luck within the trajectories of 13 educationally mobile young people who were the first in fami…
Does attending an English private school benefit mental health and life satisfaction? From adolescence to adulthood
Previous research has shown that there is a small but significant cumulative private school advantage in terms of educational attainment in Britain. However, research on how school type influences non-educational outcomes is more scarcer. This paper aims to identify the extent to which school type influences satisfaction with life and mental health from adolescence to early adulthood. Using Next Steps, a longitudinal study of young people in Engl…
The labor market returns to “first-in-family” university graduates
We examine how first-in-family (FiF) graduates — those whose parents do not have university degrees — fare in the labor market in England. We find that among women, FiF graduates earn 7.4% less on average than graduates whose parents have a university degree. For men, we do not find a FiF wage penalty. A decomposition of the wage difference between FiF and non-FiF graduates reveals two interesting findings. First, two-thirds of the female FiF pen…
Moving on up
This paper provides the first quantitative analysis on ‘first in family’ (FiF) university graduates in the UK. Using a nationally representative dataset that covers a recent cohort in England, we identify the proportion of FiF young people at age 25 as 18%, comprising nearly two-thirds of university graduates. Comparing groups with no parental higher education we find that ethnic minorities and those with higher levels of prior attainment are mor…
Is ‘first in family’ a good indicator for widening university participation
Determinants of private school participation
For those who grew up in Britain in the latter half of the twentieth century, there is known to be a strong association between social class or family income and attending a private school. However, increasing private school fees and promotion of school choice in the state sector have potential implications for the predictors of participation in private schooling in the twenty‐first century. In this article, through analysis of rich, longitudinal…
Understanding the social and cultural bases of Brexit
We use data from a large scale and nationally representative survey to evaluate two narratives about the social bases of Brexit. The first narrative sees Brexit as a revolt of the economically left-behinds. The second narrative attributes Brexit to the resurgence of an English nationalism. There is some, albeit not always consistent, evidence that people in relative poverty or those living in areas that have seen greater Chinese import penetratio…
Private Benefits? External Benefits? Outcomes of Private Schooling in 21stCentury Britain
Policy discourse surrounding Britain's unusually well-resourced private schools surrounds their charitable status and their relationship with low social mobility, but informative evidence is scarce. We present estimates of the extent to which private and external benefits at age 25 are associated with attendance at private school in England in the 21st century. We find a weekly wage premium of 17 percent, and a 12 percentage point lower chance of…
Family size and educational attainment in England and Wales
In this paper, we use linked census data from England and Wales to investigate whether having a large number of siblings leads to lower educational attainment. There is a large literature suggesting that with large sibship size, parental resources will be diluted and this, in turn, will lead to lower educational attainment. Using twin births and the sex composition of the sibling group as instrumental variables, we find that the evidence of a fam…
Assembling life history narratives from quantitative longitudinal panel data
Embedded within quantitative longitudinal panel or cohort studies is narrative potential that is arguably untapped but might enrich our understanding of individual and social lives across time. This paper discusses a methodology to assemble the life history narratives of families using social work by drawing on quantitative data from the British Household Panel Survey. It explores whether this person-centred approach helps us to understand the co…
Predicting the recipients of social work support, and its impact on emotional and behavioural problems in early childhood
This paper examines the recipients of social work support in the Millennium Cohort Study. Using panel analysis and fixed effects models, it investigates the factors that lead to the receipt of any type of social work support for individuals with young children and the effects of this support on changes in the prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems in these children. We find that divorce or separation, and episodes of homelessness are tw…
The outcomes of educational welfare officer contact in England
The key purpose of educational welfare officers in England is to support students and parents to maximise educational opportunities for young people. However more is known about their role in relation to school attendance than in relation to pupils’ educational outcomes. Using the Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England ( LSYPE ), this paper investigates the characteristics of teenagers who received educational welfare contact because of t…
Predictors of Social Service Contact among Teenagers in England
Very few UK studies make use of longitudinal general population data to explore social service contact for children and young people. Those that do only look at specific interventions such as care placements. This paper seeks to address this gap by asking to what extent do structural, neighbourhood, familial and individual characteristics predict social service contact. We provide an empirical answer by analysing the Longitudinal Survey of Young …
The effect of social work use on the mental health outcomes of parents and the life satisfaction of children in Britain
The Effects of Social Service Contact on Teenagers in England
Objective: This study investigated outcomes of social service contact during teenage years. Method: Secondary analysis was conducted of the Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England ( N = 15,770), using data on reported contact with social services resulting from teenagers’ behavior. Outcomes considered were educational achievement and aspiration, mental health, and locus of control. Inverse-probability-weighted regression adjustment was use…
A Test of Parenting Strategies
The status attainment literature suggests that the educational success of parents determines the educational success of their children (Blau and Duncan, 1967). However, the mechanisms by which families determine a child's education are imperfectly understood. This article tests Lareau's (2003) parental typology to identify the association between parenting strategies and educational outcomes achieved using the Longitudinal Study of Young People i…
Understanding the social and cultural bases of Brexit
We use data from a large scale and nationally representative survey to evaluate two narratives about the social bases of Brexit. The first narrative sees Brexit as a revolt of the economically left-behinds. The second narrative attributes Brexit to the resurgence of an English nationalism. There is some, albeit not always consistent, evidence that people in relative poverty or those living in areas that have seen greater Chinese import penetratio…
A Test of Parenting Strategies
The status attainment literature suggests that the educational success of parents determines the educational success of their children (Blau and Duncan, 1967). However, the mechanisms by which families determine a child's education are imperfectly understood. This article tests Lareau's (2003) parental typology to identify the association between parenting strategies and educational outcomes achieved using the Longitudinal Study of Young People i…
Assembling life history narratives from quantitative longitudinal panel data
Embedded within quantitative longitudinal panel or cohort studies is narrative potential that is arguably untapped but might enrich our understanding of individual and social lives across time. This paper discusses a methodology to assemble the life history narratives of families using social work by drawing on quantitative data from the British Household Panel Survey. It explores whether this person-centred approach helps us to understand the co…
Get lucky? Luck and educational mobility in working-class young people’s lives from age 10–21
Scant sociological attention has been given to the role of luck within social mobility/reproduction. This paper helps address this conceptual gap, drawing on insights from over 200 longitudinal interviews conducted with 20 working-class young people and 22 of their parents over an 11-year period, from age 10–21. We explore the potential significance of luck within the trajectories of 13 educationally mobile young people who were the first in fami…
Determinants of private school participation
For those who grew up in Britain in the latter half of the twentieth century, there is known to be a strong association between social class or family income and attending a private school. However, increasing private school fees and promotion of school choice in the state sector have potential implications for the predictors of participation in private schooling in the twenty‐first century. In this article, through analysis of rich, longitudinal…
Private Benefits? External Benefits? Outcomes of Private Schooling in 21stCentury Britain
Policy discourse surrounding Britain's unusually well-resourced private schools surrounds their charitable status and their relationship with low social mobility, but informative evidence is scarce. We present estimates of the extent to which private and external benefits at age 25 are associated with attendance at private school in England in the 21st century. We find a weekly wage premium of 17 percent, and a 12 percentage point lower chance of…
The Effects of Social Service Contact on Teenagers in England
Objective: This study investigated outcomes of social service contact during teenage years. Method: Secondary analysis was conducted of the Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England ( N = 15,770), using data on reported contact with social services resulting from teenagers’ behavior. Outcomes considered were educational achievement and aspiration, mental health, and locus of control. Inverse-probability-weighted regression adjustment was use…
The labor market returns to “first-in-family” university graduates
We examine how first-in-family (FiF) graduates — those whose parents do not have university degrees — fare in the labor market in England. We find that among women, FiF graduates earn 7.4% less on average than graduates whose parents have a university degree. For men, we do not find a FiF wage penalty. A decomposition of the wage difference between FiF and non-FiF graduates reveals two interesting findings. First, two-thirds of the female FiF pen…
More is more
Does school-based careers education, advice, information and guidance (CEAIG) have any influence on later life outcomes? This paper reports regression analyses using 7,635 survey responses from young people in England aged 21–22. Significant positive relationships were found between self-reported CEAIG activities experienced at age 14–16 and a range of adult outcomes reported at age 21–22. Both the quantity and quality of these CEAIG activities w…
Family size and educational attainment in England and Wales
In this paper, we use linked census data from England and Wales to investigate whether having a large number of siblings leads to lower educational attainment. There is a large literature suggesting that with large sibship size, parental resources will be diluted and this, in turn, will lead to lower educational attainment. Using twin births and the sex composition of the sibling group as instrumental variables, we find that the evidence of a fam…
Predicting the recipients of social work support, and its impact on emotional and behavioural problems in early childhood
This paper examines the recipients of social work support in the Millennium Cohort Study. Using panel analysis and fixed effects models, it investigates the factors that lead to the receipt of any type of social work support for individuals with young children and the effects of this support on changes in the prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems in these children. We find that divorce or separation, and episodes of homelessness are tw…
Predictors of Social Service Contact among Teenagers in England
Very few UK studies make use of longitudinal general population data to explore social service contact for children and young people. Those that do only look at specific interventions such as care placements. This paper seeks to address this gap by asking to what extent do structural, neighbourhood, familial and individual characteristics predict social service contact. We provide an empirical answer by analysing the Longitudinal Survey of Young …
The effect of social work use on the mental health outcomes of parents and the life satisfaction of children in Britain
A Test of Parenting Strategies
The status attainment literature suggests that the educational success of parents determines the educational success of their children (Blau and Duncan, 1967). However, the mechanisms by which families determine a child's education are imperfectly understood. This article tests Lareau's (2003) parental typology to identify the association between parenting strategies and educational outcomes achieved using the Longitudinal Study of Young People i…
The Effects of Social Service Contact on Teenagers in England
Objective: This study investigated outcomes of social service contact during teenage years. Method: Secondary analysis was conducted of the Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England ( N = 15,770), using data on reported contact with social services resulting from teenagers’ behavior. Outcomes considered were educational achievement and aspiration, mental health, and locus of control. Inverse-probability-weighted regression adjustment was use…
The effect of social work use on the mental health outcomes of parents and the life satisfaction of children in Britain
Predicting the recipients of social work support, and its impact on emotional and behavioural problems in early childhood
This paper examines the recipients of social work support in the Millennium Cohort Study. Using panel analysis and fixed effects models, it investigates the factors that lead to the receipt of any type of social work support for individuals with young children and the effects of this support on changes in the prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems in these children. We find that divorce or separation, and episodes of homelessness are tw…
The outcomes of educational welfare officer contact in England
The key purpose of educational welfare officers in England is to support students and parents to maximise educational opportunities for young people. However more is known about their role in relation to school attendance than in relation to pupils’ educational outcomes. Using the Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England ( LSYPE ), this paper investigates the characteristics of teenagers who received educational welfare contact because of t…
Predictors of Social Service Contact among Teenagers in England
Very few UK studies make use of longitudinal general population data to explore social service contact for children and young people. Those that do only look at specific interventions such as care placements. This paper seeks to address this gap by asking to what extent do structural, neighbourhood, familial and individual characteristics predict social service contact. We provide an empirical answer by analysing the Longitudinal Survey of Young …
Assembling life history narratives from quantitative longitudinal panel data
Embedded within quantitative longitudinal panel or cohort studies is narrative potential that is arguably untapped but might enrich our understanding of individual and social lives across time. This paper discusses a methodology to assemble the life history narratives of families using social work by drawing on quantitative data from the British Household Panel Survey. It explores whether this person-centred approach helps us to understand the co…
Family size and educational attainment in England and Wales
In this paper, we use linked census data from England and Wales to investigate whether having a large number of siblings leads to lower educational attainment. There is a large literature suggesting that with large sibship size, parental resources will be diluted and this, in turn, will lead to lower educational attainment. Using twin births and the sex composition of the sibling group as instrumental variables, we find that the evidence of a fam…
Moving on up
This paper provides the first quantitative analysis on ‘first in family’ (FiF) university graduates in the UK. Using a nationally representative dataset that covers a recent cohort in England, we identify the proportion of FiF young people at age 25 as 18%, comprising nearly two-thirds of university graduates. Comparing groups with no parental higher education we find that ethnic minorities and those with higher levels of prior attainment are mor…
Is ‘first in family’ a good indicator for widening university participation
Determinants of private school participation
For those who grew up in Britain in the latter half of the twentieth century, there is known to be a strong association between social class or family income and attending a private school. However, increasing private school fees and promotion of school choice in the state sector have potential implications for the predictors of participation in private schooling in the twenty‐first century. In this article, through analysis of rich, longitudinal…
Understanding the social and cultural bases of Brexit
We use data from a large scale and nationally representative survey to evaluate two narratives about the social bases of Brexit. The first narrative sees Brexit as a revolt of the economically left-behinds. The second narrative attributes Brexit to the resurgence of an English nationalism. There is some, albeit not always consistent, evidence that people in relative poverty or those living in areas that have seen greater Chinese import penetratio…
Private Benefits? External Benefits? Outcomes of Private Schooling in 21stCentury Britain
Policy discourse surrounding Britain's unusually well-resourced private schools surrounds their charitable status and their relationship with low social mobility, but informative evidence is scarce. We present estimates of the extent to which private and external benefits at age 25 are associated with attendance at private school in England in the 21st century. We find a weekly wage premium of 17 percent, and a 12 percentage point lower chance of…
Does attending an English private school benefit mental health and life satisfaction? From adolescence to adulthood
Previous research has shown that there is a small but significant cumulative private school advantage in terms of educational attainment in Britain. However, research on how school type influences non-educational outcomes is more scarcer. This paper aims to identify the extent to which school type influences satisfaction with life and mental health from adolescence to early adulthood. Using Next Steps, a longitudinal study of young people in Engl…
The labor market returns to “first-in-family” university graduates
We examine how first-in-family (FiF) graduates — those whose parents do not have university degrees — fare in the labor market in England. We find that among women, FiF graduates earn 7.4% less on average than graduates whose parents have a university degree. For men, we do not find a FiF wage penalty. A decomposition of the wage difference between FiF and non-FiF graduates reveals two interesting findings. First, two-thirds of the female FiF pen…
The role of academic self-concept in post-compulsory achievement, transitions and labour market outcomes
Pupils’ Academic Self-Concept (ASC) has been shown to be related to educational outcomes during compulsory school years, but there is little evidence on the role ASC plays beyond this stage. Using longitudinal data from the English Next Steps survey the authors examine whether young people with higher ASC are more likely to study A levels, participate in further education and attend university. For university attenders, they examine whether highe…
Reasons for not/choosing chemistry
There are international concerns about decreasing rates of chemistry degree enrolment. This article seeks to understand students' reasons for not/choosing to pursue a chemistry degree, drawing on (i) open‐ended survey responses from a sample of 506 students in England aged 21–22 who had studied advanced level (“A level”) chemistry at age 18 (as either a full A level or a half “AS” level) and had either chosen ( n = 70) or not chosen ( n = 436) to…
Get lucky? Luck and educational mobility in working-class young people’s lives from age 10–21
Scant sociological attention has been given to the role of luck within social mobility/reproduction. This paper helps address this conceptual gap, drawing on insights from over 200 longitudinal interviews conducted with 20 working-class young people and 22 of their parents over an 11-year period, from age 10–21. We explore the potential significance of luck within the trajectories of 13 educationally mobile young people who were the first in fami…
Private school pupils’ performance in GCSEs (and IGCSEs)
Using rich longitudinal data from the UK’s Millennium Cohort Study (MCS), the authors compare the performance of private and state school pupils in age 16 national examinations (GCSEs) in England, where private schools are particularly well resourced by international standards. Performance among pupils attending private secondary schools is superior. However, this raw difference ignores the highly socially selective nature of the English private …
More is more
Does school-based careers education, advice, information and guidance (CEAIG) have any influence on later life outcomes? This paper reports regression analyses using 7,635 survey responses from young people in England aged 21–22. Significant positive relationships were found between self-reported CEAIG activities experienced at age 14–16 and a range of adult outcomes reported at age 21–22. Both the quantity and quality of these CEAIG activities w…
An exploration of the impact of science stratification in the English school curriculum
Supply of students to ‘the science pipeline’ remains an important imperative for economic policy, and for individual life chances. In England, Science courses from age 14–16 have been divided into ‘Double’ and (extended) ‘Triple’ Science. This article draws on data from 6,053 students to investigate the effects of science course designation on progress to further science study and qualifications, as well as exploring the representation of student…
Parenthood and mental health
Studying the mental health effects of parenthood is challenging due to unequal selection into parenthood. This study used data from the English longitudinal cohort Next Steps (N = 7095) to examine the association between parenthood, psychological distress and life satisfaction at age 32, accounting for observable selection effects. A lifecourse perspective offered insights into early life inequalities that influence fertility decisions and parent…
Psychology (16 works) · Economics (13 works) · Medicine (11 works) · Political science (11 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Demographic economics (8 works) · Developmental psychology (7 works) · Economic growth (7 works) · Social Psychology (7 works) · Educational attainment (6 works)