It's just not worth a damn!' Investigating perceptions of the value in attending university

Bibliographic Data

ID4098098
AuthorsSteve Cook (0000-0002-1820-8390, Swansea University), Duncan Watson (University of East Anglia), Rob Webb (Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume44
Issue7
Pages1256-1267
Publication date2019-07-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueStudies in Higher Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0307-5079 • E-ISSN: 1470-174X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03075079.2018.1434616
OpenAlexW2788806089
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited25

Mass expansion of the UK Higher Education (HE) sector is eroding its well-documented benefits – leading many to question whether HE remains worthwhile. Avoiding the traditional approach of estimating the returns to HE, we investigate why many now feel that attending university will not yield any financial benefits. Using BSA data from 2010 we find that this negativity is being driven by perceived lack of graduate job prospects, the rise in tuition fees and wage underpayment. We conclude that this may well fuel uncertainty and reduce demand for HE from lower socio-economic groups while increasing intra class conflict in higher socio-economic groups

Actuarial science · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Higher education · Labour economics · Negativity effect · Public economics · Wage · World class · Engineering · Higher Education Research Studies · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies · Labor market dynamics and wage inequality · Psychology · Social Psychology