CLS to manage national study of young people’s transitions from school to adult life

A new home has been found for a major longitudinal research project that is following more than 15,700 young people born in 1989-90.

The Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE), funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), is to be managed by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS), based at the Institute of Education (IOE), University of London.

The LSYPE was started by the Department for Education in 2004 when the participants were 13-14 years old. The young people were surveyed every year until the age of 19-20. The next survey is scheduled for 2015 when the cohort members will be aged 25.

The study was established originally to look at the key factors affecting teenagers’ transitions from compulsory schooling to university, training and, ultimately, entry into the labour market. LSYPE findings have informed government policy on youth unemployment, participation in higher education, and the impact of social inequalities on educational attainment.

CLS will continue to follow the LSYPE cohort into adulthood, collecting information on employment, training and skills development, income and poverty, and health.

Importantly, the LSYPE also helps to fill a gap in the UK’s internationally-regarded series of cohort studies. The 1958 National Child Development Study was followed by the 1970 British Cohort Study, but 30 years passed before the Millennium cohort Study got under way. These three studies are also managed by CLS.

“The LSYPE has been a vital source of evidence on how circumstances in the teenage years affect educational outcomes,” said Lisa Calderwood, Principal Investigator of the LSYPE. “It has also provided invaluable insight into the generation that entered the labour market during the most recent recession. We are thrilled to be given the chance to extend this important study through the adult years.”

Professor Chris Husbands, Director of the IOE, said: “The IOE already houses three world-renowned British birth cohort studies: the 1958, 1970 and millennium cohort studies. We are delighted to be adding the prestigious LSYPE to this collection – these are hugely important datasets for understanding modern Britain. We are also grateful to the ESRC for continuing to invest in longitudinal research.”

Take part in the age 25 consultation

CLS is seeking input on what should be included in the age 25 survey of the LSYPE. For more information, visit the consultation page.

For more information

Meghan Rainsberry
Centre for Longitudinal Studies
020 7612 6530
m.rainsberry@ioe.ac.uk

Sarah Nichols
Economic and Social Research Council
01793 413122
sarah.nichols@esrc.ac.uk

Notes for editors

1. The Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) has collected a wide range of information across different areas of the cohort members’ lives, including education, employment, economic circumstances, family life, physical and emotional health, and social participation and attitudes.

This is first LSYPE study, which was managed and funded by the Department for Education (formerly Department for Children, Schools and Families) and other government departments from 2004-2012. In 2013, management of the LSYPE was transferred to the Centre for Longitudinal Studies. The CLS team will begin by re-contacting all study participants. The LSYPE is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. More at www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/lsype

2. The Institute of Education is a college of the University of London that specialises in education and related areas of social science and professional practice. In the most recent Research Assessment Exercise two-thirds of the Institute’s research activity was judged to be internationally significant and over a third was judged to be “world leading”. The Institute was recognised by Ofsted in 2010 for its “high quality” initial teacher training programmes that inspire its students “to want to be outstanding teachers”. The IOE is a member of the 1994 Group, which brings together 12 internationally renowned, research-intensive universities. More at www.ioe.ac.uk

3. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is the UK’s largest organisation for funding research on economic and social issues. It supports independent, high quality research which has an impact on business, the public sector and the third sector. The ESRC’s total budget for 2012-13 was £205 million. At any one time the ESRC supports over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and independent research institutes. More at www.esrc.ac.uk