‘Missing’ family education data linked to single parent households

Students from areas with higher proportions of lone parent families in the UK are less likely to know if any parent has higher education qualifications, according to research.

Studies into social mobility show that students are more likely to enter higher education if their parents also attended university.

To measure the participation of under-represented students, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) asked entrants if their parents had higher education qualifications.

Recent figures for 2021-22 showed that 45 per cent of students’ parents did attend university and 39 per cent did not – but the answers of the remaining students were not recorded.

Some 7 per cent said they did not know, and a further 9 per cent did not provide an answer.

To explore the potential reasons for this “missing” data, Hesa researchers studied the characteristics of students who responded “I don’t know”.

Using census data to identify neighbourhoods with high proportions of lone parent families, they found that students from these postcodes were more likely to say they did not know their parents’ education history than other students.

“This research identifies a potential driver of missing data in the parental education field – namely that individuals living in lone parent households appear not to be aware of the qualifications possessed by the other parent and respond by saying ‘I don’t know’,” said Archie Bye, lead statistical analyst.

“If future research adds further support for these findings, there might be value in reviewing the way the question is asked, alongside the associated guidance provided to applicants, to help with improving the quality of the parental education data.”

Previous studies have shown that children of single parents are marginalised and must overcome expectations of failure to succeed in higher education.

However, a report last year by the Higher Education Policy Institute questioned whether being classed as the “first in family” to attend university was still an accurate measure of social disadvantage.

Hesa also found that black Caribbean and black African students have a higher proportion of “don’t know” responses, which could be because they are statistically more likely to be part of a single parent household.

By comparison, Bangladeshi and Indian students were the least likely not to know the higher education qualifications of their parents.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com