Earnings carrot for maths students

Telling teenagers how much they could earn if they study maths can make them more likely to take the subject at A-level, research suggests.
 

Photo: Daily Mail

Youngsters who receive information about potential graduate earnings are over a third more likely to study maths, it reveals.

Around 5,597 pupils aged 15 and 16-years-old at 50 schools in England took part in the study, by researchers at Birmingham University.

They were split into two groups for the experiment, which aimed to identify whether giving the students details about graduate salaries would influence their subject choices at A-level.

The first group was taught a lesson which started with offering the youngsters the choice of leaving school with two A-levels and going straight into the workplace, or going to university to study for a degree in art. After making their decision, they were told the average salary they could expect to be earning for each option at the age of 30, based on labour market data.

They were then given options of different degree subjects they could switch to and given details of the projected salaries based on their choices.

The second "control" group was given a lesson which included no information on graduate salaries.

The researchers found that pupils who received information on graduate earnings were 39% more likely to study maths than those in the control group.
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Source: Daily Mail