What is the study and why is it carried out?
What is Next Steps and why is it important?
Next Steps is one of the biggest and most important studies of young people ever; not just in
The Government provides many services for young people at sizeable cost to taxpayers and needs to know if these are working properly, what they are doing well, what they need to do better and what changes young people themselves are interested in seeing. The information from Next Steps is used for this and helps bring about better schools, colleges and services for all young people.
Many surveys give a one off snap shot view of how someone is at the moment they are interviewed. Next Steps is different. It is what is known as a ‘longitudinal’ study, these follow people’s lives over a number of years and see how changes occur – giving a fascinating and dynamic picture.
Who do we talk to?
For the first four years of interviews we spoke to you and at least one parent or guardian. From the fifth interview however, this changed and we focused on speaking only with you.
What do we talk to you about?
Next Steps asks about a wide range of things. The following list provides an idea of the things we’ve talked to you about:
- What you thought about school then further and higher education
- The subjects you studied at school and college and beyond
- Government support such as the Education Maintenance Allowance
- Apprenticeships and training schemes
- The work that you do, either paid or voluntarily
- What you like doing in your spare time
- What your plans are for the future
- Your ambitions
- Your health and wellbeing
- How you feel about life in Britain and in your community
- Caring for your children (if you have any)
- Your experiences at university
- Socialising, friendships and relationships
In addition, the study also collects information about you and who you live with. This is for statistical reasons to enable us to compare different kinds of families and households.
How long has the study been running and what stage are we at now?
The Next Steps study started in 2004 (Wave 1) when more than 15,000 interviews were conducted with young people in Year 9 and their parents. Since then we have spoken to you each year. 2010 was our seventh wave. We also spoke with your parents in the first four waves of the survey.
The Department for Education are currently reviewing the study, along with the Economic and Social Research Council (who are the UK’s leading agency for research funding and training in economic and social sciences, see www.esrc.ac.uk for more information) to see how best the study can continue within new budgets.
This does not mean it is the end of Next Steps, just this phase. There are many researchers across Government and beyond who are very interested in your activities no matter what you are doing.
