Structure and education
Children in married couple families have higher qualifications
Percentage of children aged 17 with qualifications at Level 2 or higher according to family type and sex, 2001, England & Wales
In 2001, children aged 17 living in married couple non-stepfamilies were most likely to be in full-time education and to have Level 2 or higher qualifications.
The family type with the second highest percentage of children with qualifications at Level 2 or higher was married couple stepfamilies. The lowest percentages were for cohabiting couple non-stepfamilies, with only 47 per cent of male children and 60 per cent of female children having qualifications at Level 2 or higher.
Married couple non-stepfamilies also had the highest percentage of 17-year-olds in education (87 per cent). The next highest percentages, for female lone parent families, were nearly ten percentage points lower for male children and nearly nine percentage points lower for female children.
Taking account of the National Statistics Socio Economic Classification (NS-SEC) category of households, however, showed that at least some of the differences between family types reflect socio-economic differences. In particular, controlling for household NS-SEC eliminated much of the difference between married couple non-stepfamilies and female lone parent families.
The results suggest that it is children aged 17 living in cohabiting couple families who are least likely to be in full-time education and least likely to have achieved qualifications at Level 2 or higher, especially once household NS-SEC has been taken into account.
The 2001 Census results also suggest that there are differences between step and non-step children within stepfamilies.
For example, within married couple stepfamilies, a larger proportion of male and female 17-year-old stepchildren have qualifications at Level 2 or higher when compared with equivalent non-stepchildren. Conversely, in cohabiting couple stepfamilies, a smaller proportion of stepchildren than non-stepchildren have qualifications at Level 2 or higher.
All the above results should be treated with caution. The census only reports a child’s family type at the time the census was taken. It does not report the length of time that the child has been in its current family type or the family type(s) experienced previously. Children aged 17 may have experienced a number of different family forms during their childhood and the family types that they belong to at the census date do not reveal this.
Source: Census 2001, Office for National Statistics
Notes: Children aged 17 are never married individuals who are not lone parents, who are aged 17 and living in a family.
The education levels are grouped as follows: • Below Level 2: No academic or professional qualifications; one or more O levels/ CSEs/GCSEs (any grade); NVQ level 1; Foundation GNVQ; or equivalents • Level 2 or higher: Five or more O levels; five or more CSEs (grade 1); five or more GCSEs (grade A – C); one or more A levels/AS levels; NVQ level 2; Intermediate GNVQ; or equivalents; or any higher qualifications
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