Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.
This study aimed to explore the ways in which male students calculated the costs and benefits of higher education in England in the 1930s, before the establishment of mandatory grants and awards; together with an analysis of the strategies used for meeting the costs of this investment. It was designed to complement the researcher's earlier study of women graduates of the same period, which was carried out in 1995 with support from the Spencer Foundation in Chicago.
Main Topics:
A total of 1085 four page questionnaires were distributed to men who had graduated from eight English universities and university colleges before 1939. Respondents were asked to give information about their social background and the ways in which they had met the expense of their years at college. They were also asked about their subsequent careers. A total of 577 completed questionnaires were obtained. This database contains only that material, extracted from the completed questionnaires, which could be effectively anonymised. Entries give information about family of origin and family of destination. They give some indication of reasons for going to university. The bulk of the information relates to family support and type of funding. Main variables: institution, father's occupation, mother's occupation, family of origin size, reasons for going to university, arts or sciences, subject, degree result, extent of family funding, state scholarship, local authority scholarship, board of education grant, school scholarship, university/college scholarship, loans taken out, other sources of support, teaching qualification, place of residence, vacation work, first occupation, other occupations, marital status, number of children, wife's occupation before marriage, wife's employment status after marriage, notes. The original questionnaires remain in the possession of the depositor and access is embargoed. Please note: this study does not include information on named individuals and would therefore not be useful for personal family history research.
Volunteer sample
Postal survey
