Creating and using proxy measures of socioeconomic background in LEO

The Unlocking Youth Transitions Data series

Join the ADR England Community Catalyst: Youth Transitions Co-investigators for the third in a series of three free webinars this April, designed to support early career researchers in using administrative data for youth transitions research.

The series offers:

• Practical guidance on research design: develop robust, feasible, and well‑justified research proposals using administrative data
• Insight into the use of administrative datasets: learn about the practicalities of using administrative data when implementing quasi-experimental evaluation techniques
• Approaches to measuring and analysing social background: using administrative datasets such as Free School Meals (FSM) and Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD).

We recommend attending all three webinars, as they are designed to build on one another. Each session will last one hour, with additional time for questions and discussion. The three webinars in the series are:

• Planning research with administrative data for youth transitions: From research priorities to project design: Tuesday 14 April. Register now.
• Using the PICO (Population, intervention, comparator and outcomes) framework in LEO studies of post-16 learning: Wednesday 15 April. Register now. 
• Creating and using proxy measures of socioeconomic background in LEO: Thursday 23 April. Register now. 

Creating and using proxy measures of socioeconomic background in LEO

Thursday 23 April, 10:00 - 11:30

Speakers:

• Peter Urwin, Director, Centre for Employment Research, University of Westminster
• Dave Thomson, Chief Statistician, FFT Datalab

This webinar will describe how we create and utilise Free School Meal (FSM) indicators and the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) to measure socioeconomic background in LEO.

The first half of the session will provide detailed guidance on the practical steps needed to create various measures. We will then consider interesting insights from a recent study that uses the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) and National Pupil Database (NPD) components of LEO, to describe patterns of educational attainment using both measures and the interactions/relations between the two (IMD and FSM).  

Register now

About the session

Attendees will:  

• Gain insight into the practicalities of using administrative datasets to measure and analyse social background. 
• Have opportunities to ask questions of experts who can advise on the use of a range of measures across flagship datasets.

This session is particularly relevant if you are:  

• A researcher or policymaker interested in using ADR UK flagship datasets to study socioeconomic background
• Considering applying for an ADR UK Research Fellowship

About the speakers

Peter Urwin is a Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Westminster and has over 15 years’ experience leading large-scale econometric evaluations for government departments. Peter’s research has contributed to spending review submissions across departments, and his academic and policy work covers around 100 published outputs.

Dave Thomson is Chief Statistician at FFT Datalab, with over fifteen years’ experience working with educational attainment data to raise attainment in local government, higher education and the commercial sector. Dave’s current research interests include linking education and workplace datasets to improve estimates of adult attainment and study the impact of education on employment and benefits outcomes.

Event details

When: Thursday 23 April, 10:00 - 11:30

Where: Online

Cost: Free

Registration: Via Zoom

If you have any issues registering for the webinar please contact: youthtransitions@nfer.ac.uk

Co-funded by ADR England, Youth Futures Foundation, and the Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in Higher Education (TASO), the ADR England Research Community Catalyst: Youth Transitions aims to increase use of ADR UK flagship datasets, and to support a community of researchers and analysts focused on youth transitions, particularly the journeys of disadvantaged young people into and out of education and employment. As part of this work, they have developed a research agenda, built on a comprehensive review of the evidence and national stakeholder consultation.