United Kingdom (UK) education levels

INTERNATIONAL
1

Hello: I am thinking about using the United Kingdom data from IPUMS-International and am a bit baffled by the codes for highest education / qualification:

For the 1991 codes, what would be the equivalent of an undergraduate / bachelor’s / 4-year degree? It looks like it is “B” but then wouldn’t “C” be lower than “B”? Or is “C” higher than “B”?

For the 2001 codes, it looks like level 4 and 5 are the equivalent. Is that correct?

2

Okay, so I’m guessing this is not a popular country / variable combination?

3

The codes denoting level of education attained in the United Kingdom in the variable EDUCUK differ by sample. Additionally, for education level, the two samples (1991 and 2001) group countries that are part of the UK differently. In 1991, education level was collected for all countries in Great Britain under one variable. In 2001, this variable was split into two; one for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland who use a unified grading system and a second for Scotland who uses its own system.

The 1991 codes (Levels A, B, and C) refer to higher education (not secondary education). UK Census documentation (generally) defines education codes for 1991 accordingly:

  • Level A equates to higher level degrees such as masters or doctorate degrees.
  • Level B equates to a bachelor degree or its equivalent.
  • Level C equates to degrees below a bachelor’s degree, such as nursing or teaching degrees.

The 2001 codes for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland are based on the National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ), competence-based qualifications measuring the application of knowledge and skill-level of an individual with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. Levels 4 and 5 are technically different but were grouped together in the original survey (for more information, see the original 2001 questionnaire). Scotland 2001 codes (Group 1, Group 2, etc.) can be roughly correlated with 2001 codes for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (Level 1, Level 2, etc.) to indicate academic achievement.

4

Oh no–so there is no information on higher education for the UK in 1991?

5

The information I gave you in my original post was inaccurate in relation to the definitions of codes for EDUCUK in 1991. It will be edited to provide accurate information to future users who read this post. My apologies for any confusion this has caused.

The codes for EDUCUK in 1991 refer to higher education (not secondary education). UK Census documentation (generally) defines education codes for 1991 accordingly:

  • Level A equates to higher level degrees such as masters or doctorate degrees.
  • Level B equates to a bachelor degree or its equivalent.
  • Level C equates to degrees below a bachelor’s degree, such as nursing or teaching degrees.