Education

In Spring 2003 MORI was asked by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to survey teachers, in order to gauge opinion on the Authority's Optional Tests. Issues explored by the research included:

Who decides whether you use the optional tests in your school?

Following on from three previous communications surveys, this research — for the HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England) was conducted by self-completion questionnaire among staff who have dealings with the HEFCE in a representative sample of 25 universities, 17 higher education colleges and 29 FE colleges.

Young people who stay on at school or college in Years 12 and 13, until they are 18, can usually apply for a place at university to study for a degree. This is known as "going into higher education".

How likely or unlikely are you to go into higher education when you are old enough?

Two-thirds of young people say they enjoy school most of the time, and the majority expect to go to university when they are old enough.

Many parents, teachers and students feel A level students are working harder today than ever before, according to a MORI Social Research Institute survey. The survey, commissioned by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, shows that four in five (81%) parents, three in four (73%) teachers and seven in ten (70%) of the general public think A level students work hard. Furthermore, around half of parents (48%), teachers (49%) and students (50%) think A level students work harder today than ever before.

A survey commissioned by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) finds that headteachers are viewed as better leaders than any other group in Britain.

For the UNITE Student Living Report 2003, MORI carried out more than a thousand face-to-face interviews with full time undergraduate and post graduate students, in 21 universities across the UK. This is the third year of this ongoing study designed to explore how students are meeting the challenges and opportunities of university life.

One in three teachers expect to leave teaching within five years, according to new research by the MORI Social Research Institute. In the research, carried out on behalf of the General Teaching Council, more than half (56%) of teachers in England say their morale is lower than when they joined the profession and a third would not go into teaching if they had their time again.