Representation of Ethnic Groups in Chemistry and Physics

6: Ethnicity and science at A-level
30
percentage of all females aged 18/19
20
10
0
30
white black Caribbean black African Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Chinese
any science A-level, including mathematics
mixed
percentage of all females aged 18/19
20
10
1 science
2 sciences
3 sciences
4 or more sciences
0
white black Caribbean black African Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Chinese
number of sciences, including mathematics
mixed
Fig. 8: A-level sciences
for females, by ethnic
group.
Source: Youth Cohort Study,
1996–2002
23. Note that the standard errors
on the proportions reported from
the YCS are quite large in some
cases, and in particular among
ethnic-minority groups whose
sample numbers in the survey are
quite small. In contrast, standard
errors for the majority white
population are small, giving us a
high degree of confidence with
regard to our findings for this
group.
differences by ethnic group are along the lines of those discussed
so far, with differences by ethnic group generally
more pronounced among males.
Trends with time in attainment of chemistry and physics
A-levels by YCS cohort are reported in appendix 4. Sample
sizes for ethnic-minority groups are very small in a single
cohort, so non-white groups are combined and compared
with the white population.
6.2: Potential undergraduate scientists
Consideration of the next stage along the educational
pipeline requires identification of the proportion of young
people, by ethnic group, who might be considered “potential
undergraduate scientists” (i.e. either potential undergraduate
chemists or physicists), based on subject choices
and achievement at A-level.
This concept is useful in providing an ethnic profile of
the pool of students from which chemistry and physics is
recruiting at higher levels.
The detailed concept of the potential undergraduate
chemist or physicist is outlined in section 2, including prerequisite
subject choices and grades obtained at A-level.
The section gave three definitions according to different
levels of achievement in A-level studies, based on the number
of UCAS points achieved. In short, a potential undergraduate
chemist is defined as achieving an A-level in
chemistry, plus 12, 18 or 24 UCAS points (with a minimum
of a grade C in chemistry, or grade B for 24 UCAS points);
the potential undergraduate physicist is expected to
achieve an A-level in physics and in a mathematics-related
discipline plus 12, 18 or 24 UCAS points (with a minimum
of a grade C in physics, or grade B for 24 UCAS points).
Applying these definitions to the pooled YCS data for
1996–2002 provides estimates of the proportions of
potential undergraduate chemists/physicists. Figure 10
presents the proportions of the population aged 18/19 by
ethnic group and gender who may be categorised as potential
undergraduate chemists. The detailed figures, including
standard errors and sample sizes, are presented in
appendix 3. Similarly, figure 11 shows the proportions of
the population aged 18/19 years by ethnic group and gender
who may be categorised as potential undergraduate
physicists. The detailed figures, including standard errors
and sample sizes, are presented in appendix 4. 23
16 R EPRESENTATION OF E THNIC G ROUPS IN C HEMISTRY AND P HYSICS M AY 2006