Abstract
Despite the massification of higher education in France over recent decades, inequalities in access to higher education persist. Access rates to higher education vary widely according to parental income (Bonneau and Grobon, 2021). Moreover, when enrolled in higher education, students attend different types of courses depending on their social background (Bechichi et al., 2021). This raises questions of both efficiency and equity, as both the private and public benefits of higher education can be substantial (Fack and Huillery, 2021).
The first reason put forward to explain these inequalities in access is the difference in school results according to social origin. However, beyond this explanation, other factors have been put forward. In particular, socially disadvantaged students' lack of information and self-confidence can influence their aspirations (Guyon and Huillery, 2021; Terrier et al., 2023). The “Vers le Sup'” program, developed by the Article 1 NGO, aims to address these very factors.
The research protocol aims to observe the effects of the “Vers le Sup'” program on students' aspirations and self-confidence, as well as on their progress in higher education and professional integration.
Approved by the French Ministry of Education, the Article 1 NGO is rolling out “Vers le Sup'”, a program designed to help high-school students make the right career choices, accredited by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research.
Article 1’s interventions include three modules:
- The inspire-orientation.org platform. This is an entirely free website for career guidance. It helps high school students plan their post-baccalaureate careers by providing information on study paths, in line with their results and interests. In addition, a network of student volunteers can be mobilised to answer students' more specific questions about the courses of study they are considering. Registration on this site takes place during the workshop.
- The “Se projeter vers le Sup'” workshop. This is a two-hour in-class workshop, led by student volunteers, to provide students with information on career guidance and to help them project themselves into higher education and student life.
- Mentorat Vers le Sup', a personalised support scheme, enabling general and technological high school seniors who wish to benefit from the support of a student mentor to help them in the transition between the end of high school (from January) and entry into higher education (until December).
There will be two types of interventions, I1 and I2:
I1: Year 12 students benefit from the “Se projeter vers le Sup'” workshop and have access to the inspire-orientation.org platform.
I2: Year 12 students benefit from the interventions proposed in I1. In addition, individual mentoring is offered to volunteer students.
The comparison between these two types of interventions will enable us to measure the additional benefit of offering mentoring to students, compared with the I1 intervention. Impacts will be measured by comparing the same indicators for all students (control, I1, I2). Our first aim is to establish the impact of the interventions on outcomes collected at the end of the senior high-school year (knowledge of higher education, self-confidence aspirations) and beyond (highest diploma, match between students’ initial aspirations and their diploma, number of years spent to obtain their diploma and professional integration).