OUGD505 - Studio Brief 02 - Feedback and Research Direction Change

Because of the difficulty of researching a topic that is heavily opinion based, I decided to ask for some feedback in order to inform a change in research. It became increasingly aware to me that many people, when in discussion online, make comments that are uneducated and uninformed and that actually, what is stifling debate more, is discussions that are excluding real facts and data.

In my feedback I asked what I should focus on most, and ways I could direct the practical work. The feedback was very important in making clear that I would have to identify the target audience before developing a practical response. It also helped me to decide to focus on the education in schools on politics. As this is something that is not focussed on in primary and secondary schools and it will be important to ensure people are having discussions and voting for what they believe is right based on facts and not based on what the media portrays.

This feedback and change of direction has changed the focus of this research on the effect of education on politics. The first event that made clear the sway of voting in terms of the level of a person's education, is with the EU Referendum. An analysis of data sourced by local government wards demonstrates how the lower the education level of a person, the more likely they were to vote leave in the referendum. There is a clear correlation from the 1070 local wards demonstrating that the higher level of population with degree level qualification or similar, the remain vote was higher.

This affect of education had an effect on the French election as well. The effect of unemployment and education contributed to both Macron and Le Pen's support, the areas that saw the highest amount of unemployment in France demonstrated stronger support for Le Pen's National Front party, where as areas with the least amount of unemployment were in support for Macron. An Insee survey from 2012 found that more than half of the population of Ile de France in the age bracket of 25-34, had a postgraduate qualification or were studying for one. Macron received a large amount of support from Ile de France.

It is again evident in the US, that those with lower level of education qualification tend to lean more towards the conservative and sometimes far right movements. In Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen's case this is an example of populism coming into play. In the US election, again, the lower level of qualification within a state demonstrated stronger support for Trump and the higher the level of qualification, the stronger the support for Clinton.

There is a definite pattern that those who are lower in terms of their qualifications and education, or in unemployment, vote for parties that are considered right leaning, or in some cases regressive or far right. This could be down to the lack of education on the worlds affairs and political education, something can be addressed in schools across the country.

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38762034
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39870460
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/0/us-election-how-age-race-and-education-are-deciding-factors-in-t/