variable: EDUCATION

[andkov]

The compiled file ELSA_Portland_New.sav contains the variable edqual, which I presume is the measure of education. I can't see any other variables related to this construct. The levels of this variable are as follows:

 > ds  %>% dplyr::group_by(edu)  %>% dplyr::summarize(n())
Source: local data frame [8 x 2]

                         edu   n()
                      (fctr) (int)
1  NVQ4/NVQ5/DEGREE OR EQUIV  5898
2     HIGHER ED BELOW DEGREE  5647
3     NVQ3/GCE A LEVEL EQUIV  2986
4     NVQ2/GCE O LEVEL EQUIV  7896
5 NVQ1/CSE OTHER GRADE EQUIV  2080
6              FOREIGN/OTHER  3992
7           NO QUALIFICATION 17660
8                         NA    71

It is not clear to me how these levels are ordered. The documentation for wave 1 has this to say about this (i think) item (p.228):

|
| FqQual @*
| SHOW CARD TT
| Which of the qualifications on this card ^do you have/have you
| obtained since then? Just tell me the number written beside each
| one.
| RECORD ALL THAT APPLY. PROBE : Any others?
| 1 Degree/degree level qualification (including higher degree)
| 2 Teaching qualification
| 3 Nursing qualifications SRN, SCM, SEN, RGN, RM, RHV, Midwife
| 4 HNC/HND, BEC/TEC Higher, BTEC Higher/SCOTECH Higher
| 5 ONC/OND/BEC/TEC/BTEC not higher
| 6 City and Guilds Full Technological Certificate
| 7 City and Guilds Advanced/Final Level
| 8 City and Guilds Craft/Ordinary Level
| 9 A-levels/Higher School Certificate
| 10 AS level
| 11 SLC/SCE/SUPE at Higher Grade or Certificate of Sixth Year
| Studies
| 12 O-level passes taken in 1975 or earlier
| 13 O-level passes taken after 1975 GRADES A-C
| 14 O-level passes taken after 1975 GRADES D-E
| 15 GCSE GRADES A-C
| 16 GCSE GRADES D-G
| 17 CSE GRADE 1/SCE BANDS A-C/Standard Grade LEVEL 1-3
| 18 CSE GRADES 2-5/SCE Ordinary BANDS D-E
| 19 CSE Ungraded
| 20 SLC Lower
| 21 SUPE Lower or Ordinary
| 22 School Certificate or Matric
| 23 NVQ Level 5
| 24 NVQ Level 4
| 25 NVQ Level 3/Advanced level GNVQ
| 26 NVQ Level 2/Intermediate level GNVQ
| 27 NVQ Level 1/Foundation level GNVQ
| 28 Recognised Trade Apprenticeship completed
| 29 Clerical or Commercial Qualification (eg typing/book-
| keeping/commerce)
| 95 Other qualifications
| 96 None of these [Exclusive code] 

@annierobi and @ampiccinin , could you please comment on what collapsing (if any) was used in original Portland models of ELSA and/or what transformation would this variable need to enter bivariate growth curve model as a predictor?