Indigenous students’ aspirations: dreams, perceptions and realities

The report is based on a survey of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students from a sample of 17 secondary schools in Western Australia (WA), Queensland and New South Wales (NSW), focus groups with students, parents and career advisers and semi-structured interviews with Year 11 and Year 12 Indigenous students. Almost two thirds of respondents were from rural areas and just over one third were from urban areas. The research asked students about what they planned to do when they left school, how relevant their current studies were to what they aspired to do, the barriers they identified to...  [+] Show more

The report is based on a survey of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students from a sample of 17 secondary schools in Western Australia (WA), Queensland and New South Wales (NSW), focus groups with students, parents and career advisers and semi-structured interviews with Year 11 and Year 12 Indigenous students. Almost two thirds of respondents were from rural areas and just over one third were from urban areas. The research asked students about what they planned to do when they left school, how relevant their current studies were to what they aspired to do, the barriers they identified to participation in schooling and further education, the role of self-concept, the family environment, where they got career advice and how useful this advice was. The study surveyed both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students and therefore, their responses are compared to see if there were differences in aspiration and preferences in regard to schooling, further education and employment and the influences on the choices they want to make. The study also identified perceptions held by parents of Indigenous students in relation to the value of further education to their children’s later employment and community life, sources and quality of careers advice and their views on barriers to their children’s success.