Year 12 student choices: a survey on factors influencing Year 12 decision-making on post-school destination, choice of university and preferred subject

The Year 12 Student Choices survey was designed to obtain up-to-date information on the relative importance of factors influencing Year 12 students' decision making - both those who intend to go to university and those who do not. The report is based on survey data collected from 3,212 Year 12 students from across Australia. Some of the key findings include: the majority of Year 12 respondents expressed a preference for studying at university, either immediately upon completing their secondary studies (53 per cent) or following a gap year (19 per cent); the level of students' interest in university study varies among different disadvantaged groups - students from non-metropolitan regions and from low socioeconomic status backgrounds show lower levels of interest in university but greater levels of interest in TAFE or New Apprenticeships; while the focus of the study is on university, there are important findings on the reasons for choosing vocational education and training (VET), work or other pathways - students not intending to go to university were likely to perceive enrolling in vocational education or training or engaging in work as better options for their future careers; and this study confirms the findings of earlier research (e.g. James, Baldwin and McInnis, 1999), that, for those planning to go to university, choice of course rather than institution appears to play a more important role in forming student preferences.

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