Search Results | VOCEDplus, the international tertiary education and research database

The factors affecting the educational and occupational aspirations of young Australians

The authors examine factors that influence young people’s plans to complete Year 12, their aspirations to commence ... Show more
The authors examine factors that influence young people’s plans to complete Year 12, their aspirations to commence university study in the first year after leaving school and their expected occupation at age 30. They also examine the extent to which the occupational aspirations of teenagers align with their actual job outcomes a decade later. The findings in this report demonstrate just how important parents and peers are in relation to young people’s aspirations. The findings also indicate that the aspirations of 15-year-olds are somewhat unrealistic. By age 25 years, which is the age until which data are available for analysis, a significant portion of young people fall short of what they set out to achieve occupationally. However, this does not mean that they cannot achieve their desired occupations at a later stage in life.
Published abstract. Show less

Authors: Gemici, Sinan; Bednarz, Alice; Karmel, Tom; Lim, Patrick

Date: 2014

Geographic subjects: Oceania; Australia

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Series name: LSAY research report

Subjects: Youth; Career development; Culture and society ... [+] Show more
Which paths work for which young people?

In this paper, the authors identify various educational paths involving school and post-school study and assess the ... Show more
In this paper, the authors identify various educational paths involving school and post-school study and assess the effectiveness of these in relation to post-school outcomes at age 25 years. They use the 1995 cohort of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) and find that, for males, undertaking an apprenticeship after completing senior secondary and university are attractive paths. For females, the best path is that of university study, even for those with low academic orientation. Show less

Authors: Karmel, Tom; Lui, Shu-Hui

Date: 2011

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Series name: LSAY research report

Subjects: Vocational education and training; Teaching and learning; Traineeship ... [+] Show more
Educational outcomes of young Indigenous Australians

Improved educational outcomes are seen as a key lever for addressing the disadvantage faced by Indigenous Australia ... Show more
Improved educational outcomes are seen as a key lever for addressing the disadvantage faced by Indigenous Australians. Poor educational outcomes have been observed at all levels of education, from early childhood through to tertiary education. While the increase in school retention rates of Indigenous Australians in recent years is encouraging the more critical issues are whether there have been improvements in educational performance at earlier years for Indigenous students and the extent to which educational performance at say, Year 10, is flowing through to education outcomes such as Year 12 completion.
The data used in this project come from the Longitudinal Survey of Australian Youth (LSAY), including both the 2006 and 2009 student cohorts. The first wave of each LSAY is the [Programme for International Student Assessment] PISA survey. One of the advantages of PISA scores is that they allow overtime direct comparisons and between-cohort comparisons. The subsequent waves of LSAY allow [the authors] to follow the students throughout their compulsory education and beyond. The latest wave of LSAY was released in 2013 for the 2012 wave of both cohorts. The 2009 cohort has (mostly) left school in the last LSAY observation window. This makes it the first year when a full comparison between the 2006 and 2009 cohorts can happen. The data allow [the authors] to conduct a full set of comparisons between Indigenous students and non-Indigenous students in the two cohorts up to their choice of tertiary education.
Excerpts from publication. Show less

Authors: Mahuteau, Stephane; Karmel, Tom; Mavromaras, Kostas G.; Zhu, Rong

Date: 2015

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Subjects: Indigenous people; Youth; Outcomes ... [+] Show more
Interview with Tom Karmel on 'The impact of schools on young people's transition to university'

In this interview, Steve Davis talks with co-author Tom Karmel about this report which uses data from the 2006 coho ... Show more
In this interview, Steve Davis talks with co-author Tom Karmel about this report which uses data from the 2006 cohort of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) to investigate how schools influence tertiary entrance rank and university enrolment over and above young people's individual background characteristics. A point of discussion was the authors' finding that schools do matter and although young people's individual characteristics are the main contributors to university entrance, the school characteristics are responsible for almost 20 per cent of the variation in tertiary entrance rankings.
Published abstract. Show less

Authors: Karmel, Tom; Davis, Steve

Date: 2013

Geographic subjects: Oceania; Australia

Resource type: Webinar or podcast

Series name: Vocational voices

Subjects: Students; Youth; Secondary education ... [+] Show more
Associate degree or advanced diploma?: a case study

The distinction between [vocational education and training] VET and higher education in Australia is blurring. The ... Show more
The distinction between [vocational education and training] VET and higher education in Australia is blurring. The purpose of this paper is to examine - through the conduct of a case study of engineering qualifications (AQF6) delivered in Victoria - how education and training providers and students are likely to respond to different fees and funding arrangements under the student entitlement model.
Published abstract. Show less

Authors: Karmel, Tom; Lu, Tham

Date: 2012

Geographic subjects: Oceania; Australia; Victoria

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Series name: NCVER occasional paper

Subjects: Qualifications; Research; Students ... [+] Show more
The cost of training apprentices

This report examines the costs that both employers and apprentices incur for undertaking training in the plumbing a ... Show more
This report examines the costs that both employers and apprentices incur for undertaking training in the plumbing and electrical industries. The importance of understanding costs is fundamental. Employers will not take on apprentices if the cost is too high, and prospective apprentices will not undertake an apprenticeship if the future benefits (increased wages) do not outweigh the immediate costs to them. The report is based on data from six case studies of actual electrical and plumbing apprentices. The research found that the apprenticeship model involves a substantial financial commitment from employers, and apprenticeships are more attractive to young people and will remain unattractive to older people, unless the premium paid to qualified tradespeople is substantial. The authors argue that the high cost of apprenticeships will constrain the numbers of employers willing to take on apprentices, especially in a downturn. Therefore, it is worth considering a model which reduces the cost to employers by making more use of institution-based training, so that apprentices require less supervision and are more productive in the workplace. Such a model may not reduce costs overall but would transfer costs from employers to governments and prospective apprentices. Show less

Authors: Nechvoglod, Lisa; Karmel, Tom; Saunders, John

Date: 2009

Geographic subjects: Oceania; Australia

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Subjects: Apprenticeship; Research; Finance ... [+] Show more
Pre-apprenticeships and their impact on apprenticeship completion and satisfaction

Pre-apprenticeship programs have attracted a great degree of interest from employers and training providers as one ... Show more
Pre-apprenticeship programs have attracted a great degree of interest from employers and training providers as one means of increasing apprentice satisfaction and completion rates, by providing an introduction to the trade. We test this proposition using data from the 2010 Apprentice and Trainee Destination Survey. We find that the impact of pre-apprenticeships varies with occupation and prior education level. Pre-apprenticeships increase the likelihood of completion for apprentices in the construction, food and electro-technology trades but reduce completion rates among those already holding a certificate III or higher qualification and some other categories of apprentices. Show less

Authors: Karmel, Tom; Oliver, Damian

Date: 2011

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Series name: NCVER occasional paper

Subjects: Apprenticeship; Employment; Providers of education and training ... [+] Show more
Social capital and youth transitions: do young people's networks improve their participation in education and training?

In this paper the authors explore the relationship between social capital at age 15 and participation in education ... Show more
In this paper the authors explore the relationship between social capital at age 15 and participation in education and training at age 17. Using data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) 2003 cohort, the analysis shows that social capital does play an important role in influencing educational participation. For both males and females, participation in school-based activities is found to have the greatest influence on participation in education and training, followed by the strength of the relationship students have with their teachers. Of particular interest, the authors find that social capital influences educational participation over and above the effects of background characteristics such as parental education and occupation, geographic location, cultural background and academic achievement.
Published abstract. Show less

Authors: Semo, Ronnie; Karmel, Tom

Date: 2011

Geographic subjects: Australia; Oceania

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Subjects: Students; Research; Culture and society ... [+] Show more
Online and hybrid course enrollment and performance in Washington state community and technical colleges

This report investigates enrollment patterns and academic outcomes in online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses amon ... Show more
This report investigates enrollment patterns and academic outcomes in online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses among students who enrolled in Washington State community and technical colleges in the fall of 2004. Students were tracked for nearly five years, until the spring of 2009. Results were similar to those found in a parallel study in Virginia. Students who were employed for more hours and students who had demographic characteristics associated with stronger academic preparation were more likely to enroll in online courses; however, students who enrolled in hybrid courses were quite similar to those who enrolled in a purely face-to-face curriculum. After controlling for student characteristics using multilevel regression techniques, results indicated that students were more likely to fail or withdraw from online courses than from face-to-face courses. In addition, students who took online coursework in early terms were slightly but significantly less likely to return to school in subsequent terms, and students who took a higher proportion of credits online were slightly but significantly less likely to attain an educational award or transfer to a four-year institution. In contrast, students were equally likely to complete a hybrid course as to complete a face-to-face course. Additional analyses with a new cohort of students entering in 2008 showed short-term results consistent with those of the 2004 cohort. Given the importance of online learning in terms of student convenience and institutional flexibility, current system supports for online learning should be bolstered and strengthened in order to improve completion rates among online learners. Specific recommendations are discussed in the report's conclusion.
Published abstract. Show less

Authors: Xu, Di; Jaggars, Shanna Smith

Corporate authors: Columbia University. Teachers College. Community College Research Center (CCRC)

Date: 2011

Geographic subjects: United States; North America

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Series name: CCRC working paper

Subjects: Students; Participation; Teaching and learning ... [+] Show more
Redesigning the student intake and information provision processes at a large comprehensive community college

Many community college students are overwhelmed by the number and complexity of choices they face in navigating col ... Show more
Many community college students are overwhelmed by the number and complexity of choices they face in navigating college, leading to suboptimal decisions that can waste their time and money or that can divert them from a promising academic or career path. This case study describes how a large, suburban community college planned and implemented a relatively low-cost redesign of its student intake and information provision processes in an attempt to reduce confusion and increase student success.
Preliminary results suggest that the redesign improved the student experience, increasing the proportion of students who found the college's orientation to be very helpful and improving their performance on self-advising tasks. The concluding section of this paper discusses additional possibilities for low-cost improvements to help students navigate college, including simplifying program and transfer structures, more explicitly teaching students how to self-advise, and leveraging online e-advising tools to make advisors' work more in-depth, effective, and efficient.
Abstract from publisher's website. Show less

Authors: Jaggars, Shanna Smith; Fletcher, Jeffrey

Date: 2014

Geographic subjects: United States; North America

Resource type: Report, paper or authored book

Series name: CCRC working paper

Subjects: Providers of education and training; Students; Participation ... [+] Show more