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This book, based on a social survey of secondary education in Australia, provides information on students' achievements in relation to their attitudes and values, their perspectives on issues ranging from jobs to discrimination, and their destinations in relation to their backgrounds. It is presented in five main parts: the first part, 'The machine of the curriculum', describes the hierarchical nature of the curriculum, likening it to an economic system which produces outcomes in the form of access to jobs, careers and further education; the second part, 'Historical progress', analyses the growth in social access to mathematics and sciences, and the mixed pattern in humanities and social sciences; part three, 'Hierarchical curriculum, stratified school system', looks at the reasons why social inequalities still exist in the curriculum; part four, 'The results of school' looks at the destinations of young people after schooling; and the final part, 'Lines of reform', examines how schools can be made more effective in terms of equity and quality. The chapters are: Economy and school; The hierarchy of the curriculum in historical perspective; Creating a working-class space in the curriculum, 1985-1998; Social progress in access to mathematics; Social progress in access to the sciences; Progress or regression in the social sciences and humanities; What makes the hard options hard, and for whom?; Selective schooling and the curriculum; Early leaving; Finishing school and getting a job; Going on to further study; School effectiveness and structural inequality; Vocational education and training in schools; From mass to democratic secondary education. Show less

This book of readings was developed as a contribution to the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) document 'Shaping our future: Australia's national strategy for vocational education and training 2004-2010' (indexed at TD/LMR 85.685). It reviews the achievements realised for the equity groups identified in 'Bridge to the future: Australia's national strategy for vocational education and training 1998 - 2003' (indexed at TD/LMR 85.683), and reveals the issues these groups are currently facing and how they might be addressed. It also considers whether there are other groups who experience disadvantage and the role that vocational education and training (VET) could play to improve their opportunities. Finally, it discusses approaches and frameworks which need to be developed to bring about further improvements in equity in VET.

One in four young people in Australia leaves school without completing his or her senior secondary certificate. This has been a fairly stable pattern throughout the 1990s, although at the start of the decade recession kept somewhat more young people at school. This chapter looks at the context in which early school leaving occurs in Australia, the causes, the consequences, and the ways in which its impact is reduced through VET. The two major motives identified for quitting school early are demand for work or an income, and lack of interest in schoolwork. There are large variations across the states and territories, ranging from about 11% who leave school early in the Australian Capital Territory to nearly 50% in the Northern Territory (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2002). There are also large differences between boys and girls. About one in five girls does not complete secondary school compared with about one in three boys. As well as the gender gap, and the gap between the states and territories, there are other very significant dimensions of variation, such as by region, socio-economic status, and Aboriginality. Within three years of leaving school early, between two-thirds and three-quarters of these young people have some contact with VET. The evidence from a variety of sources is that this contact is positive in terms of employment and other social benefits. There also is evidence that including VET in schools programs contributes to retaining more young people to the end of secondary schooling. Overall, VET plays a large role in ensuring growth of learning among young people.

The complete volume is indexed at TD/TNC 78.04; individual chapters are indexed from TD/TNC 79.21 to TD/TNC 79.37. Show less

This report provides summary findings of a survey of students who completed bachelor degree and associate diploma courses in 1995 from Victorian universities and TAFE institutes. Presented are descriptions of the data collected, grouped around the areas of: (i) current labour market and study activities; (ii) characteristics of the jobs of those employed and the extent to which recent graduates utilised the skills and knowledge developed; (iii) finding out what graduates who were not employed were doing and to what factors those who were seeking work attributed their lack of success; and (iv) identifying graduate views about the cognitive and vocational skills they developed during their courses. Show less

This document provides a review of the literature on the reasons for non-completion, and strategies designed to reduce non-completion, in vocational education and training (VET) and higher education (HE) in Australia. The focus in HE was limited to undergraduate courses. The review aimed to provide a comprehensive account of the Australian experience with supporting data from the United States of America and the United Kingdom. It also investigated the adequacy of current data sources and areas in need of further research. The document includes an executive summary and chapters covering the problems of definition, the adequacy of current data sources, an overview of sources and themes in the literature, studies of reasons for non-completion, reports on strategies for reducing non-completion, and conclusions. An appendix contains notes on patterns of group performance and an extensive bibliography is included. Show less

In this short article, the author draws on a keynote presentation to Queensland educators in 1999 and a comprehensive survey of Queensland schools from 1996, to demonstrate the disparity between the expectations of learners and educators in secondary schools. The findings reveal that the largely academic curriculum pervasive in secondary schools suits the most educated of our students but does not serve the needs of those least educated, the result being the marginalisation of a significant proportion of youth from education and labour market access. The author examines the underlying values of secondary education, emphasising the need to develop curriculum that will lead to the acquisition of skills and knowledge relevant to employment rather than later, higher level entry into the labour market. It is suggested that the design of vocational programs must be based on accessibility, equal opportunity and relevance to further education and work, rather than academic culture. Show less

The aim of this study was to find out how students experience technical and further education (TAFE) from the point of view of the learning experience, and what factors influence them to continue or discontinue their studies. The study aimed to test two propositions: (1) that the quality of instructional experience is a factor in student retention; and (2) that many of the student-level reasons for non-completion can be addressed successfully at the institution level by formulating successful instructional and organisational responses.

The study focused on students undertaking training at certificate levels I, II and III in four fields of study: business studies, engineering, hospitality and TAFE multifield, the latter which generally comprises courses to prepare people for study and for employment and includes literacy, numeracy and basic education. It is based on a classroom-administered written survey of TAFE students in 2000 and a follow-up telephone survey in 2001. Due to the unrepresentative nature of the original sample (comprising four fields of study only) and subsequent attrition in the follow-up sample, findings cannot be generalised to all TAFE students. However, the study does provide an opportunity to explore the relationship between quality of instruction and actual outcomes, and to highlight themes and issues which may merit further research and analysis.

The study recommends progressive diagnostic assessment within courses, together with closer screening of students on enrolment to determine learning needs and strategies to address those needs. These could serve to address some of the factors which influence some students to leave their courses prematurely. In addition, professional development for TAFE staff, with a focus on the strong outcomes currently reported in some institutes, might also address the issue of flexibility in instructional approach demanded by a diverse student body. Show less

This report presents results from analyses of school effectiveness in Australia. School effectiveness is measured by estimating performance gains or differences on a variety of student outcome measures after controlling for differences in student background characteristics. The study has been undertaken as part of the Shared Future Project for the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC). The report begins with an analysis of some of the factors, such as socioeconomic status (SES) and school sector, that influence school performance, by examining their impact on student outcomes. It then examines school performance through analyses of achievement and other student outcome measures after controlling for the effects of student background characteristics and community context. In these analyses school is the unit of analysis. Modelling is used to control for the effects of differences in student intake and other factors such as school size and school location. In the final section, students and schools are analysed jointly using multi-level analysis to identify the policies and school features that characterise successful and effective schools.

Excerpt from executive summary. Show less

This report presents results of a survey of work placement experiences of 5879 year 12 students in most states or territories across Australia. The project was funded by the Research Advisory Committee (ANTARAC) of the Australian National Training Authority (ANTA).

Previous research has established that employers do see the importance of making placements available to school students. The rapid growth of work placements indicates that schools see important benefits and are willing to commit time and energy to establishing good programs. Nationally there is a high level of student interest in work placement. Findings from this survey indicate that at year 12 between 8 per cent and 27 per cent of students currently undertake work placement depending on the state or territory.

The focus of this study is on student perceptions of the value and quality of their work placements. Show less

The conference was convened by the Lifelong Learning Network, which is a policy research network based at the University of Canberra. This study was developed and funded by the National Centre for Vocational Education and Research (NCVER). The authors maintain that the changing patterns of student participation show increasing movement between the higher education, vocational education and training, adult community education and schools sectors. They suggest that policy makers need better information on the nature of student transition in order to monitor effectiveness of cross-sectoral policies and programs. This paper discusses the usefulness of two data collections for tracking students across the institutional divides of higher education and TAFE institutions.

The collected papers of the conference are indexed at TD/ACT 59.13. Show less

The aims of this study were to identify the factors that promote and frustrate school retention in socio-economically disadvantaged schools, in particular: the key reasons for non-completion; the characteristics of schools that create a strong sense of belonging and engagement in learning, and high expectations for success; approaches to improving student engagement and increasing completion levels; and ways of raising expectations of teachers, parents and young people. Key findings are presented under the headings of: Socioeconomic factors. The role of teachers; The role of curriculum; Factors associated with high and low retention; and Strategies for promoting retention. They include: low family income was thought to impact on students’ access to resources for learning, and limit their post-school aspirations due to the increasing cost of tertiary education; difficult family circumstances were reported to contribute to high welfare needs, non-attendance, disengagement from school, and high risk of early leaving; students were generally very positive about their teachers’ ability to provide a supportive and encouraging environment, such as motivating them to do well, and having high expectations of them; pedagogical skills were more important to students than classroom management and pastoral functions; there was a strong perception that the curriculum was somewhat inflexible in its ability to deal with the needs of all learners; teachers were concerned with the restrictions imposed by the structure of the curriculum, such as the assessment regime in Year 10, the narrowness of pathways associated with the Higher School Certificate (HSC), and limited access to vocational education and training (VET); teachers’ perceptions of the goals their school held for its students did not differ in high and low retention schools, but teachers in low retention schools were more likely to perceive shortcomings in their school’s ability to reach those goals; and case studies indicated that a range of strategies were used by schools to create a school climate that promoted retention and identified five dimensions of good practice, of which curriculum initiatives comprised the third dimension and VET in Schools Programs were seen as making an effective contribution to school retention. The study concludes that the quality of retention must be assessed in terms of the transition outcomes associated with it, including transition to a vocational alternative, and that vocational alternatives to retention have an important role to play. Show less