Education
Redefining Transitions,
Redefining Success
Access Monash Seminar,19 April 2013
Associate Professor Lucas Walsh, Monash University
Senior Research Fellow, The Foundation for Young Australians
Overview
 Context: final years of schooling and working life in 2013
and beyond.
 Success and outcomes for low socioeconomic status (SES)
and other students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
 How well do low SES students achieve on measures like
progression to full-time employment?
 Perspectives of young people.
 Rethinking youth transitions, success and the Monash
experience: what is mobility?
 How do we define student success?
Education
Context: Study & Work
Pathways
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Participation in schooling and higher education
 By 2011 the national rate of retention to Year 12 had reached its
highest level (79%).
 There has also been a rise in university-level study.
 In 1970, only three out of 100 working-age Australians had a
higher education qualification.
 By 2011, this had increased eight fold to 25 out of every 100.
 Students enrolled in higher education made up half (53%) of all
students enrolled in non-school qualifications. (ABS 2012)
 More than one quarter of 20-24 year-olds were studying for a
bachelor degree or higher. (Robinson & Lamb 2012)
Transition from full-time education: 2012
Teenagers
School leavers
Young adults
(a subset of teenagers)
Source: Robinson & Lamb 2012
Teenagers in non-school education: 2001-2011 (%)
Source: ABS SEW 2011, Robinson & Lamb 2012 Full-time education rising among 20-24 year olds
Source: ABS LFS 2012 Post-school study and training
 Against the Bradley target of 40%, there has been a steady rise in
university-level attainment among 24 to 35 year-olds, from 24% in 2001
to 35% in 2011.
 Since 2008 the proportion of people with higher-level qualifications has
increased significantly across the working age population except 20 to
24-year-olds (COAG Reform Council 2012)
 Indigenous drop-out also increased post-school
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Education
Context: The Labour Market
3 Important trends
The Labour Market
 The rate of full-time employment among teenagers not in
education has decreased by more than 22 percentage
points since the mid-1980s.
 A large proportion of this drop can be accounted for by the
growth in the numbers staying in school.
 Three times as many teenagers and more than twice as
many young adults had part-time jobs in 2011 than in the
mid-80s.
Source: Robinson, Long and Lamb 2011
Involuntary and Under-employment
 A third of the 814,700 part-time workers who would
prefer to work more hours was aged 15 to 24
years.
 More than one in five teenagers not engaged in
education are trying to find full-time work.
 But the opportunities to find them are declining.
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Fluidity in the Labour Market
• An average of nearly one in five teenagers
changed their labour force status every month in
2011, compared with one in ten older workers.
• Teenagers in part-time jobs are only slightly more
likely to move into full-time employment than
those who are unemployed.
Unemployment
 Adult unemployment is around 5 per cent while the
rate for teenagers is around 15 per cent
• Over one quarter of long-term unemployed in 2011
were 15 to 24 year-olds.
• The percentage who have not had a job for a year
or longer has doubled since 2008.
Education
Crossing the bridge: low SES
experiences
Graduate Destination Survey 2008-2012
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Graduate Destination Survey 2008-2012
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Full time employment rate by SES - Monash domestic
bachelor graduates 2008-12
100.0
95.0
90.0
85.0
80.0
High
Medium
75.0
Low
Grand Total
70.0
65.0
60.0
High
Medium
Low
Grand Total
2008
89.2
88.6
92.4
88.9
2009
83.0
85.5
75.2
81.4
2010
77.5
75.3
74.3
75.0
2011
77.1
80.4
74.8
76.6
2012
70.1
73.7
70.5
71.3
Graduate Destination Survey 2008-2012
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Crossing the bridge from low SES to higher
education success
 Diploma of Tertiary Studies (DoTS) is an alternative entry pathway that
is equivalent to the first year of a university undergraduate (Bachelor)
degree.
 Offered on-campus at Berwick, Gippsland and Peninsula and can be
studied one-year full-time or two-years part-time.
 Considers motivation for studying at university - and not just the Year
12 score.
 800+ students have graduated with Monash Degrees via DOTs
 High levels of engagement
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Crossing the bridge from low SES to higher
education success
Young people in disadvantaged communities:
Have fewer links with people who are employed, university
educated or living outside the area.
Have limited access to the networks and connections that
can provide the opportunities for social and economic mobility
(Pope 2006; Tennant et al 2005).
Are less exposed to people working in skilled and
professional contexts and are less likely to form a positive
association between school and work than their more affluent
peers (Todhunter 2009).
Crossing the bridge from low SES to higher
education success
 A study of school principals about their efforts to improve
student outcomes in areas with low employment and
educational achievement found that:
The buildings of the Melbourne CBD are clearly in sight on
the horizon of one school. Nearby runs the nation’s largest
highway. The freeway to the airport is close at hand, as are
numerous forms of public transport, yet the principal told us:
“Our students never cross the bridge out of this suburb”
(Black 2007, p.1).
Crossing the bridge: first in family experiences
Education
What have learned? The student
experience beyond first year and towards
graduation
Youth Attitudes
 National Survey of Young Australians showed a large rise
in the proportion of young people valuing getting a job, from
16% in 2010 to 22.7% in 2011.
 Family relationships and friendships and school ranked
higher.
 Young people seek hands-on opportunities to learn.
 Many are okay with flexibility but forgo things we take for
granted.
 How aligned is the university experience to young people’s
expectations and fluid worlds of work?
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Youth Attitudes
 Those who are fully engaged in work or study at age
19 are happier with various aspects of life.
 Young people who are fully engaged (i.e. in full-time
education or full-time work, including apprentices and
trainees) express greater satisfaction with their life as a
whole (LSAY).
 Having a sense of a pathway is key to success, of
knowing where they are going, and of enjoying the
benefits of financial security and broader interpersonal
and social benefits associated with this.
Pushing the boundaries of higher education
Monash Graduate Attributes
1. responsible and effective global citizens who:
a) engage in an internationalised world
b) exhibit cross-cultural competence
c) demonstrate ethical values
2. critical and creative scholars who:
a) produce innovative solutions to problems
b) apply research skills to a range of challenges
c) communicate perceptively and effectively
Are we developing these and what are the particular challenges
faced by students from low SES backgrounds?
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Pushing the boundaries of higher education
 Preparing students for university in school
 In response to the Bradley Review the Government uncapped the
number of university places. A large proportion of the additional
students may be less academically prepared than was expected in the
past. (Go8 2012)
 Many new students entering university may be under-prepared for
study, eg in quantitative fields.
– eg basic level of maths is now the most commonly completed
maths course at Year 12 while the study of intermediate maths
has declined
– Soft skills may also be absent
 The disengaged high achiever
 There is a mismatch of an industrial model of schooling, the older
traditional model of the university and contemporary life
Pushing the boundaries of higher education
 Pedagogy: changing the way we teach
 Informal and formal learning
 Connection to community and life
 Hands-on learning
 Parental and carer engagement
 Engagement with students from culturally diverse backgrounds
– Students whose home language was not English were less likely
to be employed – 68.9% compared to 81.1%
 Older students more likely to be employed – 81.4% for 30-39 year olds,
79.3% for 25-29 year olds, compared with 77.6% for 20-24 year olds
(the largest group) (Graduate Destination Survey 2008-2012)
Pushing the boundaries of higher education
 Beyond the lecture theatre: joined up approaches to engagement in
teaching, learning and well-being
 Extending the model of the practicums
 The paradox of technological diffusion, development and adoption in
higher education
– Students expect digital technologies to be embedded throughout
learning and life (AFLF)
– Doodling, texting and posting in class
– Connection to learning and family
– Informal learning
Education
Final observations
What next?
 The most vulnerable groups of young people include:
• those living in remote and regional areas
• young people from disadvantaged backgrounds
• indigenous young people
 Fluidity in the labour market erodes security and solidity
previously associated with “a career”.
 The markers for transitions are changing.
 Are the definitions of “success” changing?
 To what extend are we developing the Monash Graduate
Attributes
 Further reading: http://www.fya.org.au/hypaf2012/
 Email: lucas.walsh@monash.edu
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