Indigenous Australians are happier at school and just as likely to go on to university once they receive a tertiary admissions rank when compared to non-Indigenous Australians, says a new paper published by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).
The study Potential factors influencing Indigenous education participation and achievement, by Nicholas Biddle and Timothy Cameron, explores the factors that influence Indigenous Australians to participate in education.
The study is one of three reports to be funded out of NCVER’s Building Researcher Capacity Fellowships program, and includes data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY).
“Geography and demographic characteristics are important, but they do not tell the whole story on participation and completion,” said NCVER General Manager, Research, Ms Sue Fergusson.
“The report shows that a student’s expectation of going on to tertiary study is an important factor in participation and limitations can start as early as pre-school with long-lasting effects.
“Based on these findings, the authors indicate that the years leading up to secondary school need to be a focus to increase Indigenous Australian participation.”
Also released today as part of the fellowship program The effect of a pre-apprenticeship on getting an apprenticeship, by Thorsten Stromback.
This study finds those not at school and in a pre-apprenticeship program are more likely to go on to an apprenticeship (23%), compared with those not in a pre-apprenticeship program (12%).
Also released today from Thorsten Stromback as part of the fellowship program is the technical paper, Identifying the causal effects of VET qualifications on student outcomes through matching.
The NCVER Building Researcher Capacity Fellowships program encourages researchers from social science disciplines to use NCVER data sets to improve the understanding of education.
Copies of the reports are available at:
Potential factors influencing Indigenous education participation and achievement - www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2560.html
The effect of a pre-apprenticeship on getting an apprenticeship - www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2545.html
Identifying the causal effects of VET qualifications on student outcomes through matching - www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2544.html
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