Research undertaken by the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) is providing a better understanding of how our young people are dealing with complex challenges as they progress from school to study and work.
Key research looking at varied topics from impacts of schools, through to influences on tertiary education participation, will be presented at a one-day LSAY National Research Forum hosted by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) on Thursday 11 April at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney.
“Leading researchers and prominent players in youth research, policy and education will focus on how these significant LSAY findings inform youth transitions policy and practice,” said Dr Tom Karmel, NCVER’s Managing Director.
“We will be addressing four topics and hope to encourage discussion on the various factors driving youth transitions,” he said.
In the first session, NCVER’s Dr Sinan Gemici and Patrick Lim will present their findings on the impact of schools on young people’s transition from school to university, with Bill Scales, a member of the Bradley and Gonski reviews, discussing the findings.
To better understand what drives young people and what influences their aspirations, this session will bring together latest LSAY research with findings from an Australian Research Council’s linkage project headed by Associate Professor Kristy Muir from the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of NSW.
Taking a gap year between high school and university is gaining in popularity and Associate Professor David Curtis from Flinders University will provide an insight into ‘gappers’ based on LSAY data. John Ross, a journalist at The Australian and two ‘gappers’ will delve deeper into this topic.
Associate Professor Chris Ryan from the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research will tackle how a young person’s financial position can affect their learning and future study outcomes. His co-presenter is NCVER’s Ms Nhi Nguyen with renowned educationalist Prof Kwong Lee Dow discussing the findings and implications.
Mapping the journey to adulthood: heading in the right direction? is the subject of a panel discussion in the final session of the day. Award-winning broadcaster and ABC journalist Paul Barclay will facilitate the panel comprising Dr Karmel, Bill Scales, Dr Muir and Prof John Buchanan, Director of Sydney Business School’s Workplace Research Centre. The session will be broadcast on ABC Radio National’s Big Ideas program at later date.
For more information: www.lsay.edu.au/newsevents/events.html
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