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Education participation and outcomes

Education participation and outcomes


Student participation

Indicators:  

Participation of Preschool students by sex; Primary school students by sex; Secondary school students by sex

Context:                                

            


Preschools are also known as kindergartens, child parent centres or children's services centres. The Department of Education and Children's Services provides a statewide preschool program for all children from four years of age in the year prior to their entry to school. The preschool program aims to enhance children's social, emotional, physical and intellectual development.  Children can attend up to four preschool sessions (usually half day sessions) a week or two full day sessions for up to four terms prior to their entry in school. Aboriginal children can attend preschool from age three years.  Preschool services are also provided by private or community run childcare services and by Catholic and Independent schools. Many preschools offer playgroups, pre-entry and occasional care sessions.


In South Australia, primary schools are provided by the Department of Education and Children’s Services, and the Catholic and Independent Schools’ sectors. A very small proportion of children is taught at home or ‘home-schooled’.  Junior Primary and Primary School covers Reception to Year 2, for children aged 5 to about 8 years. The primary years, 3 to 7, cater for students up to 12 years of age (including some at aged 13 years).


Secondary schooling covers Years 8 to 12 (and occasionally Year 13), providing core study areas and extension courses to assist in the development of skills, knowledge and values in various formats until students are around 18 years of age.  From 1 January 2009, new legislation required all 16 year olds to be in full time education or training until they achieved a qualification or turned 17, reflecting research which shows that young people who leave school too early are often unemployed by their 20s and then find it difficult to find work and careers of their choice (DECS 2009).


Reference: DECS (Department of Education and Children’s Services) 2009. Compulsory Education Age Factsheet. At http://www.edlawreform.sa.gov.au/pages/snrsec/faq/?reFlag=1 (accessed 22 September 2009)

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Students by Indigenous status

Indicators:  

Preschool students by Indigenous status; Primary school students by Indigenous status; Secondary school students by Indigenous status

Context:                                 

            


Preschools are also known as kindergartens, child parent centres or children's services centres. The Department of Education and Children's Services provides a statewide preschool program for all children from four years of age in the year prior to their entry to school. The preschool program aims to enhance children's social, emotional, physical and intellectual development.  Children can attend up to four preschool sessions (usually half day sessions) a week for up to four terms prior to their entry in school. Aboriginal children can attend preschool from age three years.  Preschool services are also provided by private or community run childcare services and by Catholic and Independent schools. Many preschools offer playgroups, pre-entry and occasional care sessions.


In South Australia, primary schools are provided by the Department of Education and Children’s Services, and the Catholic and Independent Schools’ sectors. A very small proportion of children is taught at home or ‘home-schooled’.  Junior Primary and Primary School covers Reception to Year 2, for children aged 5 to about 8 years. The primary years, 3 to 7, cater for students up to 12 years of age (including some at aged 13 years).


Secondary schooling covers Years 8 to 12 (and occasionally Year 13), providing core study areas and extension courses to assist in the development of skills, knowledge and values in various formats until students are around 18 years of age.  From 1 January 2009, new legislation required all 16 year olds to be in full time education or training until they achieved a qualification or turned 17, reflecting research which shows that young people who leave school too early are often unemployed by their 20s and then find it difficult to find work and careers of their choice (DECS 2009).


Reference: DECS (Department of Education and Children’s Services) 2009. Compulsory Education Age Factsheet. At http://www.edlawreform.sa.gov.au/pages/snrsec/faq/?reFlag=1 (accessed 22 September 2009)

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Australian Early Development Index (AEDI)

Indicators:  

Children in each domain who were assessed as being developmentally vulnerable (below the 10th percentile); developmentally at risk (between the 10th and 25th percentile); or developmentally on track (a) between the 25th and 50th percentile; b) above the 50th percentile; c) above the 25th percentile); developmentally vunerable in one or more/ two or more domains and on track in all domains; as a proportion of all children in the study.

Context:                   

            


In 2009, the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI), which provides a picture of early childhood development outcomes for Australia, was undertaken nationwide (CCCH & TICHR 2009)). Information was collected on Australian children in their first year of full-time school between 1 May and 31 July, using a teacher-completed checklist.

The initial results from the AEDI provide communities and schools with information about how local children have developed by the time they start school across five areas of early childhood development: physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive skills (school-based), and communication skills and general knowledge.

Reference: Centre for Community Child Health (CCCH), Telethon Institute for Child Health Research (TICHR). A Snapshot of Early Childhood Development in Australia: Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) National Report 2009. Canberra: Australian Government, 2009.

Notes:

  DECS have advised that the data should be treated as preliminary at this stage, as they are subject to ongoing quality checks and validation.

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National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN): data shown here are for government schools only

Indicators:         

Participation rate Year 3, 5, 7 and 9; per cent below national minimum standard for aspects of grammar & punctuation, spelling, reading, writing and numeracy in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9

Context:                     

                     


Children and young people’s educational performance during school is the result of many factors. A major influence is socioeconomic disadvantage which can result from poverty and family joblessness, social exclusion, significant disability, homelessness or unstable housing, or the ongoing impacts of colonisation and dispossession of Aboriginal peoples.

One of the outcomes the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has developed the National Education Agreement, has for schooling is, that ‘young people are meeting basic literacy and numeracy standards, and overall levels of literacy and numeracy achievements are improving’ (COAG 2008). To this end, the National Partnership Agreement on Literacy and Numeracy aims to deliver improvements in literacy and numeracy outcomes for all students, with a particular focus for targeted cohorts of at risk students, by focusing on the key areas of teaching, leadership and the effective use of student performance data.

The literacy and numeracy focus saw the 2008 introduction of the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) with all Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 being assessed using national tests in Reading, Writing, Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation and Numeracy. Students who achieve at or above the national minimum standard are deemed to have demonstrated the basic elements of literacy and numeracy required for that year level. Student participation in NAPLAN is important to ensure that teachers and systems have the data to review their programs, their teaching strategies and the need for additional support. Participation rates are calculated on the basis of all assessed students as a percentage of the total number of students reported for that year level including those students absent or withdrawn.


Data also shown for participation rates.

References:

COAG (Council of Australian Governments) 2008. Council of Australian Governments’ Meeting

26 March 2008. At http://www.coag.gov.au/coag_meeting_outcomes/2008-03-26/index.cfm#productivity (accessed 28 September 2009)

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Early school leavers

Indicators:  

Highest level of schooling completed by whole population: completed Year 10 or below, or did not go to school

Context:                   

            

                    

Education increases opportunities for choice of occupation and for income and job security, and also equips people with the skills and ability to control many aspects of their lives – key factors that influence wellbeing throughout the life course. The South Australian Strategic Plan identified a number of key targets for the year 2010, including:

• increase the leaving age to 17 years to ensure that young people are either in school, employed or in structured training (T6.12); and
• increase the percentage of students completing Year 12 or its equivalent to 90% within 10 years (T6.13).

Young people who leave school early and do not undertake further training or education may be at risk of social exclusion, poorer life chances and socioeconomic disadvantage in the longer term. Research has shown that a model of community-centred education that offers a networked, integrated and contextual approach to learning which is broader than the concept of ‘schooling’ is more likely to be successful in re-engaging those young people at risk of becoming disconnected from education (Stehlik 2006).

Reference: Stehlik TP 2006. Schooling vs education: (Re)engaging early school leavers in meaningful learning through whole-of-community approaches to learning as part of social inclusion initiatives in South Australia. Paper for the New Zealand Association for Research in Education, 5-8 December 2006.

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Secondary education

Indicators:  

  • Full-time participation in secondary school education at age 16
  • Publicly examined achievement scores; Publicly assessed achievement scores; and School assessed achievement scores
  • Students who receive a Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER), or equivalent, with at least one of the following subjects: mathematics, physics or chemistry
  • Young people aged 19 years who have achieved Year 12 or a comparable senior secondary qualification

Context:               

Education increases opportunities in employment, occupation, income and job security, and equips people with the skills and ability to control many aspects of their lives. These are key factors that influence wellbeing throughout the life course.

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Post-secondary education

Indicators:  

Participation in vocational education and training, 15 to 24 years; School leavers enrolled in an SA university

Context:                   

            

                     

Education increases opportunities in employment, occupation, income and job security, and equips people with the skills and ability to control many aspects of their lives. these are key factors that influence wellbeing throughout the life course. Satisfactory completion of a South Australian university course offers a student a professional or technical qualification, a reasonable chance of employment on graduation, and better employment

 

Vocational education and training (VET) refers to post-compulsory education and training (excluding degree and higher level programs) which provides people with occupational or work-related knowledge and skills. For school-aged participants, VET programs offer industry-specific skills and pathways to further study and initial employment opportunities (Gørgens & Ryan 2006).


On completion of schooling, VET in Schools’ students attain a VET qualification, or part thereof, and the senior secondary certificate. Previously, students could only undertake the school curriculum, which focused on preparation for higher education. This expansion in VET and change in the Australian school system resulted in accredited VET becoming available to school students within senior secondary schooling, as well as still being available to young people of all ages outside the school system (Woods 2004).


References:

Gørgens T and Ryan C 2006. The impact of additional educational qualifications for early school leavers. Department of Education Science and Training: Canberra.

Woods D 2004. Young people and vocational education and training options: at a glance. NCVER (National Centre for Vocational Education Research): Adelaide.

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Learning or earning

Indicators:  

Young people earning or learning

Context:                                 

            


Young people who fail to engage in school, work or further education and training run a significant risk of failing to acheive in their schooling, unemployment, risky health behaviours and mental health problems, social exclusion, and economic and social disadvantage over the longer term.One of the South Australian Strategic Plan targets is to increase the number of 15-19 year olds engaged fulltime in school, work or further education/training (or combination thereof) to 90% by 2010 (T6.15). Raising the compulsory school age to 17 years is also aimed at decreasing the number of young people who disconnect early from education, training and employment.

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