The report makes a significant contribution to expanding the evidence base on the role that education/lifelong learning can play in overcoming disadvantage. It does so by addressing a number of other interrelated barriers to participation that can lock people into a cycle of disadvantage.
The financial barrier to tertiary education is a recognised human rights issue (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) 2000). Literature confirms that many regional young people cannot access Youth Allowance income support due to stringent eligibility criteria, suggesting causation to low regional tertiary participation.
This article describes EXCEL, a program that encourages youth underrepresented in higher education to enroll in higher education, specifically at the sponsoring university. Eighty-three eighth grade students with GPA of B and above and standardized test scores at grade level or above were randomly assigned to the program or to a control group. The program guaranteed a scholarship to the sponsoring university and provided enrichment activities throughout high school. Program students were more likely to enroll at the sponsoring university than were control students.
Abstract
This paper explores the conflicting philosophies within the widening participation debate. Two categories of inclusive educators are identified, 'meritocrats' and 'democrats'. Among the democratic educators, a subgroup, 'transformative' educators, exists, which seeks to invoke changes in society and the education system. The positions taken by some of these authors are weakened by their neglect of sociological theory. For the debate to progress and for inclusion to be successful, a renewed understanding of sociological theory is needed.
The article examines the importance of effective secondary education for all children as Australian society embraces globalisation. In a global era, where societal development will rely on the knowledge and skills of the workforce, an effective education will become even more important for socio-economic engagement and equality. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds are the most vulnerable to globalisation as they are less likely to achieve academically or go on to benefit from the restructured neo-liberal economy.
This paper draws on research on the influence of school culture on the higher education aspirations of secondary students in one of the most socioeconomically and educationally disadvantaged regions in Australia: the outer northern suburbs of Adelaide. Using a case study approach, the author investigates the attitudes towards higher education of students from three schools in this area, with a particular focus on how and why these students make personal decisions about higher education.
The Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE) provides a practical lens for assessing and responding to the significant dynamics, constraints and opportunities facing higher education. It stimulates evidence-based conversations about students’ involvement in the activities and conditions which empirical research has linked with high-quality learning and outcomes.
This paper analyses the link between young people’s sense (locus) of control over their lives
and their investments in education. The authors find that young people with a more internal locus of
control have a higher probability of finishing secondary school and, conditional on
completion, meeting the requirements to obtain a university entrance rank.
Parent and autism groups say Georgina is among a growing number of students who are not adequately supported in their education by the (VIC) state government.
According to a report by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), Indigenous students remain overrepresented at the lower levels and underrepresented at the upper levels of proficiency. Performance of Indigenous students has not improved over time.
