4102.0 - Australian Social Trends, 2003
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 03/06/2003
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Participation in education: Regional differences in education and outcomes
Qualifications across Remoteness Areas In 2001, of Australians aged 25-64 years, 46% stated they had gained a non-school qualification. The proportion of people with non-school qualifications declined with increasing remoteness. Among people aged 25-64 years, those counted in Major Cities were most likely to hold non-school qualifications (49%). The lowest proportion occurred among those counted in Very Remote areas, where 33% had a non-school qualification. Among people aged 25-64 years the single highest non-school qualification most commonly held was a Certificate. The proportion of people whose highest qualification was a Certificate ranged from 23% of this age group in Inner Regional areas to 18% in Very Remote areas - all close to the national figure of 20%. Overall in 2001, 18% of Australians aged 25-64 years had a Bachelor degree or higher as their highest non-school qualification. Among people in this age group, 21% of those counted in Major Cities held a degree or a post-graduate qualification, the highest proportion of all Remoteness Areas. Across the other Remoteness Areas, the proportion was about half this, ranging from 13% in Inner Regional areas to 10% in Very Remote areas. This difference between Major Cities and the other Remoteness Areas is probably augmented by the movement of young people to cities to undertake higher education or to obtain employment. In addition, the majority of jobs requiring higher education qualifications are likely to be found in Major Cities. NON-SCHOOL QUALIFICATIONS AMONG PEOPLE AGED 25-64 YEARS BY REMOTENESS AREA - 2001
(b) Includes persons in Migratory category. Source: ABS 2001 Census of Population and Housing. Staying on at school The comparatively low proportion of people with higher education qualifications outside of Major Cities is at least partly linked to the lower rates of participation in post-compulsory secondary schooling in these areas. In 2001, compulsory schooling in Australia ended at the age of 15 years (16 years in Tasmania). After that age, children could leave school or voluntarily continue on to complete years 11 and 12 of their secondary education. Post-compulsory education was once mainly undertaken by students intending to undertake further studies - in the mid-1960s, under a quarter of secondary students stayed until year 12.2 In the 1980s, a greater proportion of students were successfully encouraged to remain in school and complete year 12.3 Over the past two decades the overall proportion of secondary students who stayed at school through to year 12 increased from 36% in 1982 to 75% in 2002 (see Australian Social Trends 2003, Education and training: national summary tables). PROPORTION OF YOUNG PEOPLE ATTENDING A SECONDARY SCHOOL(a) BY REMOTENESS AREA - 2001
(b) Includes persons in Migratory category. Source: ABS 2001 Census of Population and Housing. In 2001, 92% of boys and 94% of girls aged 15 years were attending a secondary school. Among 17 year olds, the proportions were lower - 62% of boys and 69% of girls. When examined by Remoteness Areas, two patterns are discernible. Firstly, the proportion of young people attending secondary school outside of Major Cities was lower than the national average and decreased with increasing remoteness. Secondly, the rate of decrease in attendance with increasing remoteness was greater for boys than girls. One factor that may influence the low secondary school participation rates in more remote areas is the high proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Remote and Very Remote areas. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lower rates of participation in secondary education than non-Indigenous peoples (see Australian Social Trends 2002, Education of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples). Other factors influencing secondary education participation rates in more remote areas may include difficulty in accessing educational institutions; greater teacher turnover combined with a higher proportion of inexperienced teachers; and restrictions on the range of subjects that can be offered. In addition, some regional high schools do not offer years 11 and 12.4 Although these issues may partly explain the regional differences, other attitudinal factors may also be involved. For example, a study published in 1999 suggested that, in general, higher education is considered less relevant to life and work by people in regional and remote areas.5 School completion The 2001 Census counted 600,500 young people aged 15-19 years who were no longer attending secondary school. The characteristics of these young people varied with the Remoteness Area in which they were counted. In general, as remoteness increased, the likelihood of their having completed year 12 decreased. Further, among those who had completed year 12, the proportion undertaking further study decreased with increasing remoteness. For example, among young people aged 15-19 years who had left school and were counted in Major Cities, 62% had completed year 12; of these, 68% were undertaking further study. Among young people counted in Inner Regional areas 46% had completed year 12, and of these, 54% were undertaking further studies. This decline continued as remoteness increased. Again, accessibility may be a major factor influencing participation in further study in Remote and Very Remote areas, since there are few further education institutions in these areas. PEOPLE AGED 15-19 YEARS WHO HAD LEFT SCHOOL(a): SELECTED INDICATORS BY REMOTENESS AREAS - 2001
(b) Includes persons in Migratory category. Source: ABS 2001 Census of Population and Housing. Among school leavers aged 15-19 years who were not undertaking further study, and who were participating in the labour force, the proportion who were employed was higher in the remote areas (91% in Very Remote areas and 85% in Remote areas) than in the less remote areas (78% in Inner Regional areas and 79% in Major Cities). This supports the premise that jobs in more remote areas may be less likely to demand non-school qualifications. However, across all areas those who had completed year 12 had a higher employment rate than those who had left school early. For example, in Major Cities the proportion employed among labour force participants who were not studying and who had completed year 12 was 86%, compared with 73% of young people who had not completed year 12. Overall, 17% of school leavers aged 15-19 years who were not studying were not in the labour force (i.e. they were neither working nor looking for work). Among young people who were not studying and who had completed year 12, 9% were not in the labour force. In comparison, among those who had not completed year 12, 22% were not in the labour force. A similar difference was observed across all the Remoteness Areas, though the difference between those who completed year 12 and those who did not complete year 12 was greater for Remote and Very Remote areas. PEOPLE AGED 15-19 YEARS WHO WERE NOT ATTENDING AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION(a): PROPORTION OF THOSE IN THE LABOUR FORCE WHO WERE EMPLOYED - 2001 (a) Excludes those who did not state whether or not they were attending an educational institution and those who did not state the type of educational institution they were attending. Source: ABS 2001 Census of Population and Housing. Further studies Historically, urban Australians have been more likely to undertake further education than regional and remote residents. This is probably related to the better access urban dwellers have to non-school educational institutions and to differences in educational aspirations between residents of city and regional and remote areas.5 PROPORTION OF 15-24 YEAR OLDS ATTENDING A NON-SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION(a) BY REMOTENESS AREAS - 2001
(b) Includes persons in Migratory category. Source: ABS 2001 Census of Population and Housing. In 2001, the census corroborated this difference, finding that among young people aged 15-24 years, the proportion attending a non-school educational institution declined with increasing remoteness. However, some of this difference may be related to young people moving to less remote areas to undertake further education. In Major Cities, 28% of young men and 30% of young women aged 15-24 years were attending either a University or other higher educational institution, or a Technical or further educational institution. These levels declined with increasing remoteness, with proportions in Outer Regional areas of 12% and 14% respectively. Among young men in this age group, attendance at a Technical or further educational institution was more common than at a University or other higher educational institution in all Remoteness Areas other than Major Cities. Among young women, a greater proportion attended a University or other higher educational institution than Technical or further educational institutions in all areas except in Remote and Very Remote areas (where very few universities are located). Young people moving Every year, young people move to find work or to study. Those in regional areas are particularly likely to move because of the greater employment and education opportunities available to them in Major Cities (see Australian Social Trends 2003, Youth migration within Australia). In 2001, the census counted 174,400 young people aged 15-24 years who were no longer attending school and who had changed their address since 1996 to one in a more populous area. These young people were more likely than all young people aged 15-24 years who had left school to be attending a University or other higher educational institution. In 2001, 26% of young men who moved compared with 20% of all young male 15-24 year olds were attending a University or other higher educational institution. For women, the comparable figures were 34% and 26% respectively. In contrast, the proportion of young people who moved and were attending a Technical or further education institution (11%) was slightly lower than for all 15-24 year olds who had left school (13%), perhaps reflecting the wider availability of those institutions in Large Population Centres. PEOPLE AGED 15-24 YEARS WHO HAD LEFT SECONDARY SCHOOL: THOSE WHO MOVED TO A MORE POPULOUS AREA(a) - 2001
(b) Includes those attending Other educational institutions. (c) Includes those attending Other educational institutions and educational institution not stated. Source: ABS 2001 Census of Population and Housing. Among young people aged 15-24 years who moved to a more populous area, 60% of young men and 54% of young women were not attending an educational institution. Although most of these young people were working or looking for work, 11% were not. Young men who had moved and were not studying were the most likely to be in the labour force (93% compared with 90% of all 15-24 year old men who had left school and were not studying). A smaller proportion of young women who had moved and were not studying were in the labour force (84%), though this proportion was still larger than that found among all 15-24 year old women who had left school and were not studying (80%). The employment rate of young labour force participants aged 15-24 years who had left school, were not studying, and who moved, was the same as that among all young people aged 15-24 who had left school, who were not studying and were in the labour force (86%). Endnotes 1 Department of Employment, Education and Training, 1990, A Fair Chance For All, AGPS Canberra. 2 Commonwealth Schools Commission 1987, In the National Interest: Secondary Education and Youth Policy in Australia, AGPS, Canberra. 3 Marginson, S. 1997, Educating Australia: government, economy and citizen since 1960, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne. 4 National Youth Affairs Research Scheme 2001, Creating better educational and employment opportunities for rural young people, Australian Clearinghouse for Youth Studies, Hobart, Tasmania. 5 James, R., et al 1999, Rural and Isolated School Students and their Higher Educational Choices, National Board of Employment, Education and Training, Higher Education Council, Canberra.
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