Students Should Choose Further Study
17 July 2004
There is a noticeable trend among school leavers to be confused
about what they want to do with their futures which is evident in
so many reports internationally.
In a report that I received this week from Noosa, for example,
'The Young Commitment Partnership' group has been developing ways
of collecting data about young peoples' career intentions. The data
are intended to clarify some of the issues associated with the
transition from school to further and higher education, training,
or employment.
Knowing more about the career aspirations of younger students as
well as Year 12 leavers is very important, and that has been a
feature of some recent University research as well.
Some of the key findings from the Noosa group, whilst not
entirely surprising, are nevertheless quite worrying. They give
substance to some of the Queensland trend data that indicate
school-leavers are not applying for further education in the
numbers that might be expected.
Whilst University is by far the preferred destination for those
who want to undertake post-school study, the proportion of students
who 'don't know' what their post-school intentions are, has doubled
between 2002 and 2003 to explain 41 per cent of the responses -
outstripping any category that represents a firm idea about the
futures of Years 8 to 12.
The Report says that the figures also reflect Noosa's transient
population of young people, with 27 per cent wanting to leave the
Coast and another 34 per cent not yet decided. If this were the
case across the Coast, the fact that over 50 per cent of talented
young people may be committed to leaving the Region, would be a
deeply disturbing indicator for the future. Already, the 15-24
year-old age group is the least well represented group of the total
population in Noosa Shire, indicating that perhaps not all is well
in paradise, for young people, at least.
It would be drawing too long a bow to make too many conclusions
from relatively small-scale sampling but there are nevertheless
important pointers for both education organisations and society as
a whole. To see students consider turning their backs on further
education in favour of some manual labour occupations is not the
trend that needs to be evidenced in a region that is aiming to
become more knowledge-driven.
The University's numbers are trending upward, as are the OP
scores. With the recent higher education Reforms, more places in
more subjects, including secondary education for the first time,
will be on offer next year. Hence there are plenty of opportunities
for students to invest in their future careers, persist with some
more study, and over their working life-span increase their earning
capacity and probable quality of life in the societies that are
ahead of us.
More Brisbane and interstate students are becoming interested in
this University, but whilst we allocate places on merit, we'd still
like to see a majority of places going to Sunshine Coast students,
for whom the University was established - it is currently 75 per
cent.
We are doing a good deal to encourage participation and it may
be that local Councils could be more active in encouraging youth to
attend higher and further education. The Gold Coast, for example,
has a much stronger Council commitment to lifelong learning,
education and knowledge advancement than all our Coast Councils
combined.
The thousands who enter USC each year are often the first in the
family to attend University (47 per cent), or are from a low
socio-economic background (42 per cent). So there is plenty of
scope to support students.
Most of our students want to stay on the Coast, close to the
support of family and friends who'll help them to succeed. Such
students are needed on the Coast.
Next year is the first of an important growth phase for the
University and it would be inspirational if more and more help were
provided to those students who remain indecisive about their
futures. USC is the place to be!
Professor Paul Thomas is Vice-Chancellor of University of
the Sunshine Coast