Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

School Dropout and Completion in Australia

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
School Dropout and Completion

Abstract

In 2008, the newly elected federal government in Australia announced a national target of a 90% Year 12 (final school year) completion rate to be achieved by the year 2020, later brought forward to 2015 (Council of Australian Governments [COAG], 2009).1 This announcement follows the commitment of federal and state governments over recent years to a new National Reform Agenda, which includes the goal to significantly improve the proportion of young people making a smooth transition from school to further study and work (COAG, 2006). Increasing the rates of Year 12 completion is viewed as one of the main ways of improving the chances of young Australians making a smooth transition from school to work.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The target is for 90% completion of Year 12 or equivalent qualifications which includes vocational certificates treated as equivalent to Year 12 school certificates. References to Year 12 completion in the chapter are taken to include ‘equivalent’ qualifications.

  2. 2.

    Only the state of New South Wales maintains a certificate at the end of the compulsory phase of schooling.

  3. 3.

    Figures derived by Stephen Lamb from data provided by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training.

  4. 4.

    Figures derived by Anne Walstab from the Australian Vocational Education and Training Management Information Statistical Standard for 2004.

References

  • Asquith Group (2005). Review of Managed Individual Pathways in government schools. Report for Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. Retrieved from http://www.­eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/postcomp/mipsreview2006.doc

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2007). Schools Australia 2006. Catalogue No. 4221.0. Canberra: ABS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2008a). Schools Australia 2007. Catalogue No. 4221.0. Canberra: ABS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2008b). Australian social trends 2008. Catalogue No. 4102.0. Canberra: ABS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2009). Labour force Australia. Catalogue No. 6202.0. Time Series Spreadsheets. ABS: Canberra.

    Google Scholar 

  • Centre for Skill Formation Research and Development (CSF). (1993). After competence: The future of post-compulsory education and training (Vol. 1). Brisbane: Griffith University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Commonwealth Tertiary Education Commission (CTEC). (1982). Learning and earning. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Council of Australian Governments (COAG). (2006). Council of Australian Governments meeting, 14 July 2006, Communiqué. Retrieved from http://www.coag.gov.au/coag_meeting_outcomes/2006–07–14/docs/coag140706.pdf

  • Council of Australian Governments (COAG). (2009). Council of Australian Governments meeting, 30 April 2009, Communiqué. Retrieved from http://www.coag.gov.au/coag_meeting_outcomes/2009–04–30/docs/20090430_communique.rtf

  • Department of Family and Community Services. (2002). Youth Allowance evaluation. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dusselldorp Skills Forum. (1999, August). Key indicators 1999: How young people are faring.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeland, J. (1996). Citizenship postponed: Young people and an active citizenship. In J. Spierings, I. Voorendt, & J. Spoehr (Eds.), Jobs for young Australians. Adelaide: Social Justice Research Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldman, J. D., & Bradley, G. L. (1996). A profile of Australian high school dropouts who return to school. Studies in the Education of Adults, 28(2), 185–210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldman, J. D., & Bradley, G. L. (1997). The educational experiences of Australian high school dropouts who return to school. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 16(1), 18–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Government of South Australia. (2009). Increase in school leaving age. Adelaide: Department of Education and Children Services. Retrieved July 29, 2009, from http://www.decs.sa.gov.au/community/pages/speced2/­leavingage/.

  • Hughes, K. L., Bailey, T. R., & Mechur, M. J. (2001). School-to-Work: Making a difference in education. A research report to America. New York: Institute on Education and the Economy, Teachers College, Columbia University. Retrieved from http://www.tc.columbia.edu/∼iee/PAPERS/Stw.pdf

  • Lamb, S. (1998). Completing school in Australia: Trends in the 1990s. Australian Journal of Education, 42(1), 5–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, S. (2008). Selective-entry schools: Time for a re-think. Professional Voice, 5(3), 17–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, S., Hogan D., & Johnson, T. (2001). The stratification of learning opportunities and achievement in Tasmanian secondary schools.Australian Journal of Education, 45(2),153–167.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, S., Long, M., & Baldwin, G. (2006). Performance of the Australian education and training system.Report for the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet. Retrieved from http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/CA256D800027B102/Lookup/CommonwealthStateRelationsrep0rt/$file/perf%20of%20aust%20education.pdf

  • Lamb, S., & Mason, K. (2008). How young people are faring, 2008. Report for the Foundation for Young Australians. Melbourne: Foundation for Young Australians.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, S., & Rice, S. (2008). Effective interventions to increase school completion. Report for the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, S., & Teese, R. (2005). Equity programs for government schools in New South Wales: A review. Report for the New South Wales Department of Education and Training. Retrieved from https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/research/completedprojects/nswequityrev.pdf

  • Lamb, S., & Vickers, M. (2006). Variations in VET provision across Australian schools and their effects on student outcomes. Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth Research Report No. 48. Melbourne: Australian Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamb, S., Walstab, A., Teese, R., Vickers, M., & Rumberger, R. (2004). Staying on at school: Improving student retention in Australia. Brisbane: Ministerial Council on Employment, Education and Training and the Queensland Department of Education: Brisbane. Retrieved from www.mceetya.edu.au/verve/_resources/studentretention_main_file.pdf

  • Lewis, P. E. T., & McLean, B. (1998, November). The youth labour in Australia. Paper presented to the Productivity Commission workshop on youth unemployment, Australian National University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Long, M., Carpenter, P., & Hayden, M. (1999). Participation in education and training 1980–1994. Longitduinal Surveys of Australian Youth Research Report No. 13. Melbourne: Australian Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • McMillan, J., & Marks, G. (2003). School leavers in Australia: Profiles and pathways.Longitduinal Surveys of Australian Youth Research Report No. 31. Melbourne: Australian Council for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mertens, D. M., Seitz, P., & Cox, S. (1982). Vocational education and the high school dropout. Columbus, OH: National Center for Research on Vocational Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED228297)

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, P., & Volker, P. (1989). Socioeconomic influences on educational attainment: evidence and implications for the tertiary education finance debate. Australian Journal of Statistics, 31A, 47–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rann, M. (2007). New school leaving age for South Australia. Statement by the Premier of South Australia. Retrieved from http://www.premier.sa.gov.au/news.php?id=1552&print=1

  • Steinberg, A. (1998). Real learning, real work: School-to-work as high school reform. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sweet, R. (1992). Can Finn deliver vocational competence? Unicorn, 18(1), 31–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sweet, R. (1995). Linking schools and workplaces: Lessons from Australia and overseas. Sydney: Australian Student Traineeship Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taskforce on Pathways in Education and Training. (1992). Information paper: Current and future trends in Victorian post-compulsory education and training. Melbourne: Department of School Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teese, R. (2002). Early leaving in Victoria: Geographical patterns, origins, and strategic issues. Melbourne: Educational Outcomes Research Unit, University of Melbourne.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teese, R., & Helme, S. (2007). Examination of the principles, concepts and definitions underpinning Year 12 standards in Australian states and territories.Report for the Australasian Curriculum, Assessment and Certification Authorities. University of Melbourne (unpublished report).

    Google Scholar 

  • Teese, R., Polesel, J., O’Brien, K., Jones, B., Davies, M., Walstab, A., & Maughan, A. (2000). Early school leaving: A review of the literature. Brisbane: Australian National Training Authority.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wooden, M. (1999). Impediments to the employment of young people. Leabrook: National Centre for Vocational Education Research.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Post-Compulsory Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia

    Stephen Lamb

Authors
  1. Stephen Lamb
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010, Victoria, Australia

    Stephen Lamb

  2. NIFU STEP, Wergelandsveien 7, Oslo, 0167, Norway

    Eifred Markussen

  3. , Centre for Post-Compulsory Education and, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010, Victoria, Australia

    Richard Teese

  4. Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010, Victoria, Australia

    John Polesel

  5. NIFU STEP, Wergelandsveien 7, Oslo, 0167, Norway

    Nina Sandberg

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Lamb, S. (2011). School Dropout and Completion in Australia. In: Lamb, S., Markussen, E., Teese, R., Polesel, J., Sandberg, N. (eds) School Dropout and Completion. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9763-7_18

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation