TAFE, university or work? The early preferences and choices of students in Years 10, 11 and 12

The project

This report investigates the attitudes and aspirations of school students regarding post-secondary education and work. It is based on data from a survey of over 7000 Year 10–12 students in three States. For comparative analysis, the project surveyed students across urban, rural and isolated locations and across all socioeconomic strata.

The research reveals appreciable differences in the attitudes of senior secondary students towards the post-school options of vocational education and training (VET), higher education or employment. Student intentions are strongly influenced by socioeconomic background, geographical location and gender. Difference in socioeconomic background, measured in this study by the highest level of education achieved by parents, is the major factor in student perspectives.

• Around 90 per cent of the sample reported they would prefer to undertake tertiary education after school. Higher education is the goal of most. The gap between higher education and VET is large: around two-thirds of students in the sample would prefer to go on to university, while only one-quarter reported a similar attraction for Technical and Further Education (TAFE).

• While there is evidence that ongoing learning is widely valued and seen as important for both personal and vocational reasons, many students do not find their school work motivating or satisfying.

• On the whole, the attitudes of students intending to enrol in a TAFE course are almost indistinguishable from those who plan to work. Prospective TAFE students reveal little of the educational or 'academic' orientation evident in students desiring to undertake higher education. TAFE applicants have shorter term objectives and are less likely to see personal relevance in further study.

• Work is not a highly favoured option. Well under ten per cent of students in the sample intended to work when they left school. This may reflect the dual effects of tight labour markets for school-leavers, in which low-status service occupations are often the only option, and sustained community confidence in post-secondary education as a means for personal development and career opportunity.

• Student attitudes towards their post-school options are strongly socially stratified. One-third of students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds expressed a preference for a TAFE course, compared with only 14 per cent of students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds.

• In a similar vein, only 14 per cent of students attending independent private schools intended to enrol in a TAFE course, compared with 23 per cent of students attending Catholic schools and 31 per cent attending government schools.

• In general, post-secondary education is seen as less relevant by rural/isolated students, particularly those from lower or medium socioeconomic backgrounds. The cost of higher education is a major deterrent and TAFE courses are viewed as more affordable. On average, rural students, especially those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, are significantly less likely than urban students to believe that a university course would offer them the chance of an interesting and rewarding career or that their parents want them to do a university course.

• In aggregate terms, females, young people from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and those living in urban areas are more likely to intend to enrol in a university course than their respective counterparts. On the other hand, students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, those living in rural or isolated areas, and males tend to express a greater preference for a TAFE course, though the majority of students in these subgroups still indicate a first preference for higher education. The students intending to commence work are similar in profile to those considering a TAFE course.

Implications of the findings

The young people surveyed reflect rather static public perceptions about the relative roles and status of the two post-secondary alternatives in Australia. While the level of commitment among young people to tertiary education and training is reassuring, the dominant interest in 'going on to uni' provides evidence that many school-leavers are poorly informed and unrealistic in their aspirations. VET does not have a high profile among school students, and TAFE courses do not enjoy the status associated with degree courses. Many young people may be unaware of the VET opportunities and outcomes available to them.

The historical juxtaposition of higher education and VET in Australia offers diverse post-secondary educational opportunities. Such diversity is essential for accommodating a wide variety of interests, expectations and capacities. Equally, however, a sharp higher education-VET dichotomy creates perceptions of a hierarchy of value that may inhibit appropriate choices.

Perhaps it is time for a significant reassessment of the negative effects of the current neo-binary model of tertiary education provision and opportunities. It seems likely that the national imperative of lifelong education will be best served by a highly flexible spectrum of education and training opportunities. If this is the case, then existing conceptions of higher education and VET may look increasingly irrelevant as people participate in short-and long-term educational opportunities at various stages in their lives and careers.

Continuing efforts to reduce the image problem borne by TAFE and VET in general will be valuable, as will efforts to reduce the perceived status/relevance differential between higher education and VET. It is simple, of course, to suggest the profile and status of VET should be raised, but far more difficult to identify the steps that might be taken. Some blurring of the boundaries and distinctions between higher education and VET is already occurring; however, sustaining marketing efforts might accelerate the breakdown of the present dichotomy into a more continuous spectrum of education and training opportunities.