Already a subscriber?Poor school attendance and academic underachievement are the strongest predictors of a student dropping out before the end of year 12, more so than their family’s financial circumstances, gender or where they live, new research shows.
Anne Hampshire, head of research and advocacy at The Smith Family, said the vast majority of young people held the ambition to finish school, but“That’s a real opportunity as a nation to provide more support to help young people realise their goal and their ambition,” Ms Hampshire said.The most powerful indicators that young people were more likely to not complete year 12 included poor school attendance, low maths and English scores, not liking school and having health or mental health issues.
Importantly, 40 per cent of students who could not recall receiving careers advice left early, compared with 13 per cent who remembered speaking to a careers counsellor. It was the advice of a careers counsellor, who took a lot of interest in Cindy Nguyen and her academic abilities and passions, that resulted in her enrolling in mechanical engineering at Monash University where she is now in second year.
Source: Education Headlines (educationheadlines.net)