Pathways or cul-de-sacs: the causes, impact and implications of part-time senior secondary study
The
Pathways Project investigated why a relatively high proportion of South
Australian students undertake their senior secondary studies part-time,
and explored the implications of this for the students and
their communities.
It was an Australian Research Council-funded Linkage project 2004–2007.
Chief investigators
- Prof Eleanor Ramsay
- Prof Alison Mackinnon
- Prof Marie Brennan
Postgraduate researcher
Research assistant
- Kirrilly Thompson
Industry partners
- Social Inclusion Unit
- Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia (now SACE)
- Department of Education and Children's Services
Project summary
| This project investigated the factors contributing to the relatively high proportion of SA students who undertake their senior secondary studies part-time, and explored the implications for the students and their communities in terms of educational and employment outcomes. It also mapped the geographic, gender and socioeconomic dimensions of this phenomenon and investigated whether there is a relationship between part-time senior secondary study, early school leaving and re-entry pathways. The project drew on recent state and national research, and educational policy analyses, together with qualitative and quantitative data analysis at the state and regional level, to enhance understandings of these issues and inform the development of educational and youth policy at the state and national levels. |
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Academic round table, 14 July 2006
Resources
Papers from this project
- Background paper: Eleanor Ramsay, 'Part-time senior secondary students in South Australian government secondary schools: a quantitatively derived picture of some key characteristics of the students and their schools'. (PDF 200 kb. Also available in Word 105 kb)
Related material
- Eleanor Ramsay, A new pathway for adult learners: evaluation of a school–university access pilot, DEST, 2004.
- Candice Oster, Alison Mackinnon and Jane Kenway, Staying or leaving? A report from the project 'Young women negotiating from the margins of education and work', 2005. (PDF 303 kb)
Other resources
- Social Inclusion Unit publications on school retention
- Smith Family publications on education and disadvantage
- Australian Council for Educational Research, Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY), 1996–2005
- Ministerial Council on Education, Employment Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) publications
- OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, PISA school factors related to quality and equity, 2005.
- OECD, Transition from initial education to working life: thematic review, country notes and related papers, 1996–2000.