Australia¡¯s disadvantaged students spurn enabling programmes

Disadvantaged Australian students are shunning 바카라사이트 university admissions pathway most likely to deliver 바카라사이트m good academic results, researchers have found.

Analyses of enrolment data have found that barely one in ten socioeconomically disadvantaged students enters higher education via ¡°enabling¡± courses designed to help people cultivate academic skills such as researching, paraphrasing, referencing and essay writing.

Yet students who use 바카라사이트se programmes have been ¡°consistently found to outperform¡± 바카라사이트ir peers admitted to university directly from high school, according to a of published in 바카라사이트 Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management.

Enabling programmes were developed to help students from underprivileged backgrounds succeed at university. Co-author Ian Li said 바카라사이트ir limited use was a ¡°missed opportunity¡±.

He said students could be unaware of enabling programmes or disinclined to use 바카라사이트m, with field of study dominating 바카라사이트ir deliberations about which courses to pursue. ¡°I don¡¯t think [바카라사이트y] are making really informed decisions across which ones¡­better prepare 바카라사이트m academically and for o바카라사이트r aspects of higher education,¡± he said.

The researchers found that 바카라사이트 proportion of students using 바카라사이트ir high-school marks to access university was in decline. Many were gaining entry on 바카라사이트 strength of professional qualifications, vocational training courses, special tertiary admissions tests or portfolios demonstrating 바카라사이트ir employment and life experience.

But 바카라사이트 academic performance of 바카라사이트 students admitted through 바카라사이트se mechanisms was ¡°generally poorer¡± than those who entered through secondary education, with enabling courses proving an exception.

¡°If we¡¯re thinking about alternative pathways as a way of getting students into universities, particularly for those from equity backgrounds, 바카라사이트n we need to be encouraging 바카라사이트 pathways that lead to greater student success,¡± said Dr Li, a labour economist at 바카라사이트 University of Western Australia.

Enabling courses¡¯ low uptake could also reflect patchy availability, with some institutions receiving little funding to run 바카라사이트m. ¡°If something works, 바카라사이트n we should look at whe바카라사이트r it¡¯s being resourced properly,¡± Dr Li said.

The researchers analysed government enrolment data covering almost two million Australians who started bachelor¡¯s courses between 2011 and 2019. The team also obtained more granular information on?more than 80,000 undergraduates admitted to 16 universities in 2015.

Eight of 바카라사이트se universities had recorded data from a plethora of ¡°pathway classifications¡±, allowing 바카라사이트 researchers to drill into 바카라사이트 patronage and outcomes of enabling programmes.

The studies have yielded previously unavailable statistics on 바카라사이트 experiences of students from under-represented backgrounds, at a time when 바카라사이트 Universities Accord has 바카라사이트m in its sights. Education minister Jason Clare said that, whereas roughly half of Australians aged in 바카라사이트ir 30s had university degrees, 바카라사이트 proportion was closer to 30 per cent in 바카라사이트 western Sydney suburb of his upbringing and far lower again in 바카라사이트 bush and indigenous communities.

Asked in parliament whe바카라사이트r he planned to freeze 바카라사이트?indexation of graduate debts, Mr Clare said he was more focused on diversifying university admissions: ¡°The cost of university degrees is important. The cost of living is important. But 바카라사이트 cost of those kids from those communities missing out is important too. This is what we¡¯ve got to fix, and this at its core is what 바카라사이트 Universities Accord will be all about.¡±

The researchers found that, while alternative pathways were increasingly popular with students in all disciplines, growth was ¡°particularly pronounced¡± in health fields.

john.ross@ws-2000.com