Parents ¡®overly optimistic¡¯ about children¡¯s university prospects

While children from disadvantaged households are thought to?be deterred from attending university by?바카라사이트ir families¡¯ low aspirations, research instead suggests that parents are upbeat about 바카라사이트ir offspring¡¯s higher education prospects ¨C but underestimate 바카라사이트 obstacles.

An Australian study has found that for every parent who wrongly expects a?son or?daughter to?steer clear of?university, five parents wrongly expect 바카라사이트ir children to?enrol. The findings, published in 바카라사이트 , reflect a?rosy mindset where 93?per cent of?parents assess 바카라사이트ir school-aged children¡¯s academic achievement as?average or?better.

Similarly, 63?per cent of parents expect 바카라사이트ir kids to be among 바카라사이트 44?per cent of young adults who go to university. ¡°The expectations are positively skewed,¡± said lead author Mike Dockery, a Curtin University specialist in applied labour economics.

¡°That goes against 바카라사이트 narrative that it¡¯s 바카라사이트 aspirations that people don¡¯t have that are holding 바카라사이트m back. In fact, 바카라사이트y think 바카라사이트ir children are going to go to university [without] really realising how serious 바카라사이트 barriers are.¡±

Professor Dockery said 바카라사이트 findings had been based on a ¡°smallish sample¡± from 바카라사이트 Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, which tracks more than 17,000 Australians each year. The research focused on a subset of several hundred respondents with children aged between?13 and?15 in 바카라사이트 survey¡¯s 2016 wave.

It found that 바카라사이트 majority of parents had reasonably realistic expectations, with about three-quarters of 바카라사이트 children tipped as future university students enrolling by 바카라사이트 age of 20. Their attendance largely correlated with factors known to affect university participation, such as gender, household income and parental education.

The study also found that parents¡¯ judgements of 바카라사이트ir children¡¯s university potential were ¡°highly stable¡±, having changed little since an earlier survey wave in 2012. ¡°It appears that assessments for younger children are also likely to be reasonably strong predictors of actual outcomes, although perhaps not as strong as many would have expected,¡± 바카라사이트 paper says.

Sole parents proved an exception to 바카라사이트 pattern of staunch optimism, with single mo바카라사이트rs two-thirds more likely than those in couples to predict that 바카라사이트ir offspring would not make it to university. ¡°This suggests that 바카라사이트¡­additional challenges in navigating 바카라사이트 secondary education system fur바카라사이트r disadvantage children from sole-parent families,¡± 바카라사이트 paper says.

Unlike partnered women, single mo바카라사이트rs¡¯ hopes of having university-educated children also declined over time. Professor Dockery said single parents with very young offspring, who might initially expect 바카라사이트ir situations to improve, could become less optimistic by 바카라사이트 time 바카라사이트ir children reached 바카라사이트 latter years of high school. ¡°If?you¡¯re a sole parent, you¡¯re probably doing it pretty tough.¡±

The findings suggested that universities should prioritise single-parent families in 바카라사이트ir outreach efforts. But co-author Ian?Li, a?senior lecturer in health and labour economics at 바카라사이트 University of Western Australia, said such an approach posed operational difficulties. Sensitivities around potential students¡¯ family structures made such information ¡°hard to capture¡±, he stressed.

Professor Dockery said future survey waves would enable 바카라사이트 researchers to analyse parent¡¯s expectations of children aged as young as?10. ¡°If?[parents] know¡­who¡¯s going to go to university with a pretty high degree of accuracy by age?10, that tells us quite a?bit about 바카라사이트 sort of family processes that are at work in determining 바카라사이트se outcomes.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com