Improving post-school outcomes for rural school leavers.

A study of Year 10 leavers from rural high schools in Tasmania has found that school pressures to remain in Years 11 and 12 have not necessarily solved the post-school career dilemmas of rural youth. Indeed, despite growing numbers of VET options in schools, these are not being taken up significantly by younger students despite student and family aspirations for a `steady job' and job related training, within an increasingly depressed and casualised regional labour market. Implications of family support and community `social capital' in negotiating a way through the trials and errors of the work/study mosaic are discussed in relation to national policy frameworks.

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Background and significance of the research

The main aim of the research to be discussed in this paper was to assess the impact of increasing vocational education and training (VET) options within high schools upon the post-school study and employment outcomes of rural school leavers. The research, supported by an Australian Research Council (small) grant, was conducted in 1999, in Tasmania, which has a highly dispersed and economically depressed rural population (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1999). Despite significant gains over the last decade, the Year 12 completion rate in Tasmania at 66.7 per cent is substantially lower than national average at 72.3 per cent, and second lowest of the states and territories after the Northern Territory (ABS, 2000). The relatively low rates of Year 12 completion and high rates of unemployment of rural school leavers, especially in the north and north-west of the state, have been a continuing cause of concern among teachers and educators since the early 1980s (Abbott-Chapman, Hughes, & Wyld, 1986b) and were the subject of a longitudinal study to identify factors which might encourage educational participation (Abbott-Chapman, Hughes, & Wyld 1986a, 1991). If entry into VET, apprenticeships and other on-the-job training are included in statistics, however, Tasmanian retention rates are considerably improved. The participation rate of young people of low socio-economic and rural backgrounds in the VET sector is higher than that of their more affluent and urban counterparts, and is a reflection of a national trend (Fullarton & Ainley, 2000). National policy initiatives in the 1990s (AEC, 1991) which aimed to draw together the academic and vocational learning `pathways' at the post-compulsory (post Year 10) level recognised this.

Young people in Tasmania who wish to continue their studies after Year 10 must generally move to one of the eight senior secondary colleges around the state, located in Hobart (4), Launceston (2), Burnie (1) and Devonport (1). For students from rural and isolated areas, this often means a move away from home to live in student residences or to board with relatives. This move away from home and local community may act as an additional deterrent to rural youth with regard to further academic study (Choate, Cunningham, Abbott-Chapman, & Hughes, 1992; National Board, 1991). The Tasmanian Department of Education has introduced a number of initiatives over recent years within the comprehensive (rural) district high schools (K to 10), in an attempt to overcome this barrier and to retain young people in education and training. These include the introduction in some rural schools of Year 11 and 12 courses for the Tasmanian Certificate of Education (TCE), and most recently some VET options as an alternative to TCE. Efforts in this regard have been intensified since the study by the Tasmanian Department of Education (1998) showed that direct retention from Year 10 to Year 11 remains the lowest of any state, and within Tasmania is lowest in the rural north and north west. Although it is perhaps too early to be able to assess the full impact of VET in schools on post-school outcomes, the current research was designed to monitor from the outset student choices and responses to these new options. The study was also conducted in tandem with others of the Centre for Research and Learning in Regional Australia which focus upon the national impact on regional Australia of emerging vocational education and training priorities (Falk & Kilpatrick, 1999, 2000).

The Australian Student Traineeship Foundation's (1999) report for the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs urges a change towards an integrated, coherent approach to post-compulsory learning and working opportunities in ways which will make post-secondary education and training more accessible to all young Australians. The Australian national training strategy, A bridge to the future (Australian National Training Authority, 1998) also recognises that access to opportunities for further education and training is limited for those living in remote and rural communities, and urges the development and delivery of new learning pathways and targeted education and training options in ways which are appropriate to them and their aspirations.

Vocational education and training in schools is recognised by national VET policy documents such as A bridge to the future as a way of tackling the training needs of young people making the transition from school to work (Lamb, Long, & Malley, 1998). In addition, the training opportunities may offer a second chance to those returning to school. In some rural schools in northern Tasmania, the majority of those enrolled in VET programs are aged over 19 years (Kilpatrick, Bell, & Kilpatrick, 2000). This suggests that there has been an unmet demand for education and training in rural communities which is now being satisfied by the mix of training options. Golding and Volkoff (1998) suggest that there are significant social as well as educational outcomes for individuals, families and communities beyond any employment outcomes that may follow acquisition of VET qualifications. These outcomes include improved individual and community self-confidence, and acquisition and/or development of skills which are used in community groups to benefit others.

Recognising that employers want both qualifications and work experience, a large majority of students in VET courses hold full- or part-time jobs. However most see their jobs as …