Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemPolicy settings and school leavers' pathways and outcomes: a case study of student transition from a western suburban secondary school( 2000)The aim of this case study was to assess the outcomes of the school to post-school transition processes and experiences of the 'Year 7 Class of 1989' a decade after they had entered secondary school. Accessible school records of the year level were used to construct a 'school leaver profile' of 196 students who had progressed to year 9 in 1991. Questionnaires were sent to 100 past-students of the 'Year 7 Class of 1989' in March 1999. Fifty-seven questionnaires were sent to the group of 83 students who had completed year 12, and 43 questionnaires were sent to the students who had left school before completing year 12 and could be termed 'early school leavers'. The progression through school of the year level cohort was identified, using a computation method to identify the rate of early school leaving. This method identified the 'internal' retention rate of the 'Year 7 Class of 1989'. The 'internal' retention rate was compared with the 'apparent' retention rate used by state and national governments in post-compulsory education and training policy settings. The responses of the participants from the past-student survey were analysed to identify their school to post-school transition processes and experiences. This included their school to post-school engagement and re-engagement with various institutions of education and training and with employment. The post-school transition processes of the 'early school leavers' and completers were compared. The participant responses suggested that, whatever the level of education they had attained, their life experiences were similar. A critical analysis of their school to post-school transition processes used the metaphor of 'pathways' to reveal that the life experiences identified by the participants, contradicted the state and national policy settings. The outcomes suggest a need to realign the linear structure of the policy settings that propose that young people move from study to work sequentially. The responses from the participants revealed that they had negotiated a mix and an overlapping of study and work, across an extended period. The study suggests that the year level cohort of 'early school leavers' and completers of the post-1970 generation had made individual choices to re-engage in post-compulsory education, to improve their employment opportunities and lifestyle options. A new context of transition is proposed which recognises that young people's lives are multi-dimensional. Structural changes to the institutions of education and employment mean that young people are now required to negotiate individual journeys and unique 'pathways' which link flexible learning opportunities with their multidimensional and complex daily lives.