The Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success acknowledges Indigenous peoples across Australia as the Traditional Owners of the lands on which the nation’s campuses are situated. With a history spanning more than 60,000 years as the original educators, Indigenous peoples hold a unique place in our nation. We recognise the importance of their knowledge and culture, and reflect the principles of participation, equity, and cultural respect in our work. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future, and consider it an honour to learn from our Indigenous colleagues, partners, and friends.

Enter website
Back to Publications
You are reading: Career guidance, school experiences and the university participation of young people from low socio-economic backgrounds

Wojtek Tomaszewski, Francisco Perales and Ning Xiang

Abstract

University participation is a strong predictor of labour market success, personal health and wellbeing, and positive social outcomes. We leverage contemporary longitudinal data from a representative Australian sample of students and event-history regression models to examine the associations between socio-economic background and students’ chances to enrol into University. We find evidence that low socio-economic background reduces the chances of University participation, whereas receipt of career guidance and positive school experiences increase these chances. Importantly, school factors more strongly predict subsequent University participation amongst young people from low socio-economic backgrounds. These findings suggest that policy initiatives aimed at improving school factors will result in expanded University enrolments, and smaller enrolment gaps between young people from advantaged and disadvantaged social strata.

Tomaszewski, Wojtek, Francisco Perales, and Ning Xiang. 2017. “Career guidance, school experiences and the university participation of young people from low socio-economic backgrounds.” International Journal of Educational Research. 85: 11-23. doi: 10.1016/j.ijer.2017.06.003

Download the full report:
ACSES Quote icon
Career-guidance-school-experiences-and-the-university.pdf
336 KB
Low SES Journal articles
Download the full report
Career guidance, school experiences and the university participation of young people from low socio-economic backgrounds
W Tomaszewski, F Perales, N Xiang, 2017
Featured publications
Equity Policy Options: Parity Targets, Final Report
ACSES​ , 2024
This report outlines policy options in relation to parity targets for four priority equity groups in Australian higher education – students from low SES backgrounds, First Nations Australian students, students with disability, and students from regional and remote Australia.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Disability
Indigenous university pathways, WIL and the strengthening of aspirations: Robbie’s journey as a learner
Garth Stahl, Sarah McDonald, Jennifer Stokes​ , 2023
A case study documenting the transition of one Indigenous student, Robbie, from an underprivileged school located in the Western suburbs of Sydney to an urban Australian university.
Indigenous
Journal articles
Student’s reported satisfaction at University: the role of personal characteristics and secondary school background
Ian W. Li, Denise Jackson, Paul Koshy ​ , 2024
This study addressed this topic in the Australian context using data from the annual Student Experience Survey (2016–2020 waves) with linkage to administrative records for 24,292 students from seven higher education institutions.
Featured
Journal articles
The Critical Interventions Framework Part 3: Programs and approaches that enable equity in higher education
Anna Bennett, Ryan Naylor, Jo Hanley, Jo Lewis, Cheryl Burgess​ , 2024
The Critical Interventions Framework Part 3 (CIF 3) focuses on evaluative studies which provide details of the impacts of specific interventions on equity groups in relation to access to and success in higher education.
General
Indigenous
More publications
Equity Policy Options: Parity Targets, Final Report
This report outlines policy options in relation to parity targets for four priority equity groups in Australian higher education – students from low SES backgrounds, First Nations Australian students, students with disability, and students from regional and remote Australia.
Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
Disability
Indigenous
Low SES
Low socioeconomic status
Regional, rural and remote
Regional and remote
Indigenous university pathways, WIL and the strengthening of aspirations: Robbie’s journey as a learner
A case study documenting the transition of one Indigenous student, Robbie, from an underprivileged school located in the Western suburbs of Sydney to an urban Australian university.
Indigenous
Journal articles
Student’s reported satisfaction at University: the role of personal characteristics and secondary school background
This study addressed this topic in the Australian context using data from the annual Student Experience Survey (2016–2020 waves) with linkage to administrative records for 24,292 students from seven higher education institutions.
Featured
Journal articles
Equity Practitioners
The Critical Interventions Framework Part 3: Programs and approaches that enable equity in higher education
Anna Bennett​ , The University of Newcastle​
The Critical Interventions Framework Part 3 (CIF 3) focuses on evaluative studies which provide details of the impacts of specific interventions on equity groups in relation to access to and success in higher education.
General
Indigenous
Low SES
Regional, rural and remote
Research Reports
Feature article