opening page ornament

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: Overcoming adversity among low SES: A study of strategies for retention

Written by Ameera Karimshah, Dr Marianne Wyder, Associate Professor Paul Henman, Dwight Tay, Elizabeth Capelin, and Dr Patricia Short

Students from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds are underrepresented in higher education (Chapman, 2004; Coates & Kraus, 2005; James, 2007; DEET & NBEET, 1990; DEEWR, 2008). Several higher education reforms in Australia have tried to redress this issue. In 1990, student equity became a national priority alongside the introduction of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme) (HECS). Despite these efforts, however, the proportion of low SES students in higher education remained relatively unchanged (Chapman, 2004; Coates & Kraus, 2005; James, 2007; DEET & NBEET, 1990; DEEWR, 2008). Indeed, as recently as 2008, the Review of Australian Higher Education (The Bradley Review) suggested that a low SES background remained one of the main barriers to accessing higher education and that students from low SES groups were more likely to drop out of university (DEEWR, 2008). In response to the Bradley Review, different funding initiatives were established to enhance the participation of low SES students. Universities now have recruitment and retention strategies aimed at low SES students (DEEWR, 2009). In 2009, the Australian government promised to invest $437 million to improve income support for students from low SES backgrounds (DEEWR, 2009). In addition, the cap on Commonwealth supported places has been removed. It was argued that the capping of university places stems from an elitist view which limits the chances of lower SES students to enter higher education (Bowers-Brown, 2006).

Read more: Overcoming adversity among low SES students: a study of strategies for retention

Karimshah, A., Wyder, M., Henman, P., Tay, D., Capelin, E., and Short, P. (2013), “Overcoming adversity among low SES: A study of strategies for retention” in Australian Universities’ Review Vol. 55, No. 2, pp. 5-14.
Download the full report:
ACSES Quote icon
Overcoming-adversity-among-low-SES-students.pdf
200 KB
General Low SES Journal articles
Download the full report
Overcoming adversity among low SES: A study of strategies for retention
A Karimshah, M Wyder, P Henman, D Tay, E Capelin, P Short, 2013
Featured publications
The Intersection of Geography, Topography and Mindset
Susan Webb, Reshmi Lahiri-Roy, Elizabeth Knight, Paul Koshy ​ , 2024
A Nuanced Understanding of Regional, Rural and Remote Students’ Tertiary Participation in Australia.
Equity Practitioners
Regional, rural and remote
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.
Equity Practitioners
Featured
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
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
The Intersection of Geography, Topography and Mindset
A Nuanced Understanding of Regional, Rural and Remote Students’ Tertiary Participation in Australia.
Equity Practitioners
Regional, rural and remote
Regional and remote
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.
Equity Practitioners
Featured
Journal articles
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
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