Rural and Regional Students' Perceptions of Schooling and Factors that Influence Their Aspirations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47381/aijre.v26i2.64Keywords:
aspiration, attendance, friends, rural, school completion, teacher supportAbstract
Based on a sample of over 3000 primary and secondary school students located in regional and rural schools in Tasmania (Australia) this research had three aims: to identify (1) students' self-perceptions of schooling with a focus on high school completion (referred to as school retention); (2) if gender, socio-economic factors, level of school absenteeism, and school setting (primary or secondary) influenced the students' responses; and (3) which factors had the greatest influence on the students' aspirations to continue their schooling. A 42-item survey produced eight factors: (1) Teacher Support, (2) Aspirations, (3) School Organisation, (4) English Ability, (5) Maths Ability, (6) Friends, (7) Other Activities, and (8) Career Goals. Higher levels of absenteeism, lower socio-economic status, and transitioning to secondary school reduced scores on the factors. Girls had higher scores for three factors: (1) Teacher Support, (2) English Ability, and (3) Aspirations. Regression analysis identified Friends, English and Mathematics Ability, Other Activities, and Teacher Support as the 'best predictors' of students' aspiration to continue schooling. The implications of the significant findings for school practice are discussed with recommendations for interventions.References
Abbott-Chapman, J. (2011). Making the most of the mosaic: Facilitating post-school transitions to higher education of disadvantaged students. Australian Educational Researcher, 38(1), 57–71.
Alloway, N. (2000). Exploring boys’ literacy performance at school: Incorporating and transcending gender. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 1(3), 333–337.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013a). Australian Social Trends, April 2013, Report No. 4102.0. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features40April+2013
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013b). Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 5 – Remoteness Structure, Australia, July 2011. Cat. No. 1270.0.55.005. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, ABS (2014). Schools, Australia, 2013. Cat. No. 4221.0. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved from http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/BB371F975498C9D7CA257CA00011DB22/$File/att3250h.pdf
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2012). My school: Guide to understanding ICSEA. Sydney: Author.
Baeck, U-D. K., & Paulsgaard, G. (2012). Rural futures? Finding one’s place within changing labour markets. Stamsund, Norway: Orkana Akademisk.
Barber, B., & Olsen, J. (2004). Assessing the transitions to middle and high school. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19(1), 3–30.
Beal, S. J., & Crockett, L. J. (2010). Adolescents’ occupational and educational aspirations and expectations: Links to high school activities and adult educational attainment. Developmental Psychology, 46(1), 258–265.
Behnke, A. O., Piercy, K. W., & Diversi, M. (2004). Educational and occupational aspirations of Latino youth and their parents. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 26(1), 16–35.
Blömeke, S., Suhl, U., Kaiser, G., & Döhrmann, M. (2012). Family background, entry selectivity and opportunities to learn: What matters in primary teacher education? An international comparison of fifteen countries. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28, 44–55.
Bradley, D., Noonan, P., Nugent, H., & Scales, B. (2008). Review of Australian higher education: Final report. Canberra: Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Retrieved from: http://www.deewr.gov.au/he_review_finalreport.
Brown, D. I., & Schafft, K. A. (2011). Rural people and communities in the 21st century: Resilience and transformation. Malden, MA: Polity.
Cavanagh, R. (2009). Applying a unified theory of validity: Identifying evidence for validity arguments in an investigation of student engagement in classroom learning. Refereed paper in P. Jeffrey (Ed.), Proceedings of the Australian Association for Research in Education annual conference, Nov-Dec. Canberra: AARE. Available at http://www.aare.edu.au/publications-database.php/5841/applying-a-unified-theory-of-validity-identifying-evidence-for-validity-arguments-in-an-investigatio
Cavanagh, R., & Waugh, R. (2004). Secondary school renewal: The effect of classroom learning culture on educational outcomes. Learning Environments Research, 7, 245–269.
Centre for Adolescent Health. (2006). Adolescent health and social environments program. Melbourne: Author.
Darling-Hammond, L. (2012). Powerful teacher education: Lessons from exemplary programs. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.
Gale, T., Parker, S., Rodd, P., Stratton, G., Sealey, T., & Moore, T. (2013). Student aspirations for higher education in Central Queensland: A survey of school students’ navigational capacities. Melbourne: Centre for Research in Education Futures and Innovations.
Gemici, S., Bednarz, A., Karmel, T., & Lim, P. (2014). The factors affecting the educational and occupational aspirations of young Australians. Adelaide: National Centre for Vocational Education Research.
Goetz, T., Bieg, M., Lüdtke, O., Pekrun, R., & Hall, N. (2013). Do girls really experience more anxiety in mathematics? Psychological Science, August 28, 1–9.
Gonski, D. M. (2011). Review of funding for schooling: Final report. Canberra: Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
Goodenow, C., & Grady, K. (1993). The relationship of school belonging and friends’ values to academic motivation among urban adolescent students. The Journal of Experimental Education, 62(1), 60–70.
Hattie, J. (2008). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York: Routledge.
Hay, I., Callingham, R., & Carmichael, C. (2015). Interest, self-efficacy, and academic achievement in a statistics lesson. In K.A. Renninger, M. Nieswandt, & S. Hidi (Eds.), Interest in mathematics and science learning and related activity (pp.173–188). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
Hay, I., Wright, S. E., Watson, J. M., Allen, J. M., Beswick, K., Cranston, N. C. (2016). Parent-child connectedness for schooling and students’ performance and aspirations: An exploratory investigation. International Journal of Educational Research, 50–61.
Hopwood, B., Hay, I., & Dyment. J. (2014). Literacy and students’ transition into secondary school. In N. Fitzallen, R. Reaburn & S. Fan (Eds.), The future of educational research: Perspectives from beginning researchers (pp. 291–300). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
James, R. (2002). Socioeconomic background and higher education participation: An analysis of school students’ aspirations and expectations. Melbourne: Centre of Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne.
James, R., Wyn, J., Baldwin, G., Hepworth, G., McInnis, C., & Stephanou, A. (1999). Rural and isolated school students and their higher education choices. A re-examination of student location, socioeconomic background, and educational advantages and disadvantages. Commissioned Report No. 62. Melbourne: National Board of Employment, Education and Training Higher Education Council, Centre for the Study of Higher Education and Youth Research Centre, The University of Melbourne.
Khoo, S., & Ainley, J. (2005). Attitudes, intentions and participation. LSAY Research Reports. Longitudinal surveys of Australian youth research report, n. 41. Melbourne: Australian Council for Educational Research.
Kilpatrick, S., & Abbott-Chapman, J. (2002). Rural young people’s work/study priorities and aspirations: The influence of family social capital. Australian Educational Researcher, 29(1), 43–68.
Kong, C-K. (2008). Classroom learning experiences and students’ perceptions of quality of school life. Learning Environments Research, 11(2), 111–129.
Lamb, S., & Rice, S. (2008). Effective strategies to increase school completion report. Melbourne: The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Youth Transitions Division.
Lamb, S., Walstab, A., Teese, R., Vickers, M., & Rumberger, R. (2004). Staying at school: Improving student retention in Australia. Melbourne: Centre for Post-compulsory Education and Lifelong Learning.
Lazarides, R., & Watt, H. M. (2015) Girls’ and boys’ perceived mathematics teacher beliefs, classroom learning environments and mathematical career intentions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 41, 51–61.
LevpuÅ¡Äek, M. P., ZupanÄiÄ, M., & SoÄan, G. (2012). Predicting achievement in mathematics in adolescent students: The role of individual and social factors. Journal of Early Adolescence, 20(10), 1–29.
Lynch, M., & Cicchetti, D. (1997). Children’s relationships with adults and peers: An examination of elementary and junior high school students. Journal of School Psychology, 35(1), 81–99.
McNeely, C. A., Nonnemaker, J. M., & Blum, R. W. (2002). Promoting school connectedness: Evidence from the national longitudinal study of adolescent health. Journal of School Health, 72(4), 138-146.
Norrie, H., Englund, R., Stoklosa, T., & Wells, D. (2014). Survival and revival of rural and regional towns. Proceedings of the Australian Regional Development Conference, 15–17 October 2014, (pp. 89-105), Albury-Wodonga.
NSW Department of Education. (2014). The case for career-related learning in primary schools. Sydney: Author. Retrieved from https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/vetinschools/documents/schooltowork/Career-Related_Learning_in_Primary_Schools_2014%20.pdf
NSW Department of Education. (2015) Teaching workforce supply and demand. Sydney: Author. Retrieved from https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/about-us/statistics-and-research/key-statistics-and-reports/workforce-plan-4-school-teachers.pdf
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Programme for International Student Assessment, Monitoring and Skills in the New Millennium. (2005, December). Student questionnaire for PISA 2006. Main study, no-notes version, OECD PISA. Retrieved from http://www.pisa.oecd.org/dataoecd/58/4/39736546.pdf
Reddy, R., Rhodes, J., & Mulhall, P. (2003). The influence of teacher support on student adjustment in the middle school years: A latent growth curve study. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 119–138.
Regional Development Australia, Tasmania. (2012). RDA Tasmania Regional Plan 2012–13. Hobart: Author.
Rosenfeld, L., Richman, J., & Bowen, G. (2000). Social support networks and school outcomes: The centrality of the teacher. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 17(3), 205–226.
Semo, R., & Karmel, T. (2011). Social capital and youth transitions: do young people’s networks improve their participation in education and training? Adelaide: National Centre for Vocational Education Research.
Sheldon, S. (2007). Improving student attendance with school, family, and community partnerships. The Journal of Educational Research, 100(5), 267–275.
Sikora, J., & Saha, L. J. (2011). Lost talent? The occupational ambitions and attainments of young Australians. Adelaide: National Centre for Vocational Research. Retrieved from http://www.ncver.edu.au/publications/2313.html.
Simmons, N., & Hay, I. (2010). Early adolescents’ friendship patterns in middle school: Social-emotional and academic implications. The Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 27(2), 59–69.
Stearns, E., Moller, S., Blau, J., & Potochnick, S. (2007). Staying back and dropping out: The relationship between grade retention and school drop out. Sociology of Education, 80(3), 210-240.
Stewart, A., & Abbott-Chapman, J. (2011). Remote island students’ post-compulsory retention: Student emplacement and displacement as factors influencing educational participation and persistence. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 6(6), 1–16.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Tasmanian Council of Social Services. (2007). An unfair state? Poverty, disadvantage and exclusion in Tasmania. Battery Point, TAS: Author.
Tieken, M. C. (2014). Why rural schools matter. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press.
Trusty, J. (2000). High educational expectations and low achievement: Stability of educational goals across adolescence. The Journal of Educational Research, 93(6), 356–365.
Watson, A., Kehler, M., & Martino, W. (2010). The problem of boys’ literacy underachievement: Raising some questions. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 53, 356–361.
Watson, J., Allen, J., Beswick, K., Cranston, N., Hay, I., Wright, S., & Kidd, L. (2013). Issues related to students’ decisions to remain in school beyond Year 10. Youth Studies Australia, 32(2), 21–29.
Woolley, G. (2011). Reading comprehension. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer International.
Downloads
Published
Versions
- 01-07-2016 (2)
- 15-11-2016 (1)
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2016 Australian and International Journal of Rural Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors contributing to The Australian and Internation Journal of Rural Education agree to publish their articles under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 license, allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, for any purpose, even commercially, under the condition that appropriate credit is given, that a link to the license is provided, and that you indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
Authors retain copyright of their work, with first publication rights granted to The Australian and Internation Journal of Rural Education.
Manuscripts submitted for publication should not have been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. It is the responsibility of authors to secure release of any copyright materials included in their manuscripts, and to provide written evidence of this to the editors.
Papers are accepted on the understanding that they are subject to editorial revision. The Editorial Committee cannot guarantee that all contributions will be published nor give definite dates of publication. However, contributors will be advised if their papers are not accepted or if there will be a long publication delay.
