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Boys more likely to leave school early

Posted on:Friday, 8th October 1999

Boys are more likely than girls to leave school early, and this cannot be       fully explained by differences in academic achievement, attitudes to school       or aspirations, according to a study released by ACER today.

Around nine per cent of young people leave school before Year 11 – ten       per cent of boys and seven per cent of girls.

The report’s main author, Dr Gary Marks, said “Many boys who leave       school early obtain apprenticeships, which often provide a future career       path. However, the decision to leave school early without going onto an apprenticeship       or traineeship should be made with caution because the long term job prospects       for early school leavers without qualifications are not good.”

Among boys, those in regional and rural areas are more likely to leave school       early than those in major metropolitan areas. The reason for this difference       could not be fully explained by other factors such as school achievement       or social background.

The study also found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are       much more likely to leave school early. Twenty one percent of Aboriginal       and Torres Strait Islander students left school before Year 11, with a slightly       higher proportion of boys than girls. Their high rate of early school leaving       may be due to pessimism about their ability to remain at school, a lack of       encouragement to do so, or a feeling that remaining at school would not “pay       off” in terms of further education or better jobs.

“This shows that we should be making more of an effort to increase the       school retention rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.      It is an important issue because leaving school early increases the chance       of becoming unemployed and affects earning capacity,” Dr Marks, said

Of social background and school related factors, school achievement had the       largest influence on earlier school leaving.

The study also found that students of non-English speaking backgrounds are       less likely to leave school early, and students’ positive attitudes       to school decreased the likelihood of early school leaving.

More than 50 per cent of the students who leave school early say the main       reason they left was to find a job or apprenticeship. A further 13 per cent       said they left because they did not like school. Only a small proportion       indicated that financial factors were the main reason they had left school.

Over 70 per cent of early school leavers were working full time, a further       8 per cent were working part time and 11 per cent were looking for work.      However, there are some worrying signs in the labour market experiences of       early school leavers. The proportion of female school leavers working in       full-time jobs is much lower than that for males. Substantial proportions       of both sexes are working in the types of jobs where there are few opportunities       for training or career advancement.

The study was based on over 10 000 young people who were contacted annually       for three years since they were in Year 9 in 1995. It forms part of the Longitudinal       Surveys of Australian Youth research program, which is conducted by the Australian       Council for Educational Research and supported by the Commonwealth Department       of Education, Training and Youth Affairs.

Marks, Gary & Fleming, Nicole. (1999) Early         School Leaving in Australia: Findings from the 1995 Year 9 LSAY Cohort, Longitudinal Surveys of Australian       Youth, Research Report No. 11, Melbourne: ACER.

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