School's out - what next? Publications
Publication Details
This study looked at the destinations of young New Zealanders after they left school. It considered the likelihood of a student choosing a destination from a range of post-secondary school activities—no further study, targeted training, lower-level certificate study, industry training, Modern Apprenticeships, and non-degree study at level 4 or above—diplomas and certificates at level 4.
Author(s): Ralf Engler, Tertiary Sector Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education.
Date Published: June 2011
Summary
This study looked at the destinations of young New Zealanders after they left school. It considered the likelihood of a student choosing a destination from a range of post-secondary school activities—no further study, targeted training, lower-level certificate study, industry training, Modern Apprenticeships, and non-degree study at level 4 or above—diplomas and certificates at level 4.
These post-secondary activities were considered against the students’ highest level of school achievement, gender, ethnicity, the decile of the last school attended, and the students’ residential location while at school.
The study population consisted of 19 year-old students who had left school, who gained some credits in the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) at school but less than NCEA level 3, and who did not meet the university entrance requirement.
No single factor can explain the choices made by students. School achievement, gender, ethnicity and school decile need to be considered together to explain the post-secondary choices made by students.
The most likely destinations…
The study found that overall, 36 per cent of these students with lower levels of school achievement do not go on to further study, this being the most likely destination for these school leavers. Students with NCEA level 2 were about as likely, at 33 per cent, to go on to diploma-level study as to not go on to further study. But there was no difference between students with the lowest levels of school achievement—those who did, and did not, gain NCEA level 1—in terms of their most likely post-secondary activity. In each case, no further study was the most likely activity.
In contrast, 82 per cent of students who gained NCEA level 3 and who met the university entrance requirement progress on to bachelors-level study after leaving school, and just 9 per cent were not involved in further study.
Students who gained NCEA level 1…
Students who gained NCEA level 1 were more likely than students with other levels of school achievement to be involved in industry training. This was especially true for male European students, where industry training was the most likely activity for students with this level of school achievement. This is probably due to the fact that European males are more likely to leave school for work in industries that offer industry training.
Ethnic group differences…
Asian students generally showed the highest likelihoods of going on to diploma-level study, while Māori students showed the lowest likelihoods. For Māori, no further study was the most preferred option after leaving school, for males and females, and for students from higher- and lower-decile schools. In contrast, female Pasifika students were more likely than male Pasifika students to go on to diploma-level study if they gained NCEA level 2. Pasifika males with NCEA level 2 were most likely not to go on to further study.
Students who indicated Māori as their only ethnic group had a lower likelihood of going on to diploma-level study than students who indicated Māori plus another ethnic group. The reverse was true for European students—those who indicated European as their only ethnic group were more likely to go on to study a diploma than a person who indicated they were European plus another ethnic category.
School decile and gender…
Generally, students from higher-decile schools, and females, were more likely to go on to diploma-level study than students from lower-decile schools, or males, respectively. However, for students who gained NCEA level 2, Asian students from lower-decile schools, and Asian male students, were more likely to study at diploma-level than students of other ethnic groups with the same characteristics.
Residential location…
Students from more isolated residential areas were more likely to be involved in industry training than students from urban areas, whereas those from urban areas were more likely to study at diploma-level, compared with students from minor urban and more rural locations.
Students who went to school in Auckland, compared to students from other locations, were more likely to not go on to further study if they did not achieve NCEA level 1. On the other hand, students who went to school in Wellington, compared to students from other locations, were more likely not to go on to further study if they achieved NCEA level 2 at school.
Navigation
Contact Us
For more information about the content on this webpage, please email the: Tertiary Mailbox