School leavers’ progression to bachelors-level study

2. Previous work

There are numerous studies that deal with the likelihood of studying at tertiary level and the factors that can affect this.

O’Connor (2009) found the interaction between socio-economic status and ethnicity as the most important factor explaining low enrolment rates by Hispanic students’ in United States community colleges. This was explained by a lack of information about higher education among Hispanic students and their parents.

Bowers-Brown (2006) found that United Kingdom children from lower socio-economic families were less likely to borrow money to fund their higher education, and that their achievement levels were lower. Their limited understanding of the unwritten conventions that define success in the majority culture led to a low expectation of studying at tertiary level.

Junor and Usher (2004) reported a link between academic performance and socio-economic circumstances in Canada. Children in low socio-economic families were more likely to have missed out on the kinds of family, school and community support that tend to foster academic achievement. Other factors included low socio-economic families being less well-informed about existing opportunities in post-secondary education (including the actual costs and availability of financial assistance) and less aware of the economic benefits. In their view, lower-income youth do not see post-secondary education as a genuine option, not only because of the cost (perceived or real), or their academic ability, but simply because it is not part of their world-view.

Lambert et al (2004) showed that participation in post-secondary education in Canada was positively related to the level of engagement in secondary school. In addition, parental educational attainment and the values parents place on post-secondary education were also thought to be important. ‘Parents with post-secondary credentials may provide greater levels of parental involvement, increased expectations and attitudes for academic success and increased familiarity with the post-secondary education process and experience. Additionally the value parents place on education may be transmitted by actively providing an environment conducive to educational attainment.’

Davis-Kean and Sexton (2009) reported that United States parents’ beliefs and expectations regarding achievement exert a strong influence on children’s outcomes. Parental education levels were a major factor in this.

Bélanger et al (2009) using Canadian data, also found this. They reported that parents’ education, peer and school role models, and the students’ own ability and achievement were important in the likelihood of a student aspiring to higher education. More highly educated parents provide greater encouragement, and are more engaged in school work and extracurricular activities, and they speak with a set of assumptions that positively affect their children. Peers with higher educational aspirations were influential in determining a student’s own plans. In addition, a benefit of attending private (or in New Zealand terms, high decile) schools was that students developed close friendships with other students planning to further their study, which in turn influenced aspirations. Finally, Bélanger et al cite incidental and opportunity structures as also being important. These include such factors as family structure, urban-rural residence, gender, visible minority status, education costs, hours of employment, and local and global economic conditions.

Cooper (2009) also reported that the lack of financial capital and concerns about finance negatively influenced students’ aspirations for college in the US. In addition, while a college-going culture is created in high schools for select students (advanced academic tracks, higher income), for at-risk students (lower academic tracks, lower income) college-awareness activities are often not provided in the classroom.

In New Zealand, Chapple (2000) wrote that social status arising from one’s parents, family and other peers has an influence on decision-making, and that social ostracism was an important consideration for people. In other words, if parents and peers do not value education and socio-economic success, any individual who aspires to academic success stands to lose social status by acquiring it. Māori may also lack information on how to succeed in socio-economic terms as a consequence of their social networks. In his conclusions on labour market outcomes, Chapple finds it is sole-Māori² with low literacy, poor education and living in geographical concentrations of Māori who experience labour market problems, not the Māori ethnic group as a whole.

In a longitudinal analysis of the Christchurch Health and Development study (CHDS) dataset, Fergusson et al (2008) found that, in New Zealand, socio-economic status at birth and educational outcomes were highly correlated. However, their results showed that socio-economic status and social class were not simply related to differences in access to economic resources, but rather, reflected consistent differences in values, attitudes and behaviours. In their study cohort at least, material conditions played little role in educational disadvantage. The major factors involved were individual cognitive ability, child behaviour, and family aspirations.

In contrast, Marie et al (2008), also using the CHDS cohort, showed that the origins of under-achievement for Māori were, for the most part, explained by their exposure to family socio-economic disadvantage in childhood, rather than by factors relating to cultural identity. In their view, the factors that placed young Māori at an educational disadvantage clearly overlapped and were similar to the factors that led to educational disadvantage amongst non-Māori. This study also used the ethnic categories of sole-, mixed and never-Māori.

Leslie et al (2002) found admission into Britain’s higher education system was based primarily on qualifications; the higher the qualification achieved in secondary school, the more likely an acceptance. They also found that the 6 per cent less chance of gaining an acceptance by ethnic minority students compared to students of European ethnicity was because ethnic minority students generally had lower level qualifications. When qualification level was held constant, the study found that some minority ethnic groups were more likely to be accepted (Chinese and Indian students), but Black-African, Black-Caribbean and other black students were less likely to be accepted than students from the European ethnic group.

Leach and Zepke (2005) undertook a literature review of the decision making process for prospective tertiary students, with a focus on New Zealand. They found that the decision-making process was complex, and the process started much earlier than years 11 or 12. They too found that socio-economic factors were the most powerful predictors of outcomes. Decisions to study at tertiary level are influenced by parents, the student’s own academic success, and by the costs involved and financial support available. Additionally, they found that a family’s experiences of tertiary education inform decisions, and parents’ prior experience was positively associated with children also taking on tertiary study. Lastly, they found that the decision making process was more complex for Māori and Pasifika students, because these groups have traditionally been under-represented in tertiary education. This complexity arises from the facts that some ethnic groups do not have, or seek, the benefits offered by tertiary education; that these non-traditional groups often choose tertiary study to enrich their communities, rather than (solely) for personal gain; and that differences among non-traditional ethnic groups are considerable.

Leach and Zepke (2005) also report evidence for the difficulty that ‘at-risk’ groups have in deciding to study at tertiary level. At-risk students were those who belonged to low socio-economic families, had changed school a number of times, had low grade point averages in grades 6 to 8, belonged to single-parent families, had been held back at some stage of their school careers and had one or more siblings drop out of school. They report that Bland (2002, cited in Leach and Zepke 2005) did attempt to explain why at-risk students find it difficult to decide in favour of tertiary education. Bland suggested that students from at-risk groups must move away from their own cultures when they enter tertiary education. He likens this to committing ‘cultural suicide’, as they must make a clean break from the communities and cultures in which they were raised as a prerequisite for educational success. This rather dramatic description echoes the ideas of Chapple (2000), who described this process as ‘social ostracism’.

The recurring theme is that generally, ethnic minority students are less likely to study at tertiary level compared to their mainstream peers. A few studies suggest this is because they are less suitably qualified or felt that they were not able to afford the study. But the majority of the studies suggest it is a function of family background and upbringing, attitudes and knowledge of both the opportunities and the benefits of tertiary education. While low socio-economic status is often correlated with under-achievement, the literature shows that values and beliefs may also be influencing behaviours, although these are not necessarily independent of socio-economic status.

In summary, ethnic group and socio-economic status are important factors influencing post-secondary school study. What these studies have not been able to do is control for the students’ level of academic ability – how well they performed in their studies relative to other students. This study sets out to answer the question, is the likelihood of undertaking tertiary study much the same between people when socio-economic conditions and ethnic group are controlled for, and when taking into account the level of academic attainment and the student’s academic ability?

Footnotes

2. Sole-Māori are those people who indicated just one ethnicity, Māori, as their ethnic group. This contrasts with those people who indicated Māori plus one or more other ethnic groups as their ethnicity, the mixed Māori group. The Māori ethnic group as a whole includes both categories of ethnicity. The complementary group is those people who have never indicated Māori as their ethnicity.