Education of primary caregiver: schooling

Why This Is Important

Parental education, and in particular mother's education, is linked to higher student achievement and longer participation in schooling. Parental education has more influence on average than parental income. However, it is what parents do in their interactions with children that is important. Higher parental education can influence the provision of rich home learning environments that facilitate children's success at school.

Family processes that are emotionally supportive and involve varied language, literacy and numeracy experiences that are linked to a child's experience of the world are particularly influential. Parents who have difficulties with literacy are more likely to exert a positive influence on their children's achievement when they are able to enhance their own skills.

Indicator

Education of primary caregiver: schooling

Numerator: (Data Source: Statistic New Zealand: National Census of Populations and Dwellings)
Highest qualification of mothers (in a two parent family) or primary caregivers (in a one parent family) of children aged over 4 years-old and under 18 years-old from the usually resident population.

Denominator: (Data Source: Statistic New Zealand: National Census of Populations and Dwellings)
Total number of mothers (in a two parent family) or primary caregivers (in a one parent family) of children aged over 4 years-old and under 18 years-old from the usually resident population.

Interpretation Issues

Note that the apparent decrease in 'not stated' is due to the highest qualification derivation rather than a true decrease in non-response (in 2001 people who were 'not stated' for either their school or their post-school qualification were given a highest qualification of whichever of the two was stated).

Note there has been a decrease in skilled vocational qualifications (eg trade certificates) between 1996 and 2001 - this seems to be due to a combination of skill shortages and changes in demand.

The number of people with school qualifications has increased dramatically. Almost half of the increase is due to an increase in numbers with overseas school qualifications. This is partly related to an increase in Asian student numbers, but the larger part appears to be a general increase in immigration. The increase in school qualifications has significantly decreased the proportion in the country with 'no qualifications'.

There are some people in the data set that are too young to have UE. In 1996 these people were edited to 'Sixth form certificate'.

For 1996, all mothers with post school qualifications which were either 'not specified', 'not applicable' or 'unidentifiable' have been included under 'not known' in the graphs. These categories were not present in the 2001 Census results.

In 1996, a lot of people with bachelor (and higher) degrees were coded to the 'Level not given, but subject given'. In 2001, this problem was discovered and some corrective action was taken. The result is that 'Level not given, but subject given' is lower in 2001, and more people now have a highest qualification at post-school / degree level (rather than school level). This is something to be aware of when comparing post-school qualifications / highest qualification between 1996 and 2001.

Ethnic groups have been prioritised to level one in the following order: European, Māori, Pasifika, Asian, Other and Not Elsewhere Included, e.g. if a person is both Pasifika and Asian then they are counted in the Pasifika category. There are sub-groups which also have a prioritisation order. Ethnicity prioritisation is based on Revised Priority Recording System for Ethnicity (1995).