10.2 ' THE SCHOOL CERTIFICATE
CHAPTER 11: RETENTION
11.1 RETENTION ØTES
A retention rate is a measure of the number of students in a given grade as a proportion of the number who were enrolled in a lower grade for that cohort of students. Most commonly based on the number of students retained to the final year of secondary school as a proportion of the number in that cohort entering secondary school, it can, however, relate to other grades and even within grades between school terms. It is a useful statistic because it is a crucial element of enrolment projections and can allow monitoring of trends such as the differences between the retention rates of school sectors or of female and male students.
The main limitations are the inability to take into account movement in or out of the student cohort in the intervening period and any diversity between retention rates of individual schools or sectors reflecting such factors as the socio-economic status of the school's drawing area, employment opportunities in the locality and students' career aspirations. For these reasons, the rate calculated is usually known as the "apparent retention rate", and its use to compare cohorts, schools and school systems should be undertaken with caution.
11.2 THE CURRENT POSITION
An examination of the apparent retention rates to Year 12 in Australia indicates a steady growth from about 1983. Table 11.1 shows these rates for each state between 1973 and 1988. Marked differences can be seen among the states, although some of these differences are due to factors other than the capacity of education systems to hold students.
Table 11.1:
Apparent Retention Rates to Year 12 by State, 1973-1988
Year NSW VIС QLD SA WA TAS NT ACT AUST
1973 34 34 32 33 32 23 26 60 33
1975 33 35 33 36 34 25 18 65 34
1977 36 34 37 36 35 25 22 68 35
1979 35 32 38 37 34 26 22 70 35
1981 33 33 39 39 35 27 18 68 35
1983 38 39 47 48 40 25 21 72 41
1985 42 45 55 51 48 29 30 77 46
1986 44 47 58 55 50 30 34 78 49
1987 47 53 63 60 54 33 41 79 53
1988 51 57 67 67 59 38 45 81 58
Source: AВS National Schools Collection
Each state has its own mix of activities spread between schools and TAFE and these can have a major impact on school retention rates. Part of the difference between the Year 12 retention rates of NSW and Queensland is due to the greater level of participation of NSW students in technical and further education and to the migration from overseas and interstate to Queensland.(» In addition, unlike NSW, both South Australia and Victoria have Provision for technical education within the secondary school system. Employer practice can also influence school retention. Those states where employers usually expect Year 11 completion for entry to apprenticeships will have a higher retention to Year 11 than those which expect fewer years of schooling.(2)
Criticism of the relatively low participation rate in post-compulsory education by 16 to 19 year olds in Australia ignores important national traditions in the ways that full-time education, part-time education and employment have been combined. In countries such as Sweden, France and Canada where apprenticeships are not an important institution, young people
generally gain the skills and qualifications for employment within full-time education (reflecting the vocational orientation of a large segment of the school system). In countries where apprenticeship is important, such as Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia, comparable skills are gained through a combination of employment and part- time education.(')
In line with national trends, retention rates have increased steadily in NSW. Table 11.2 shows apparent retention rates for NSW government schools from 1955 to 1988.
Table 11.2:
Progress of School Generations Through
Yr of Entry Yг7
1955 100.0
1960 100.0
1965 100.0
1970 100.0
1975 100.0
1980 100.0
1985 100.0
1986 100.0
1987 100.0
1988 100.0
1989 (a) 100.0
NSW Government Secondary Schools, 1955 to 1988.
Уг8 Уг9 Yrli Yrli Уг12
84.9 57.7 18.6 14.8
90.3 70.2 28.5 24.0
97.32 78.00 63.92 30.81
98.85 84.19 б9.71 31.57 28.16 99.94 91.24 77.53 36.04 30.59 100.19 95.30 83.84 34.19 28.41 99.92 98.04 89.70 48.49 36.15 100.07 97.91 90.34 50.22 39.13 100.42 98.77 91.61 55.20 41.48 100.51 99.78 92.80 61.97 45.89 99.93 99.29 93.46. 66.44 50.88 Source: (1) NSW Department of Education (1988),' In Brief, Table'5 (June).
(2) Government Schools of NSW Since 1848. Appendix 6 (a) NSW Department of Education: February 1989 Census data
As Table 11.2 shows, apparent retention rates from Year 7 to the final year of secondary schooling increased from 14.8 per cent in 1955 to 30.81 per cent in 1965. The retention rate to Year 12 remained relatively low until after 1980, rising to about 46 per cent in 1988.
These figures do not take into account the attrition rates at the end of Year 10 and Year 11 caused by students taking up apprenticeships and other TAFE courses.
The apparent Year 7 to 12 retention rates for NSW as a whole are much higher, reflecting the traditionally higher holding power of non-government schools. Table 11.3 shows the rates for government and non-government schools from 1972 to 1988.
Table 11.3:
Apparent Retention Rates for Government and Non-Government Secondary Schools, Years 7 to 12, 1972-1988.
Year Govt Non-Govt Total
1972 31.17 40.90 33.46
1975 30.59 44.66 33.45
1980 28.41 48.56 32.77
1985 36.15 58.47 41.66
1986 39.13 60.05 44.44
1987 41.48 63.04 47.11
1988 45.89 66.85 51.33
Source: Government - NSW Department of Education
Non-Government - 1967 - 1974 Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics 1975 - 1983 NSW Department of Education
1984 - 1985 Australian Bureau of Statistics
1986 Commonwealth Department of Education
1987 - 1988 Commonwealth Department of Employment, Education and Training
Interpretations of differences between the apparent retention rates of school sectors need to be made with care. The net transfer of students from government to non-government schools tends to inflate the non-government school retention rate and reduce that of government schools. Equally, some of the characteristics of school success and persistence are highly correlated with higher socio-economic status and the capacity to pay for private schooling. This increases the likelihood that retention rates in non-government schools will be higher than those in government schools. 4)
Variations between student sub-groups add to difficulties in interpreting apparent retention rates. For example the rate for Aboriginal students, although increasing, remains much lower than that for non-Aboriginal students. Overall girls' rates have been consistently higher than those for boys since 1977, but the rates for girls in Catholic systemic schools only surpassed those for boys in Catholic systemic schools in 1987, and were consistently 10 per cent lower than the overall non-government rate for girls. In general, retention rates for Catholic systemic schools, while higher than those for government schools, are lower than the overall rate for non-government schools. In 1988 the government school rate was 45.89 per cent, for Catholic systemic schools it was 58.11 per cent and for all non-government schools it was 66.85 per cent. Finally, while metropolitan regions tend to have higher apparent Year 7 to 12 retention rates than rural regions, there is a clearer difference between these rates for the non-government sector than for the government sector.
11.3 ARE INCREASED YEAR 7 TO 12 RETENTION RATES DESIRABLE?
In
Australia increasing the overall level of participation of students within the school system, and increasing the participation of certain sub-groups, including girls, Aborigines and students from non-English speaking backgrounds have been explicit goals of both Commonwealth and state governments in recent years.Higher participation rates are regarded as desirable in themselves for educational reasons, and as increasingly relevant economically and socially. Rapidly changing technologies and related effects on the domestic economy make early school leaving and the consequent entry to the labour market of large numbers of young, unskilled school leavers increasingly inappropriate in economic terms. Extended, more relevant education or training is regarded as an important way of increasing the productivity of the workforce.
Since the mid 1970s, when measured unemployment among all Australian age groups began to rise, additional years of education have been seen as an alternative full-time activity to unemployment for young people. While some may view this as simply an attempt to reduce artificially formal measures of unemployment, defusing the social conflicts that may be caused by unemployment, others see a genuine concern for the welfare and future of youth, and a deeply held conviction that education is a more positive and constructive preparation for adult life than unemployment.
A fundamental assumption underlying all policies aimed at increasing retention is that more education is intrinsically valuable. Policies aimed at increasing participation also recognise that all young Australians have an equal right to be included in the education and training Provided for their age group, regardless of gender, race, class or location.
Arguments for extended schooling include increased opportunities for personal growth, for acquisition of critical and analytical skills, and for exposure to broader perspectives regarding interpersonal, social, and cultural knowledge. Extended education is also seen as being of instrumental value to the individual and the nation. There are clear links between level of education and the probability of being employed and a correlation between level of education and lifetime earnings.(5)
Arguments against encouraging extended education tend to centre on the issue of whether it is worthwhile for
all
students to remain at school until completion of Year 12. For example, a recent study found that over half of the teachers surveyed had reservations about encouraging increased retention, especially for less able students because they felt that:• some students do not gain any benefit from further study after Year 10;
• some students have a bad effect on the overall school climate and damage the education of the majority;
• schools, and possibly governments, cannot cope with the financial demands for resources needed to cater satisfactorily for some students.(6
However, the teachers also believed that provided there were sufficient resources to develop and implement a suitable curriculum, it would be possible to cater usefully for almost all their students.
Questioning whether traditional early school leavers should be encouraged to stay on to complete secondary education might imply that the only aim of the final two years of secondary school is to prepare the academically able for further education. It ignores the equally important question of whether the Higher School Certificate is a credential that a wider group of students now need to get into the labour force or further education. Analysis of job advertisements indicates that basic requirements include keyboard skills, communication skills, computer awareness skills, good general knowledge and a good level of mathematics and English for general functioning. While some of these skills can be developed by TAFE or business college courses, their narrow vocational application is not suitable for all students.
Tertiary institution courses or on-the-job training preceded by a general secondary education may be more suitable.
11.4 RESEARCH RELATING TO RETENTION
Investigations of reasons for the substantial increase in apparent retention rates
in
post- compulsory education since about 1983 suggest that these include:• a general rise
in
living standards and therefore a rise in parental expectations and educational aspirations;• changes in social expectations of female students with regard to school and career;
• a decline in employment opportunities for early school leavers;
• a rise in employer demand for school qualifications and a more highly skilled workforce;
• a decline in social acceptance of leaving school without a credential;
• changes to unemployment benefits for 16 and 17 year olds;
•
government policies to increase retention rates. )
While some may feel that the higher retention rates are a matter of shifting students from one sector (TAFE) to another (schools), there appears to be no clear evidence either way.
Certainly, in NSW, the TAFE enrolment figures for students aged 17 years or less dropped from 17.3 per cent of the total TAFE enrolment in 1984 to 13.3 per cent of the total enrolment in 1988. The interface between schools and TAFE is addressed in other sections of this Report.
Research evidence suggests that a number of interacting factors influence student retention:
• parental expectations;
• employment and career aspirations;
• perceptions of school and the curriculum;
• socio-economic status;
• credentialling and selection for higher education.(8>
A recent national study undertaken for the Department of Employment, Education and Training, The Challenge of Retention (1989), indicated that three broad categories of factors had an important influence on retention, that is, environmental factors, curriculum factors and organisational factors. In summary the main findings were:
Environmental factors were judged to be the most important influences on students' returning to school. Of these, reasons related to their future career plans were the most important, followed closely by their parents' advice, the climate of the school and the commitment of the staff to retention. Financial reasons did not appear to be so important.
The single most important factor influencing students to remain at school once they have chosen to return for Years 11 and 12 is the curriculum. Within this category the two most important influences were the diversity of the curriculum and its responsiveness to the needs of the students. The curriculum as a whole needs a more practical orientation to satisfy the needs of the overall group of students returning for Years 11 and 12.
Organisational factors are also seen as influencing students to remain at school. The interviews in the sample schools identified senior colleges, flexible structures of schooling, credentialling systems, student welfare and school timetables as the most important influences in this category.(9>
Students emerged as having a "utilitarian and instrumental view of secondary school.
The authors contended that changes in the structure of schooling and curriculum content were unlikely to influence apparent retention rates unless students' preference for employment to education was changed. In short, most students tended to prefer work to school. This finding is consistent with those of earlier studies which indicated that students needed to believe that completion of Year 12 would improve their employment prospects.(10)
11.5 RESPONSES TO INCREASING RETENTION
As more students now stay on beyond Year 10, senior classes are no longer dominated by students seeking tertiary institution entrance and have a broader range of ability, motivation and aspiration.
Catering for this new mix of senior students has been a major concern of educational administrators, teachers, parents and the students themselves. Results of studies undertaken since 1983 have consistently indicated that there is a widely held view that the senior school curriculum should be more practically oriented. There appears, in addition, to be a general consensus that while secondary schools should not be developing specific vocational training courses, they should be developing students' general work-related skills so that the workforce becomes, in general, better educated. In addition, recent studies suggest that more resources, human, financial and physical are needed to cope with the wider range of ability and motivation of senior classes. For example, the study conducted for the Department of Employment, Education and Training (1989) found that the main areas of resource provision ranked highly by teachers were:
• additional teachers to allow more emphasis in practical subjects in Years 11 and 12;
• increased facilities such as workshops and specialist classrooms;
• professional development focusing on approaches to teaching new courses and the wider ability mix of senior students;
• assistance to schools in developing new courses, materials and teaching strategies;
• more academic and career counsellors and student welfare workers for students in Years 10, 11 and 12.
Board of Secondary Education initiatives to make the senior school curriculum more responsive to student needs include:
• new courses which have a practical orientation within traditional subject areas;
• new subjects such as Aboriginal Studies;
• developing Board syllabuses in popular Other Approved Studies areas such as Computing and Legal and Business Studies to allow students to gain full credit in their HSC and to raise these courses' credibility in the community;
• accrediting alternative courses, such
as
ballet and computing applications run by outside agencies, as Board courses;• extending the co-operation between schools and TAFE through the expansion of the Joint Secondary Schools/TAFE Program, the provision of Board courses to meet rural students' needs in TAFE colleges, and the investigation of the possibility of accrediting some TAFE courses as full Board courses.
Ti NSW under the Government's "Start To Life" program a number of initiatives have been undertaken which seem to address factors identified by the study for the Department of Employment, Education and Training (1989) as encouraging students to complete six years of secondary education. Related to environmental factors have been initiatives to improve career education, to provide financial support and to improve school climate and staff commitment.
Initiatives in government schools related to organisational factors include:
• broadening the diversity in schooling to include the establishment of technology and specialist secondary schools and a senior high school;
• improvements to school climate through the implementation of whole-school student welfare policies incorporating, for example, personal development programs and fair discipline codes.
Specific purpose programs have also been developed to increase the retention of particular student subgroups and include:
• the "Staying On" program aiming at improving educational achievement and access to employment and further education in schools with low retention rates;
• funding the "Tertiary Awareness Program" which aims at increasing awareness of the benefits of further study by students who would normally leave school early;
• the "Priority Schools Program" aiming at lifting Aboriginal students' academic achievement and improving their transition from school to work or further education;
• an action plan to promote girls' career horizons;
• creation of Head Teacher (Special Education) positions and an increase in the number of secondary classes for students with Mild Intellectual Disabilities as
a
contribution to the goal of increasing the retention of students with disabilities.11.6 The Committee's Approach
The Committee notes the forecast that retention rates will continue to increase'at least over the next five years as a response to the demand for a highly skilled workforce, school initiatives to cater for an increasingly wide range of student needs, the increase in TAFE and tertiary education places for the young, community expectations that most students will stay on to complete secondary schooling and the lack of job opportunities for early school leavers.
The Committee is aware that this increase challenges schools to respond to the needs of the broader mix of ability, motivation and aspiration in senior classes. Meeting students', parents' and the wider community's expectations of the benefits accruing from six years
of secondary education means introducing changes that make schools more attractive learning environments and making curriculum and credentialling arrangements more relevant to students' and the wider community's needs. While achieving an apparent retention rate from Years 7 to 12 of 100 per cent is neither practical nor necessarily desirable, it is essential for the increasing number of students who stay on that their secondary education is worthwhile in terms of further education and employment opportunities.
Increased retention must be supported by the provision of sufficient teachers and resources to meet the needs of Year 11 and Year 12 students.
11.7 Recommendations
The Committee recommends that:11.7.1 Approaches to encouraging increases in the apparent retention rate from Year 7 to Year 12 should focus on the provision of more courses in Years 11 and 12 which students recognise as worthwhile in terms of their further education and employment opportunities.
11.7.2 Curriculum and credentials be provided so that the full range of students in Years 11 and 12 is catered for.
11.7.3 There be full coordination between schools, TAFE and other providers of further education in order to make optimum use of resources.
REFERENCES
1. White D (1988) Participation in Education. A Paper presented to the Fourth National Australian Population Association Conference. Brisbane, August.
2. Wyatt T and Ruby A (1988). Participation Rates as Education Indicators. Reporting on Educational Progress: Performance Indicators in Education.
Bulletin 6. Australian Conference of Directors- General of Education.
3. ibid, p 14.
4. ibid, p 12.
5. ibid, p 2.
6. Department of Employment, Education and Training (DEET), (1989) The Challenge of Retention. Joint Report of the School of Education, Macquarie University and Faculty of Education, University of Sydney, Canberra: Curriculum Development Centre.
7. NSW Department of Education, (1986) Means by which participation can be increased in secondary
education particularly at senior grades. Unpublished discussion paper. Information Services Branch, Management Information Services Directorate.
Commonwealth Schools Commission (1987) In the National Interest: Secondary Education and Youth Policy in Australia April. Dept. of Employment, Education and Training (1989) op cit.
8. Braithwaite J and Baumgart N (1986) Staying or Leaving ... Commonwealth Financial Assistance to Secondary Students Centre for Research in Education and Work, Macquarie University. NSW Dept. of Education (1986) op cit. DEET op cit.
9. DEET op cit, p 80.
10. NSW Department of Education (1985) School and Beyond: School Leavers' Perceptions of the Relevance
of Secondary Education, Sydney.