Opening the Doors

Working with early school leavers

Overview of the needs & issues

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Changing nature of school to work transitions

Twenty years ago the transition from school to work was a relatively straightforward one. The majority of students left school before completing Year 12 to take on full time employment.

The school to work transition has changed dramatically in the past two decades. The majority of students now stay to complete Year 12 with over 40% combining full time school study with part time work. The number of students combining school with work has doubled in the last decade alone. 25, 26

There has been a steady reduction in full time job opportunities for young people. Jobs that are available are generally casual or part time. Satisfactory completion of Year 12 is increasingly a requirement for many jobs and even apprenticeships.

Early school leavers therefore face increasing disadvantage as the completion of Year 12 becomes not only the norm, but essential to securing employment and further education and training opportunities.

Not being in school long enough (early leaving) or often enough (truancy) has a dramatic impact on young people's life opportunities.

National and international research provides strong evidence that maintaining a connection to education protects young people from extreme risk behaviours.

Young people who miss out on school also miss out on gaining basic skills and knowledge and are at greater risk of socio-economic disadvantage, unemployment, poverty, homelessness and involvement in crime. The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has found that poor school performance is a strong predictor of involvement in crime. 6, 25

Early school leavers:

• have a much higher unemployment rate 2, 18, 20, 24
• tend to be employed for less time in a given year 18, 20
• are more likely to obtain jobs in a narrow field of occupations 18
• are more likely to be reliant on government income support 18
• are more likely to have lower paid jobs. 20

As can be seen from the table below, the unemployment rate of early school leavers is nearly double that of those who have completed Year 12.

Educational attainment and labour force status of people aged 15-24 years
	Completed Year 12	Early school leaver
Employment rate	89.6%	80.9%
Full time	46.0%	62.5%
Part time	43.7%	18.3%
Unemployment rate	10.4%	19.1%
Total	100%	100%

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2

Those who have completed Year 12 have a lower full time employment rate than early school leavers because many are combining part time work with full or part time study. Students who complete Year 12 are significantly more likely to undertake further study than those who have left school early.  

Educational institution attendance of people aged 15-24 years
	Completed Year 12	Early school leaver
Higher education	33.2%	1.5%
TAFE	11.2%	15.8%
Other Tertiary	3.0%	2.2%
Total	47.4%	19.5%

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2

Why do some young people leave school early?

There are many reasons why some young people don't stay at school. Some early school leavers say that that school is too boring, too hard, not practical or relevant. Some say that they don't feel valued by their teachers while others simply want to leave so they can look for work. 13

Main reason for leaving school before completing Year 12
Work related reason	46.0%
Little difference to job prospects	3.5%
Got (or wanted) a job or apprenticeship	42.5%
Schooling related reason	23.3%
Did not do well or failed subjects	6.1%
Did not like school or teachers	15.4%
Personal or family reason	18.0%
Lost interest or motivation	13.5%
Own ill health, injury or disability	3.4%
Other reason	12.7%
Total	100%

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2

According to the NSW Department of Education and Training:

" Students are more likely to stay on at school if they are satisfied with school in general, if they perform well at school, if their relationships with teachers are good and if they find school programs relevant to their current and future goals and interests ." 25

Feeling connected, feeling a sense of belonging and having strong relationships with peers and teachers are strong protective factors against early school leaving, particularly if the student is a low academic achiever or from a low socio-economic background. 4,29

A low sense of achievement is the strongest predictor of early school leaving. 20

Schools which provide extra-curricular activities such as sport, community programs, music, art, drama, leadership opportunities, and encourage students to participate in decision making, report higher levels of student engagement. 16

Which young people are at risk of leaving school early?

Students who have a higher risk of leaving school early include those who:

• have low literacy and numeracy levels 20, 22, 24
• have a low sense of achievement with school 19
• are from low socio-economic backgrounds 18, 20, 22
• have less educated families
• are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders 20, 22, 25
• live in a regional or remote area 2, 18, 20, 22
• have parents with a limited amount of formal schooling and lower income 18
• are male. 2, 18, 20

More information on young mothers, Aboriginal young people, young people in rural areas, young men and women, and refugee young people is outlined below.

Young mothers
Young pregnant women and young mothers often drop out of school due to reasons such as the perceived irrelevance of the curriculum, feeling out of place, not knowing about the support and flexibility that the school can offer, difficulty in securing child care and lack of support at home. 25

More information about the needs of young mothers is contained in the young parents section of this manual.

Aboriginal young people
Aboriginal young people are the most disadvantaged group in the education system, facing a higher rate of absenteeism and early school leaving.  

Aboriginal students have, on average, a higher rate of absenteeism from school. Regular attendance is absolutely vital because it enables students to learn at the same rate as their peers and develop the skills and knowledge required for each level of the education system.

The attendance rate at secondary schools is 70-86% for Aboriginal students and 86-92% for non-Aboriginal students.

Aboriginal students are also over-represented in suspension and exclusion statistics. 4

Aboriginal students' education suffers from the higher rate of absenteeism, resulting in substantially lower levels of literacy and numeracy than non-Aboriginal students.

Many Aboriginal young people come from families which have experienced long periods of unemployment and lower rates of academic achievement. Many Aboriginal students also face barriers to the successful completion of school such as nowhere to study at home or lack of privacy for homework.

Initiatives that seek to increase students' engagement with school, such as extra-curricular activities, have proved successful in increasing attendance, and as a result the academic performance of students.

By the age of 15, a quarter of all Aboriginal students have left school, compared to about 6% of their non-Aboriginal peers. 26

Young people in rural areas
Young people in rural areas are much more likely to leave school early, as detailed in the table below.

Early school leavers aged 15-24 years
Capital city	27.0%
Rest of state	44.8%

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2

Rural young people face a number of barriers to successfully completing Year 12 including travelling long distances to access school, restricted subject choice due to lower student numbers and having to move away from home to access further employment and training options.

Gender issues
Young men are far more likely to leave school early, as detailed below.

Early school leavers aged 15-24 years
Male	38.5%
Female	27.3%

Australian Bureau of Statistics 2

However early school leavers who are male tend to fare better than their female counterparts.  

Of all early school leavers, young women are less likely to:

• participate in further education and training (29% females compared to 44% males) 18

• gain an apprenticeship (8% females compared to 33% males) 18

• be employed for most of their first year out of school and remain employed for the first four years (32% females compared to 50% males). 18

Early school leavers' employment opportunities tend to be concentrated in traditional male and female job roles. 90% of employed early school leaver males work in labouring, trades and sales, while two thirds of employed early school leaver females work in clerical, sales and services. 18

Refugee young people
Refugee young people are also at risk of leaving school early.

Young refugees often require extra assistance with schooling and homework because their previous education may have been disrupted or even non-existent.

Many of these young people have missed out on education because they spent a significant part of their childhood in refugee camps.

Some young people may not be able to read or write in their own language.

Once they arrive in Australia, young refugees are placed in an Intensive English Centre for 3-4 school terms. IECs provide English and school education as well as additional support such as counselling for students. After completing time at IEC, students are then placed in a mainstream high school.

School in Australia can be very challenging for refugee young people because it is in a different language, in a different system and offers a different way of learning.

At mainstream high schools, young refugees are placed in a grade reflecting their age, rather than their level of schooling. It can be very difficult for young people to catch up on many years of schooling with limited support and as a result they may drop out of the school system altogether.

Refugee families are often not able to help their children with their homework because of language and education differences. Many parents and grandparents have no educational experience at all.

Many young refugees find it difficult to study at home, particularly if they have a large number of siblings at home.

The pressure to leave school and take up work, or to work part time, is very high. Young people often feel responsible for helping to pay family debt and may also send money to support family and friends, and to assist further family members to migrate.

More information about refugee young people is contained in the Refugee and Migrant section of this manual.