tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/low-ses-9155/articleslow SES – The Conversation2016-09-20T19:53:16Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/651002016-09-20T19:53:16Z2016-09-20T19:53:16ZHas the push to get more disadvantaged students into universities been a success?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138197/original/image-20160919-4026-c3j1wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Between 2008 and 2015, the number of disadvantaged students enrolled at Australian institutions increased by 50.2%.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Department of Education has commissioned an evaluation of the <a href="http://www.acilallen.com.au/microSite?idMicroSite=26">Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program</a> (HEPPP), which <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-participation-and-partnerships-programme-heppp">helps to</a> improve access to university for disadvantaged students – and also increase retention and completion rates of these students.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-participation-and-partnerships-programme-heppp">The evaluation</a> will look at how effective the program has been, who’s benefited, what changes may be required and whether it provides good value for money.</p>
<p>Given the program is already scheduled for a <a href="https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-participation-and-partnerships-programme-heppp">$152 million funding cut</a> from 2017, and given the rapid rise in <a href="http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Expenditure_on_education_and_training_in_Australia_2015_Update_and_analysis.pdf">higher education expenditure</a> which has increase by 40% over the 11 years to 2013-14, many are nervous about the <a href="https://campusmorningmail.com.au/unhappy-heppp-review/">potential outcome</a>.</p>
<h2>What does HEPPP do?</h2>
<p>HEPPP was introduced in 2010, alongside the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uncapping-of-university-places-has-not-failed-disadvantaged-students-61145">demand-driven system</a> that uncapped undergraduate places. </p>
<p>In 2016, <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/documents/2010-2016-higher-education-participation-and-partnerships-program-heppp-participation">A$155 million</a> was distributed across the sector, according to low SES enrolments.</p>
<p>Western Sydney University <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/node/34983">received</a> $11.5 million, for example, while Australian National University received just under $400,000. </p>
<p>Typically funds are used to broaden access and support existing students. </p>
<p>Outreach activities include university staff travelling to low-SES secondary schools to deliver workshops and masterclasses. School students also visit campuses and experiencing a day in the life of a university student. </p>
<p>For current students, universities also spend HEPPP funds on scholarships and bursaries, peer-mentoring programs, support services and learning analytics systems. </p>
<h2>Is HEPPP effective?</h2>
<p>Research shows that HEPPP activities work. </p>
<p>Between 2008 and 2015, the <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/node/41746">number of students</a> enrolled at Australian institutions from low SES backgrounds increased by 50.2%, compared with growth in overall domestic undergraduate enrolments of 36.8%. Much of this increase is doubtless <a href="https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/review_of_the_demand_driven_funding_system_report_for_the_website.pdf">due to the demand-driven system</a> itself. </p>
<p>However, more <a href="http://www.bridges.nsw.edu.au/about/bridges_effect">specific studies</a> suggest that HEPPP is also partly responsible for the low SES enrolment increase.</p>
<p>To date, the largest single HEPPP project involved a consortium of New South Wales universities working with disadvantaged schools across the state. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.bridges.nsw.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/898504/04302015Bridges_to_Higher_Education_Final_Report.pdf">“Bridges to Higher Education”</a> cost $21.2 million and was independently evaluated by KPMG, which found a 6% increase in university offers made to school leavers at the Bridges project schools (compared with a 1% increase at non-Bridges low SES schools).</p>
<p>The total economic return to the targeted low-SES areas was estimated at $54 million. </p>
<p>The second largest HEPPP project, involving the <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/queensland-widening-participation-consortium/">Queensland Widening Participation Consortium</a>, also found significant increases in university aspirations and applications. These findings are likely to be replicated across the country. </p>
<p>HEPPP scholarships and bursaries have also clearly <a href="http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/openu/jwpll/2010/00000012/00000003/art00004">improved opportunities</a> for low SES students to succeed at university. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Moving-Beyond-Acts-of-Faith-Effective-Scholarships-for-Equity-Students.pdf">recent cross-institutional study</a>found:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>equity scholarships are effective in retaining recipients, across the three universities Deakin University, Queensland University of Technology, and the University of Sydney, across demographic groups and across different scholarship products.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Other factors at play</h2>
<p>The program was introduced at the same time as the demand-driven system. Separating the effects of each cause in raising low-SES participation rates is therefore difficult. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/reports/vet-funding-in-australia-background-trends-and-future-options/">Other factors</a> such as vocational education and training (VET) policies and broader economic factors also complicate causation. </p>
<p>Moreover, HEPPP is a long-term strategy to address structural inequity. </p>
<p>It includes outreach to primary schools, with many participants unlikely to complete university for a decade or more. </p>
<p>After just six years of insecure annual funding at unpredictable levels, any conclusions reached will be tentative. </p>
<p>It is also important to mention that no national evaluation framework was established from the outset. Consultants <a href="http://campusmorningmail.com.au/unhappy-heppp-review/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=sendpress&utm_campaign">are now seeking</a> student level data from universities in the ambitious hope of retrospectively finding causation across the nation. </p>
<h2>Why is HEPPP important?</h2>
<p>HEPPP activities work because they are evidence-based. </p>
<p>One of the most <a href="http://www.latrobe.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/635937/La-Trobe-OOHC-Higher-Ed-Final-Report-for-NCSEHE-2015-04-13.pdf">common themes</a> for underrepresented groups in higher education – from boys in regional areas, to people transitioning out of foster care, to new migrants, to first in family students, to people from low SES backgrounds – is that they believe university is not for people like them. </p>
<p>Outreach activities address this belief by normalising university and increasing its visibility and accessibility to under-represented groups.</p>
<p>Outreach also <a href="https://www.leap.vic.edu.au/about-leap/leap-program">demystifies careers</a>, which is critical. For enrolled low SES students, <a href="https://www.ncsehe.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Moving-Beyond-Acts-of-Faith-Effective-Scholarships-for-Equity-Students.pdf">financial support</a> is of obvious value to success and retention. </p>
<p>The value of widening participation activities is <a href="http://www.hefce.ac.uk/media/HEFCE,2014/Content/Pubs/Independentresearch/2015/Student,opportunity,outcomes,in-depth,study/HEFCE2015_sodepth.pdf">well established internationally</a>.</p>
<h2>How could it be improved?</h2>
<p>While the general effectiveness of HEPPP activities is clear, more specific evidence is still needed. </p>
<p>Questions that need answering include: which universities’ outreach programs are the most effective? Which student support programs are better than others? </p>
<p><a href="http://www.hefce.ac.uk/media/HEFCE,2014/Content/Pubs/Independentresearch/2015/Student,opportunity,outcomes,in-depth,study/HEFCE2015_sodepth.pdf">As required in the UK</a>, we need better comparisons, more randomised control trials, and a national evaluation framework. </p>
<p>Explicitly targeting regional students, whose participation rate <a href="https://www.universitiesaustralia.edu.au/Media-and-Events/submissions-and-reports/Submission-to-the-Review-of-HEPPP/Submission-to-the-Review-of-HEPPP#.V9dKUB596Ul">remains low and flat</a>, and including other equity groups, could also strengthen the program. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.offa.org.uk/publications/analysis-data-and-progress-reports/">annual university HEPPP reports</a> could also be published as they are in the UK to share evidence and practice. The Australian government currently does not publish university HEPPP reports so it is difficult to identify innovation across the sector.</p>
<p>Student equity is not marginal. While HEPPP is a relatively small program, systemic under-representation limits the quality as well as the equity of Australian higher education. Equity therefore also needs to be included within mainstream higher education funding, accountability, policies and metrics.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65100/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Harvey has received several research grants funded through HEPPP. </span></em></p>While research shows HEPPP has helped to increase numbers of disadvantaged students going to university, more specific evidence is still needed.Andrew Harvey, Director, Access and Achievement Research Unit, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/532212016-01-26T19:19:53Z2016-01-26T19:19:53ZFrom riches to riches: the effect of affluent medical students on patients<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/108384/original/image-20160118-20924-j5gg4z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">If a majority of med students come from privileged backgrounds, how are they to understand their patients who don't?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Thousands of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed students recently found out whether they had been accepted into Australian medical schools.</p>
<p>Selection is a highly competitive process, requiring an impressive combination of high secondary school results (ATAR/GPA), high results on various medical admissions tests (UMAT/GAMSAT), cogent personal statements and/or performance in multiple mini interviews. Only the most successful students are selected.</p>
<p>As selection interviewers for an Australian medical school, one of our scripted questions was “How have you helped disadvantaged people?”. A memorable candidate began, “well, our family has a maid…”. </p>
<p>Other applicants told stories of well-intentioned overseas trips to help “poor people” in other countries. Strikingly, of the nearly 20 aspirants we interviewed, none told stories of socioeconomic disadvantage involving themselves, family or friends.</p>
<p>Although we cannot say whether these students were selected, it is likely some of them were. These well-to-do students will become the future of our medical system.</p>
<p>About <a href="http://www.aair.org.au/app/webroot/media/pdf/JIR/Journal%20of%20Institutional%20Research%20in%20Australasia%20and%20JIR/Volume%206,%20No.%202%20September%201997/Dobson.pdf">two-thirds</a> of Australian medical students come from affluent backgrounds. Fewer than <a href="http://www.aair.org.au/app/webroot/media/pdf/JIR/Journal%20of%20Institutional%20Research%20in%20Australasia%20and%20JIR/Volume%206,%20No.%202%20September%201997/Dobson.pdf">one in ten</a> come from low socioeconomic status backgrounds. This is unsurprising as selection criteria such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/atars-you-may-as-well-use-postcodes-for-university-admissions-19154">ATAR</a> and personal statements are <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2012/196/5/only-best-medical-student-selection-australia">known to be biased</a> against low-socioeconomic-status candidates. </p>
<p>Universities have created special access schemes, and tests such as the Undergraduate Medical Admissions Test (UMAT), Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT), personality tests and interviews which are <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2012/196/5/only-best-medical-student-selection-australia">supposed to reduce bias</a> against low-socioeconomic-status candidates.</p>
<p>However, low-socioeconomic-status applicants are still less successful than their high-socioeconomic-status counterparts at getting into medical schools, perhaps due to the lack of access to role models, support, and opportunities necessary. <a href="http://www.mededucconversations.com/2014/12/31/the-interaction-of-socio-economic-status-and-gender-in-widening-participation-in-medicine/">Females from low socioeconomic</a> backgrounds are the most disadvantaged.</p>
<h2>Consequences for patients</h2>
<p>Socioeconomic status is associated with important differences in values and beliefs.</p>
<p>Two families recently delivered very premature newborn babies who needed life support. If the babies survived, they were faced with a high chance of disability requiring lifetime care. </p>
<p>The families came from different socioeconomic backgrounds, and expressed different concerns. The parents who were struggling with money said they would not be able to afford the high costs of looking after a disabled child. </p>
<p>The well-off parents expressed they were worried the child’s disability was going to be so severe their child’s quality of life would not be worth putting the child through the intensive and traumatic treatments. </p>
<p>Although both sets of parents wished to withdraw care, they were perceived and treated differently by their health team. One set of parents was eventually referred to child protective services, and the other family had their wishes carried out.</p>
<p>This example highlights the difficulties in shared decision-making when values and priorities are different, and the extent of their impact. People with lower socioeconomic status <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3317830/">consistently have poorer health</a> and are more likely to die earlier than their more affluent counterparts, and are less involved in medical decision-making. </p>
<p>Conversely, patients with higher socioeconomic status tend to be more assertive, take an active role in their medical management and receive more explanations. </p>
<p>Selecting a medical community with such differences in socioeconomic status to the Australian population (in which <a href="http://www.aair.org.au/app/webroot/media/pdf/JIR/Journal%20of%20Institutional%20Research%20in%20Australasia%20and%20JIR/Volume%206,%20No.%202%20September%201997/Dobson.pdf">only 25%</a> of people are classified as affluent) holds the risk that the patients they serve have contrasting priorities, values and life situations to their own.</p>
<p>It is human nature to feel more comfortable with, and be more persuaded by patients who hold similar values and articulate them in a familiar way. Patients who have divergent preferences or goals of treatment may have their intentions misconstrued or experience conflict with their doctors. </p>
<h2>What can be done?</h2>
<p>Medical schools should continue refining medical selection processes to give students with lower socioeconomic status a fair opportunity to become doctors. The medical fraternity and patients would be better off with a broader representation of doctors from different backgrounds.</p>
<p>Doctors do not need to have the same backgrounds as their patients to deliver good care, but they should strive to understand and respect their patients’ needs, expectations and values when delivering health care. Doctors should be aware of the effects socioeconomic status has on the doctor-patient relationship and that patients’ intents and styles of communication may vary from their own.</p>
<p>Much emphasis has been placed on “<a href="https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines-publications/hp19-hp26">cultural competency</a>”, but this is often framed in racial, linguistic, ethnic and religious differences. The medical profession is more aware of the possibility of value conflicts when patients speak a different language or have a different ethnic, racial or religious background to their own. </p>
<p>However, when a patient shares the same language or culture, there is an unsaid assumption that there will be common understandings. Expanding these lessons to socioeconomic status is essential to creating a system that serves those who need it most.</p>
<p><em>*This article was co-authored by Evelyn Chan, from Boston Consulting Group. An earlier version of this article incorrectly listed her affiliation as Royal Children’s Hospital.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53221/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Leong does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>About two-thirds of Australian medical students come from affluent backgrounds. Only one in ten from low socioeconomic status backgrounds.Paul Leong, Registrar in respiratory and sleep medicine, Monash HealthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/239732014-03-07T03:10:31Z2014-03-07T03:10:31ZSocial class affects school achievement less than you think<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43149/original/xr7wfqt8-1393991256.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some research shows outcomes may not be as closely related to socioeconomic status as often thought</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/downloading_tips.mhtml?code=&id=141550009&size=medium&image_format=jpg&method=download&super_url=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTM5NDAyMDAzMCwiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTQxNTUwMDA5IiwicCI6InYxfDEwMTI3NTg4fDE0MTU1MDAwOSIsImsiOiJwaG90by8xNDE1NTAwMDkvbWVkaXVtLmpwZyIsIm0iOiIxIiwiZCI6InNodXR0ZXJzdG9jay1tZWRpYSJ9LCJDY2V5YVZJa1B0NkxPU2lWSzgvWXJLbEVLa28iXQ%2Fshutterstock_141550009.jpg&racksite_id=ny&chosen_subscription=1&license=standard&src=UULKmk13VPryeMl8_NAThw-1-0">www.shutterstock.com.au</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-poor-kids-continue-to-do-poorly-in-the-education-game-23500">recent article in The Conversation</a>, Stewart Riddle cited UK, US and Australian research to argue that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>… social class is the strongest predictor of educational achievement. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>But recent research shows this isn’t the case. </p>
<p>While there is no doubt that social class, whether measured by the parents’ occupation, level of education, postcode or wealth, has a strong influence on students’ educational outcomes, it is not the greatest influence.</p>
<p>A counter argument to the belief that demography is destiny can be found in Gary Marks’ recent publication, <a href="http://melbourneinstitute.com/miaesr/publications/books/decline_social.html">Education, Social Background and Cognitive Ability</a>. </p>
<p>Marks, a researcher at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne, has written extensively on the relationship between social class, educational outcomes and the reasons Catholic and independent schools achieve such strong results in areas like standardised tests, completion rates and tertiary entry.</p>
<p>Marks argues in his recent book that it is wrong to suggest that social class is such a significant factor: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>… socioeconomic background, no matter how it is measured, is only moderately associated with educational outcomes.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Marks also observes that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Western societies have done a reasonable job in reducing socioeconomic inequalities in education.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>After analysing Year 12 results across Catholic, independent and government schools, Marks <a href="http://research.acer.edu.au/aje/vol53/iss1/2/">concludes</a> social class only accounts for 20-30% when explaining why non-government schools outperform government schools.</p>
<p>Other more significant factors include student motivation and prior ability, classroom environment, school culture and teacher quality. Marks is not the only researcher questioning the over-emphasis on the importance of social class.</p>
<p>On examining the impact of schools on students’ transition to university, the authors of an <a href="http://www.lsay.edu.au/publications/2541.html">LSAY survey of Australian Youth</a> Sinan Gemici, Patrick Lim and Tom Karmel conclude:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the average socioeconomic status of students at a school does not emerge as a significant factor, after controlling for individual characteristics…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Additional evidence that social class is not such an influential factor determining success or failure can be found in a <a href="http://www.findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/display/publication105924">2008 University of Melbourne publication</a> by Professor Kaye Stacey and Doctor Max Stephens analysing Australia’s performance in international mathematics tests.</p>
<p>In relation to the impact of social class the authors conclude:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the correlations in Australia between socioeconomic background and performance have never been particularly strong when compared internationally. This means that socioeconomic background is not a particularly strong predictor of performance…</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Associated with the argument that social class is the strongest predictor of educational achievement is <a href="https://theconversation.com/class-matters-when-it-comes-to-music-education-22956">the belief</a> that “inequity is entrenched in the Australian school system”.</p>
<p>Once again, the evidence suggests otherwise. Centre for Independent Studies Research Fellow Benjamin Herscovitch, after analysing what people from different social classes are able to earn, <a href="http://www.cis.org.au/publications/policy-monographs/article/4791-a-fair-go-fact-or-fiction">concludes</a> “Australia is extremely socially mobile”.</p>
<p>After citing a number of overseas studies, Herscovitch goes on to argue that Australia has a high degree of educational mobility and that, compared to a number of other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, Australia is a “world leader in educational mobility”.</p>
<p>Evidence that education provides a ladder of opportunity is also supported by a 2008 OECD study, <a href="http://www.oecd.org/els/soc/41525263.pdf">Growing Unequal?: Income Distribution and Poverty in OECD Countries Country Note: Australia</a>, where Australia rates highly.</p>
<p>The paper notes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Australia is one of the most socially mobile countries in the OECD.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It also observes that public services such as education “reduce overall income inequality by more than in most other countries”.</p>
<p>Based on the <a href="http://www.acer.edu.au/ozpisa/reports/">2006 Program for International Student Assessment</a> results, Geoff Masters from the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) makes a similar point <a href="http://www.acer.edu.au/enews/2007/12">when he writes</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In the popular jargon, Australia is high quality/high equity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As noted in the <a href="http://www.ncec.catholic.edu.au/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=39&Itemid=53">National Catholic Education Commission’s submission to the Gonski review of school funding</a>, it’s also true that Catholic schools, in particular, are very effective at promoting equity in education.</p>
<p>Based on an analysis of the 2009 PISA test results carried out by ACER, the submission notes that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… the equity of outcomes achieved by Catholic schools in Australia exceeds Finland, which is widely regarded by many groups as the international benchmark on equity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When education minister, Julia Gillard argued that <a href="http://www.pandc.org.au/files/uploads/Teach%20for%20Australia%20Reception%20Julia%20Gillard%20Speech.pdf">demography was not destiny</a> and that it was the responsibility of teachers, schools and education sectors to do more to ensure equity of outcomes for all students, regardless of background.</p>
<p>Central to such an endeavour, as noted by the OECD paper <a href="http://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/pisainfocus/PISA-in-Focus-N36-(eng)-FINAL.pdf">Do parents’ occupations have an impact on student performance?</a> exploring why some Asian education systems appear more effective in promoting equity in education, is having high expectations and working on the assumption, notwithstanding the influence of social class, that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>… it is possible to provide children of factory workers the same high-quality education opportunities that the children of lawyers and doctors receive.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Instead of accepting what can be a self-fulfilling prophecy, believing that with a rigorous curriculum, motivated and talented teachers, sound school leadership and strong parental engagement, it is possible to raise standards for all students across a range of backgrounds.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23973/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Donnelly is a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Catholic University and Director of the Education Standards Institute - a conservative think tank committed to standards, equity, diversity and choice in education. Kevin was recently appointed by the Commonwealth Government to review the Australian National Curriculum.
</span></em></p>In a recent article in The Conversation, Stewart Riddle cited UK, US and Australian research to argue that: … social class is the strongest predictor of educational achievement. But recent research shows…Kevin Donnelly, Senior Research Fellow - School of Education, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/235012014-03-04T19:11:04Z2014-03-04T19:11:04ZStudents’ own low expectations can reinforce their disadvantage<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42614/original/r6ybjkfh-1393461764.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students' expectations can determine their future</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/downloading_tips.mhtml?code=&id=151305863&size=medium&image_format=jpg&method=download&super_url=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTM5MzQ5MDUyOCwiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTUxMzA1ODYzIiwicCI6InYxfDEwMTI3NTg4fDE1MTMwNTg2MyIsImsiOiJwaG90by8xNTEzMDU4NjMvbWVkaXVtLmpwZyIsIm0iOiIxIiwiZCI6InNodXR0ZXJzdG9jay1tZWRpYSJ9LCIyRGV0b1ZkRU5kUmZWRU82K1gzSTdieUpkdUEiXQ%2Fshutterstock_151305863.jpg&racksite_id=ny&chosen_subscription=1&license=standard&src=-c9sfKbcEPQPdolXL2nhrA-1-50">www.shutterstock.com.au</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong><em>The Conversation is running a series, Class in Australia, to identify, illuminate and debate its many manifestations. Here, Nicholas Biddle outlines how students’ low aspirations can lead to poor outcomes.</em></strong></p>
<hr>
<p>Where do you expect your life to be in a year’s time? Will you still be in the same job? Will you have completed that PhD? Will you be in the same house or even have the same partner?</p>
<p>Your expectations are likely to be formed in part by aspirations or what you would like to occur and the constraints that might get in the way. Constraints may be internal or external and all are assessed with a fair degree of uncertainty, which increases as the time horizon expands. Tying expectations and aspirations together is the concept of <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9780470479216.corpsy0836/abstract">self-efficacy</a> or “people’s beliefs in their ability to influence events that affect their lives”.</p>
<p>Studying expectations in addition to actual outcomes can provide a useful lens through which we can view class and intergenerational inequality. Low expectations can signal an early disengagement from important domains. They can be self-fulfilling. Why put in any effort if you don’t expect to benefit eventually from that effort? </p>
<p>Finally, if perceived constraints are not distributed evenly across the population, there will remain groups that don’t achieve what they might otherwise be able to or want to. </p>
<p>Along with Timothy Cameron, I have <a href="http://www.ncver.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/d62d6915-7ba0-41ae-873c-58ccb7dfdb56/Factors-influencing-indigenous-education-2560.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=d62d6915-7ba0-41ae-873c-58ccb7dfdb56">written</a> on the role of expectations in explaining the education outcomes of Indigenous youth in Australia. Joanna Sikora and Larry Saha have considered these issues from both a gender and international <a href="http://ojs-prod.library.usyd.edu.au/index.php/IEJ/article/view/6820">perspective</a>. This and other research shows that many groups in Australia have relatively low expectations. </p>
<p>What causes these differences, however, is a little more difficult to untangle. Some data from the <a href="http://www.lsay.edu.au/">Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth</a> or LSAY will highlight this complexity. </p>
<p>Let’s begin by looking at the distribution of education expectations by three key dimensions: sex, Indigenous status and school sector. I categorise around 14,000 students into five groups based on expectations of high school completion and post-school study.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42648/original/qntjzxf6-1393474991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42648/original/qntjzxf6-1393474991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42648/original/qntjzxf6-1393474991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42648/original/qntjzxf6-1393474991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42648/original/qntjzxf6-1393474991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42648/original/qntjzxf6-1393474991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42648/original/qntjzxf6-1393474991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42648/original/qntjzxf6-1393474991.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Expectations by student background and school sector.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The majority of students expect eventually to complete a degree. This might be over-optimistic, but what is important is that these expectations vary significantly between groups. </p>
<p>48% of males in the sample expect to complete a degree compared to 63% of females. Indigenous students are much less likely to expect to complete a degree compared to the rest of the sample, with just 31.5%. Within school sectors, 48% of those in government schools expect to complete a degree compared to 65% of Catholic school students and 73% of independent school students.</p>
<p>Many potential reasons exist for this variation in expectations. For some, low expectations may fit an objective assessment of their own academic achievement to date and future academic potential. There is some truth to this in the data with a strong correlation between expectations and standardised test scores. </p>
<p>But what matters from a policy point of view is whether some groups’ expectations are too low given their observed academic ability. That’s not to say that these groups should be ignored if it turns out low expectations on average are driven by low measured academic achievement. But, in this case, it is the academic achievement that should be the focus of policy - for example, through early childhood education or school experience.</p>
<p>One way to test for this is through statistical techniques that hold other observable characteristics constant. The next figure looks at the difference in the probability of expecting to complete a degree for a few comparison groups:</p>
<ul>
<li>Those who live in a provincial or a remote area (compared to those in a major city); </li>
<li>Females (compared to males);</li>
<li>Indigenous students (compared to non-Indigenous students);</li>
<li>Those who attend a Catholic school or an independent school (compared to a government school).</li>
</ul>
<p>The final bar in the figure gives the estimated difference in the probability from a person’s parents having an extra year of schooling. Importantly, these differences are what we observe after controlling for a student’s age, English language background, socioeconomic status, school resources and test scores. We are comparing like with like.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42647/original/wf3dxd4d-1393474871.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42647/original/wf3dxd4d-1393474871.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42647/original/wf3dxd4d-1393474871.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42647/original/wf3dxd4d-1393474871.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42647/original/wf3dxd4d-1393474871.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42647/original/wf3dxd4d-1393474871.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42647/original/wf3dxd4d-1393474871.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42647/original/wf3dxd4d-1393474871.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Difference in probability of expecting to complete a degree.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Results summarised in the above figure fit well with other quantitative and qualitative research. Even with the same level of measured academic ability, those outside our major cities, and in particular Indigenous youth, are less likely to expect to complete a degree. Females and those outside the government school system are more likely to expect to do so.</p>
<p>Finally, parental education appears to have a large association. This is so even when you control for the potential direct effect of parental education on academic achievement.</p>
<p>If these differences in expectations translate into differences in outcomes (and the evidence suggest they do), then this opens up a potential avenue for the policy community to intervene. But, as Pip found out in Dickens’ masterpiece Great Expectations, managing expectations isn’t easy.</p>
<p>It is entirely plausible (though we don’t know this for sure) that some of those with low expectations are overly pessimistic because of their ethnicity, sex, location or school setting. Research suggests certain interventions can mitigate the salience of these background characteristics. <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9888.html">Julio Garcia and Geoffrey Cohen</a> summarise one promising approach:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Students are taught to attribute adversity and hardship to factors not directly relevant to race … Instead they are encouraged to attribute adversity and hardship to challenges inherent in school.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Such approaches fit within a broad category of interventions that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Redirect-Surprising-Science-Psychological-Change/dp/0316051888">Timothy Wilson</a> has labelled the story-editing approach. These are described as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…a set of techniques designed to redirect people’s narratives about themselves and the social world in a way that leads to lasting changes in behaviour. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>It would be unwise to overstate the potential for such approaches to eliminate differences in school expectations and school achievement. Early childhood education, quality housing and stable employment are ultimately needed to significantly reduce intergenerational inequality. But, as stated in Garcia and Cohen, “seemingly small interventions can have large and long-term effects”.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>See the other articles in the series Class in Australia <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/class-in-australia">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23501/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Biddle received funding for the analysis summarised in this article from the former Commonwealth Department of FaHCSIA (now the Department of Social Services) as well as the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).</span></em></p>The Conversation is running a series, Class in Australia, to identify, illuminate and debate its many manifestations. Here, Nicholas Biddle outlines how students’ low aspirations can lead to poor outcomes…Nicholas Biddle, Fellow, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/235002014-03-03T19:40:23Z2014-03-03T19:40:23ZWhy poor kids continue to do poorly in the education game<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42499/original/qzn9kcmk-1393366127.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Years of schooling separate the rich kids from the poor kids</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/downloading_tips.mhtml?code=&id=136009358&size=medium&image_format=jpg&method=download&super_url=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTM5MzM5NDg3NCwiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTM2MDA5MzU4IiwicCI6InYxfDEwMTI3NTg4fDEzNjAwOTM1OCIsImsiOiJwaG90by8xMzYwMDkzNTgvbWVkaXVtLmpwZyIsIm0iOiIxIiwiZCI6InNodXR0ZXJzdG9jay1tZWRpYSJ9LCI2RDZGejRVenZ4NU43WW9OcEJ2Mkl5ZXcxWDAiXQ%2Fshutterstock_136009358.jpg&racksite_id=ny&chosen_subscription=1&license=standard&src=LwEYEJ2RslVGObvMaVq-Pg-1-29">www.shutterstock.com.au</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong><em>The Conversation is running a series, Class in Australia, to identify, illuminate and debate its many manifestations. Here, Stewart Riddle outlines the correlation between low socioeconomic backgrounds, and poorer results in the classroom.</em></strong></p>
<hr>
<p>We like to pretend that <a href="https://theconversation.com/bogans-and-hipsters-were-talking-the-living-language-of-class-23007">social class</a> doesn’t matter in Australia, but the reality for children from low socioeconomic backgrounds paints a very different picture when it comes to education.</p>
<p>Why is talking about social class considered <a href="http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/10/29/comrades-tim-winton-wants-this-taboo-lifted/">taboo</a> in Australia?</p>
<h2>Markets, education and class</h2>
<p>One answer might be found in the pervasive influence of what <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/17508487.2013.776990">Raewyn Connell</a> calls the “Neoliberal Cascade”, where education is marketised and seen as a commodity. Market ideas of scarcity, access, competition and profit dictate education reform efforts.</p>
<p>Neoliberal ideas of individual freedom and autonomy, coupled with a fervent belief in market forces to “fix” education and provide social mobility have contributed to ever-increasing inequality.</p>
<p>In his book, Educating the ‘Right’ Way, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/802038.Educating_the_Right_Way">Michael Apple</a> demonstrates that the marketisation of education has led to the “exacerbation of existing social divisions surrounding class and race”.</p>
<p>The rich get richer while the poor continue to get poorer. And that bastion of Australian success, the middle class, continues to feel <a href="http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/the-end-of-the-middle-class/2014/02/15/">downward pressure</a>.</p>
<p>We are not alone in this. A review of <a href="http://www.thersa.org/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/367003/RSA-Social-Justice-paper.pdf">research in the UK</a> found that social class is the strongest predictor of educational achievement. In the US, a gap of up to <a href="http://cepa.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/reardon%20whither%20opportunity%20-%20chapter%205.pdf">four years of schooling</a> exists between wealthy and poor students. And the gap is growing.</p>
<p>A particularly seductive neoliberal education myth is that of aspiration and attainment. Put simply, if a student works hard and applies themselves to their studies, then the world is their oyster. The <a href="http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ918208">research</a> shows that this creates a deficit image of disadvantaged young people who are individually responsible for their own lack of educational attainment.</p>
<p>The growth of private schooling is <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/comment/students-captive-to-market-forces-and-unfair-school-funding-models-20131208-2yza6.html">evidence</a> of the power of market forces and neoliberal narratives of choice and competition. Yet these forces produce more <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-fairer-australia-gonski-and-labors-class-war-13483">inequity</a> in an already lopsided system.</p>
<h2>Class matters</h2>
<p>Social class is closely linked to notions of race, gender, culture, language and discourse. Each of these contributes to a complex set of subjectivities that are produced, contested and taken up by young people. Education is a key <a href="http://globalconversationsinliteracy.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/documentingreproductioninequality.pdf">intersection</a> of these factors where social and cultural reproduction and inequality occurs. </p>
<p>Socioeconomic status, Indigeneity, English language proficiency, disability and school remoteness were all identified in the <a href="http://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/review-of-funding-for-schooling-final-report-dec-2011.pdf">Gonski</a> review as the key dimensions of disadvantage.</p>
<p>Children who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to have low educational attainment. This has multiple <a href="http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241563703_eng.pdf">implications</a>, including health, criminality, economic participation, literacy and numeracy. Issues of <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-would-a-more-literate-world-look-like-18420">functional illiteracy</a> are closely linked to significant social impacts.</p>
<p>Getting a decent education leads to much more than a decent job. Education contributes to the building of social and cultural capital, which are necessary for a fulfilling and productive life.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42498/original/rg86d8t6-1393365909.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42498/original/rg86d8t6-1393365909.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/42498/original/rg86d8t6-1393365909.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42498/original/rg86d8t6-1393365909.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42498/original/rg86d8t6-1393365909.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42498/original/rg86d8t6-1393365909.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42498/original/rg86d8t6-1393365909.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/42498/original/rg86d8t6-1393365909.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Not getting an adequate education has worse consequences than not getting a good job.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/downloading_tips.mhtml?code=&id=141409255&size=medium&image_format=jpg&method=download&super_url=http%3A%2F%2Fdownload.shutterstock.com%2Fgatekeeper%2FW3siZSI6MTM5MzM5NDY3MSwiYyI6Il9waG90b19zZXNzaW9uX2lkIiwiZGMiOiJpZGxfMTQxNDA5MjU1IiwicCI6InYxfDEwMTI3NTg4fDE0MTQwOTI1NSIsImsiOiJwaG90by8xNDE0MDkyNTUvbWVkaXVtLmpwZyIsIm0iOiIxIiwiZCI6InNodXR0ZXJzdG9jay1tZWRpYSJ9LCIwSnpxenoxVUI3cHduVG9mY3NIU05VUkljL0EiXQ%2Fshutterstock_141409255.jpg&racksite_id=ny&chosen_subscription=1&license=standard&src=l0tNFZCLVIIol_4NZbtjQQ-1-1">www.shutterstock.com.au</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Children whose parents are unemployed had the lowest mean scores in the <a href="http://www.nap.edu.au/verve/_resources/NAPLAN_2013_National_Report.PDF">2013 NAPLAN tests</a>, while students who had parents in the highest occupation group (including senior managers and qualified professionals) scored the highest. The higher the level of education and employment of the parents, the better the performance of the students.</p>
<p>Performance in the <a href="http://www.acer.edu.au/documents/PISA-2012-Report.pdf">Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)</a> reflected a difference of two-and-a-half years of schooling between students in the highest socioeconomic quartile and those in the lowest. This is further evidence of <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-pisa-slump-is-big-news-but-whats-the-real-story-20964">equity and access</a> issues in Australian education.</p>
<h2>Funding reforms are part of the picture</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/review-of-funding-for-schooling-final-report-dec-2011.pdf">Gonski</a> review recommended a needs-based funding model that would work towards addressing some of these equity issues. The review explicitly stated that funding should aim to ensure that:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Differences in educational outcomes are not the result of differences in wealth, income, power or possessions; </p></li>
<li><p>All students have access to a high standard of education regardless of their background or circumstances.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>It is troubling to hear prime minister Tony Abbott flagging a <a href="https://theconversation.com/health-and-schools-spending-growth-must-eventually-be-slowed-abbott-23622">slowdown</a> in investment in public health and education funding, the two biggest factors in life success for children from poor families.</p>
<p>The ongoing <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-gonski-to-gone-to-gonski-again-school-funding-future-remains-uncertain-21025">confusion</a> over the government’s commitment to an equitable model of school funding is not helping the situation.</p>
<p>Targeted funding is only part of the solution to issues of disadvantage and inequity in education. Also required are parent and community engagement, early intervention and flexible implementation of strategies that are contextually relevant. </p>
<p>Diversity, transparency and clarity are all needed if we are to have any chance of improving educational opportunities for the most disadvantaged. </p>
<p>It is also important to focus on engagement and ownership of learning by young people in a way that recognises and values their existing knowledge.</p>
<p>But first we need to break the taboo and acknowledge that we need to talk about class if we are to have any meaningful debate about the best ways to provide quality education to all Australian children.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>See the other articles in the series Class in Australia <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/class-in-australia">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23500/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stewart Riddle does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Conversation is running a series, Class in Australia, to identify, illuminate and debate its many manifestations. Here, Stewart Riddle outlines the correlation between low socioeconomic backgrounds…Stewart Riddle, Lecturer in Literacies Education, University of Southern QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.