Attending a good, well-funded school has a greater impact on students’ academic success than the economic status of their neighbourhood, research from Monash University has found.
Chandra Shah, Wang-Sheng Lee, David Johnston, Michael Shield and Jean Spinks measured the socioeconomic status, residential stability, household type and ethnic diversity of households against academic success, and discovered that these characteristics had little effect when compared with the impact of the quality of the schools.
The study concluded that adequately resourcing schools, improving teacher quality and valuing school leadership play a crucial role in student outcomes.
Researchers also found academic success is linked to students who receive early support for their career goals. The report shows that mentoring efforts which encourage career goals from an early age could have a significant impact on students’ post-school outcomes.
Read more at Monash University