The Australian education system works well for most students. However, equitable access to secondary education is problematic for First Nations people living in remote communities. There is a strong emphasis on Year 12 completion as an indicator of successful engagement in remote First Nations education. This has been partly driven by Australian…

In many higher education systems around the world increasing retention is vital if institutions are to produce the number of graduates identified through government projections to meet industry needs. Taking Australia as an example, the analysis uses results from a large-scale survey of undergraduate students to review rates and rationales for…

Dropouts have become an international problem, and it is useful to examine the solutions arrived at by other countries. A major difference is in vocational education. The United States, for example, uses vocational education mainly as a means to motivate uninterested students. Countries with low dropout rates have vocational education and training…

This study reports on the initial experiences of first entering students at the University of Limpopo registered for 2010 Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.). I argue the initial experiences of first entering students at universities have implications for how they cope with studies and could lead to some dropping out. I place my argument within the…

There has been a discernable focus within many Australian industries on improving the rates of completion amongst their apprentices and trainees. This paper outlines the results of a study which involved a multivariate analysis of data relating to apprenticeship and traineeship completion, derived from a database developed by the Victorian…

Non-completion of senior secondary schooling continues to be a matter of concern for policy makers and practitioners in Australia today. Despite the efforts of governments to improve participation and retention rates, 30% of students drop out of school before completing Year 12. Further, some students remain at school, just biding their time until…

Australian researchers investigated the education training outcomes of young people (age 15-19 years), focusing on early school leavers. Data came from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the National Center for Vocational and Educational Research. About one-third of the 270,000 students who leave school each year leave before 12th grade. The…

In this paper, absorbing markov chains are used to analyse the flows of higher degree by research candidates (doctoral and master) within an Australian faculty of business. The candidates are analysed according to whether they are full time or part time. The need for such analysis stemmed from what appeared to be a rather poor completion rate (as…

This report analyzes the Participation and Equity Program's two objectives of reducing significantly the number of Australian students prematurely leaving full-time education and of fostering more equal education, and discusses strategies for achieving these objectives. Following a statement by the Minister of Education and Youth Affairs and an…

An estimated 80%-90% of all Aboriginal students enrolled in the primary and secondary schools of Victoria, Australia, were tested and surveyed to determine their numbers, distribution, attendance, achievement, attitudes, and school leaving patterns. Most of the 1244 Aboriginals surveyed attended state schools and 75% were schooled in rural areas.…

This publication provides a synopsis of the issues, as identified in recent research reports, relating to non-completion of New Apprenticeships and Traineeships in Australia. Some of the key findings of the research reports are the following: (1) during the mid-1990s, non-completion rates were approximately 45 percent for trainees and between…