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  7. Higher education career advice for low SES and rural students

Higher education career advice for low SES and rural students

Team Members

Kylie Austin (UoW)
Professor Sarah O’Shea (UoW)
Dr Olivia Groves (UoW)
Jodi Lamanna (UoW)
Prof Julia Coyle (UoW)
Assoc Prof Philip Roberts (UC)
Laurie Poretti (UC)
Natalie Downes (UC)
Nicola Cull (ACU)
Sonal Singh (UTS)
Professor Sue Kilpatrick (UTAS)
Samantha Skinner (UNSW)

Our team was part of a project led by the University of Wollongong, along with the University of Canberra, University of Tasmania, Macquarie University, University of New South Wales and the Australian Catholic University, and focussed on higher education career advice for low SES and rural students.

This program responded to previous research that showed regional students and low SES metropolitan students study subjects that facilitate university entry at a lower rate than other students. Research indicated this was due to a lack of recognition of the role of these subjects in future careers in the local area.

This is a major issue since not studying relevant subjects at school limits university entry pathways. Relating to university study in prospective local careers is critical as many students in this category indicated the desire to live and work locally as an important driver in career decisions, including not studying university-related subjects.

In this project, we worked with local students in low SES metropolitan schools, and rural schools, to identify the characteristics of career advice they perceived to be important in understanding careers in their local area; this advice included the connection to valuable school subjects to facilitate university pathways and careers of interest. This approach worked to enhance social mobility, while also responding to the needs of youth who aimed to remain in their local community.

In the project, the University of Canberra worked with low SES and rural schools in their networks to design and trial a Careers Education Outreach Program suited to the needs of individual communities to address the issues of local careers, university subjects, school subjects and pathways to careers in the local community.

This project used a mixed-method approach – specifically a literature review (done by UoW), survey method and focus groups. These approaches allowed an efficient triangulation of data and also enabled alignment with UC 2016 HEPPP project, ‘Enhancing aspirations for STEM careers in rural, regional and remote communities’<Link to 2.2.6 Tertiary nav – Exploring Rural Knowledges Completed Project #4 page>. The University of Canberra also worked with low SES and rural schools in their networks to design and trial a Careers Education Outreach Program that was tailored to the individual needs of the communities it was trialled in.

This project developed principles for best practice careers advice for low SES and rural students. These can be accessed here .
The UC Student Equity, Participation and Outreach team developed a Careers Education Outreach Program that was tailored to the individual needs of specific communities. This is currently being adapted for future use with more schools in rural areas.

Publications

Related Projects

For further information on this project, please contact us.