Curriculum and careers: the education and labour market consequences of year 12 subject choice.

Stephen Lamb, ACER
Katrina Ball, ACER

Longitudinal surveys of Australian youth research report ; n.12

Abstract

This report examines patterns of course enrolments in Year 12 and the consequences of students course enrolments on their education, training and work experiences to age 19. In particular, it looks at what happens to young people enrolled in different senior school subjects as they move from school to post-school education and training and to work. The analysis is based on data collected between 1990 and 1997 as part of the Australian Youth Survey (AYS), a national longitudinal survey of young people. Course enrolments were derived from information on the subjects students studied in Year 12. Course enrolments comprised the combinations or clusters of subjects students studied. The combinations were identified using statistical clustering techniques with 70 subjects identified from information provided by respondents. Twenty different groupings of subjects, defined for the purposes of this report as courses of study, were identified. Course-taking patterns in Year 12 vary substantially according to gender, early school achievement, socioeconomic status, type of school attended and ethnicity. Students from different backgrounds tend to enrol in different groups of subjects and as a result are located in different parts of the curriculum.