Unpacking the career aspirations of Australian school students: towards an evidence base for university equity initiatives in schools

Higher Education Research and Development

Volumn 36, Issue 7, 2017, Pages 1383-1400

  Gore, Jennifer ^a   Holmes, Kathryn ^b   Smith, Max ^a   Fray, Leanne ^a   McElduff, Patrick ^c   Weaver, Natasha ^a   Wallington, Claire ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE   (Australia)

^b UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN SYDNEY   (Australia)

^c UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE   (Australia)

Author keywords

aspirations; equity; Higher education; occupation; school students

Indexed keywords

EID: 85019264931     PISSN: 07294360     EISSN: 14698366     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2017.1325847     Document Type: Article

References (27)

1. Appadurai, A., (2004). The capacity to aspire: Culture and the terms of recognition. In V., Rao & M., Walton (Eds.), Culture and public action (pp. 59–84). Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
2. Archer, L., DeWitt, J., Osborne, J., Dillon, J., Willis, B., & Wong, B., (2012). ‘Balancing acts’: Elementary school girls’ negotiations of femininity, achievement, and science. Science Education, 96(6), 967–989. doi: 10.1002/sce.21031
3. Archer, L., DeWitt, J., & Wong, B., (2014). Spheres of influence: What shapes young people’s aspirations at age 12/13 and what are the implications for education policy? Journal of Education Policy, 29(1), 58–85. doi: 10.1080/02680939.2013.790079
4. Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2013). 328.0.55.001–estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, June 2011. Canberra: Author.
5. Baker, W., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., Sylva, K., Melhuish, E. C., & Taggart, B., (2014). Aspirations, education and inequality in England: Insights from the effective provision of pre-school, primary and secondary education project. Oxford Review of Education, 40(5), 525–542. doi: 10.1080/03054985.2014.953921
6. Bennett, A., Naylor, R., Mellor, K., Brett, M., Gore, J., Harvey, A., … Whitty, G., (2015). Critical interventions framework part 2. Equity initiatives in Australian higher education: A review of evidence of impact. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
7. Bok, J., (2010). The capacity to aspire to higher education: ‘It’s like making them do a play without a script’. Critical Studies in Education, 51(2), 163–178. doi: 10.1080/17508481003731042
8. Bradley, D., Noonan, P., Nugent, H., & Scales, B., (2008). Review of Australian higher education: Final report. Canberra: Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Retrieved January 30, 2009, from http://www.mq.edu.au/pubstatic/public/download.jsp?id=111997
9. Broadley, K., (2015). Entrenched gendered pathways in science, technology, engineering and mathematics: Engaging girls through collaborative career development. Australian Journal of Career Development, 24(1), 27–38. doi: 10.1177/1038416214559548
10. Bullough, R. V., & Hall-Kenyon, K. M., (2011). The call to teach and teacher hopefulness. Teacher Development, 15(2), 127–140. doi: 10.1080/13664530.2011.571488
11. Cahalan, M., (2013). Widening participation in higher education in the United States of America: Report submitted to HEFCE and OFFA. Retrieved May 9, 2016, from http://www.pellinstitute.org/
12. Cardak, B. A., & Ryan, C., (2009). Participation in higher education in Australia: Equity and access. Economic Record, 85(271), 433–448. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4932.2009.00570.x
13. Cheryan, S., Master, A., & Meltzoff, A. N., (2015). Cultural stereotypes as gatekeepers: Increasing girls’ interest in computer science and engineering by diversifying stereotypes. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 49. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00049
14. Department of Education and Training. (2015). Higher education in Australia: A review of reviews from Dawkins to today. Retrieved February 4, 2016, from https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/higher_education_in_australia_-_a_review_of_reviews.pdf
15. Gale, T., & Parker, S., (2013). Widening participation in Australian higher education: Report to the Higher Education Funding Council of England (HEFCE) and the Office of Fair Access (OFFA), England. Bristol: HEFCE.
16. Gore, J., Holmes, K., Smith, M., Southgate, E., & Albright, J., (2015). Socioeconomic status and the career aspirations of Australian school students: Testing enduring assumptions. Australian Educational Researcher, 42(2), 155–177. doi: 10.1007/s13384-015-0172-5
17. Greenhalgh, T., Seyan, K., & Boynton, P., (2004). ‘Not a university type’: Focus group study of social class, ethnic, and sex differences in school pupils’ perceptions about medical school. British Medical Journal, 328, 1541. doi: 10.1136/bmj.328.7455.1541
18. Griffin, B., & Hu, W., (2015). The interaction of socio-economic status and gender in widening participation in medicine. Medical Education, 49, 103–113. doi: 10.1111/medu.12480
19. James, R., (2002). Socioeconomic background and higher education participation: An analysis of school students’ aspirations and expectations. Canberra: Evaluations and Investigations Programme Higher Education Group.
20. Mathers, J., & Parry, J., (2009). Why are there so few working-class applicants to medical schools? Learning from the success stories. Medical Education, 43, 219–228. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2923.2008.03274.x
21. McLaughlin, K., Moutray, M., & Moore, C., (2010). Career motivation in nursing students and the perceived influence of significant others. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 66(2), 404–412. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.05147.x
22. Mooney, M., Glacken, M., & O’Brien, F., (2008). Choosing nursing as a career: A qualitative study. Nurse Education Today, 28(3), 385–392. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2007.07.006
23. Morley, L., (2012). Researching absences and silences in higher education: Data for democratisation. Higher Education Research & Development, 31(3), 353–368. doi: 10.1080/07294360.2011.634385
24. Naylor, R., Baik, C., & James, R., (2013). A critical interventions framework for advancing equity in Australian higher education: Report prepared for the Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education. Melbourne: Centre for the Study of Higher Education.
25. Richardson, P. W., & Watt, H. M. G., (2006). Who chooses teaching and why? Profiling characteristics and motivations across three Australian universities. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 34(1), 27–56. doi: 10.1080/13598660500480290
26. Scull, S., & Cuthill, M., (2010). Engaged outreach: Using community engagement to facilitate access to higher education for people from low socio-economic backgrounds. Higher Education Research & Development, 29(1), 59–74. doi: 10.1080/07294360903421368
27. Whitty, G., Hayton, A., & Tang, S., (2015). Context and implications document for: Who you know, what you know and knowing the ropes: A review of evidence about access to higher education institutions in England. Review of Education, 3(1), 68–71. doi: 10.1002/rev3.3039