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STUDENT TRAJECTORY ASPIRATION

RESEARCH (STAR):

A Study of Aspirations, Enablers and

Barriers to Further Education in the

Blacktown Learning Community

STUDENT TRAJECTORY ASPIRATION RESEARCH

(STAR):

A Study of Aspirations, Enablers and Barriers to Further

Education in the Blacktown Learning Community

PROJECT REPORT

May 2013

Margaret Somerville

Tonia Gray

Carol Reid

Loshini Naidoo

Susanne Gannon

Lin Brown

iii

CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... v

LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... v

LIST OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................. vi

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................... vii

INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 1

The STAR Project .................................................................................................................. 1

BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................................... 1

Higher Education Participation Program (HEPP) .................................................................. 1

Demographic Indicators in Western Sydney .......................................................................... 2

Blacktown City and Local Government Area ........................................................................ 3

Blacktown Learning Community ........................................................................................... 3

The STAR Project .................................................................................................................. 3

Research Questions ................................................................................................................ 4

The STAR ProjectAims ......................................................................................................... 4

Methodology .......................................................................................................................... 4

Place as conceptual framework ......................................................................................... 4

Collaborative ethnography ................................................................................................ 4

Methods .................................................................................................................................. 4

Ethical procedures ............................................................................................................. 4

Research sites ..................................................................................................................... 4

Children’s artefacts from classroom based activities ......................................................... 6

Focus groups ...................................................................................................................... 6

PRIMARY SCHOOLS ............................................................................................................ 7

Analysis and Discussion of Children’s Artefacts ................................................................... 7

School One ............................................................................................................................. 7

School Two ............................................................................................................................ 8

Gender ............................................................................................................................. 10

Reasons for career aspiration .......................................................................................... 10

SECONDARY SCHOOLS .................................................................................................... 13

Analysis and Discussion of Children’s Artefacts ................................................................. 13

School Three – Co-educational ............................................................................................ 13

Gender ............................................................................................................................. 13

Barriers and enablers ...................................................................................................... 14

School Four – Single Sex, Female ....................................................................................... 15

Career aspirations by age and SES ................................................................................. 15

Career aspirations over time ........................................................................................... 16

iv

School 5 – Single Sex, Male ................................................................................................ 19

Career choice by year level and SES ............................................................................... 19

PARENT FOCUS GROUPS ................................................................................................. 22

STAR Parent Interviews ....................................................................................................... 22

Analysis of Primary School Parent Focus Groups ............................................................... 22

Aspirations ....................................................................................................................... 22

Enablers ........................................................................................................................... 23

Barriers ............................................................................................................................ 24

Analysis of Secondary School Parent Focus Groups ........................................................... 24

Aspirations ....................................................................................................................... 24

Enablers ........................................................................................................................... 26

Barriers ............................................................................................................................ 27

Summary: Parent Focus Group Data Primary and Secondary Schools ............................... 29

TEACHER FOCUS GROUPS.............................................................................................. 30

Family Background .............................................................................................................. 30

SES Status ............................................................................................................................ 30

Support Opportunities .......................................................................................................... 30

Role Models ......................................................................................................................... 31

Values (Motivation, Self-esteem, Confidence) .................................................................... 31

Summary: Teachers’ Data from Primary and Secondary Schools ....................................... 32

CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 33

REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 34

APPENDIX 1: Blacktown City and the STAR Project Suburbs ............................................. 35

APPENDIX 2: Educational Requirements for Career Choices: Primary Schools .................. 38

APPENDIX 3: Full Tables: Data from Teacher Focus Groups ................................................ 42

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Summary Table – Educational Requirements for Career Choice, Kindergarten

Schools 1 and 2 ............................................................................................................ 9

Table 2: Summary Table – Educational Requirements for Career Choice, Year 5 Schools 1

and 2 ............................................................................................................................. 9

Table 3: Summary Table of Gender and Educational Requirements for Career Choice ......... 10

Table 4: Frequency of Reasons for Career Aspirations, Year 5 Schools 1 and 2 ..................... 11

Table 5: School 3 – Aspiration by Gender ............................................................................... 14

Table 6: School 3 – Enablers and Barriers to Success in Career Choice ................................. 14

Table 7: School 4 – Career Choices by Age & SES Category ................................................. 16

Table 8: School 4 – What I Wanted to be in Primary School .................................................. 17

Table 9: School 4 – Careers After School ................................................................................ 18

Table 10: School 4 – Career in Ten Years ................................................................................ 19

Table 11: School 5 – Career Aspiration by Year Level and SES Category .............................. 20

Table 12: General Data – Parents/Caregivers, Primary Schools .............................................. 23

Table 13: Enabling Factors – Parents/Caregivers, Primary Schools ........................................ 23

Table 14: Barriers to Career Aspirations – Parents/Caregivers, Primary Schools ................... 24

Table 15: General Data – Parents/Caregivers, Secondary Schools .......................................... 25

Table 16: Enabling Factors – Parents/Caregivers, Secondary Schools .................................... 27

Table 17: Barriers – Parents/Caregivers, Secondary Schools .................................................. 28

Table 18: Summary: Themes – Teacher Focus Groups Primary: Schools 1 and 2 .................. 31

Table 19: Summary: Themes – Teacher Focus Groups Secondary: Schools 3, 4 and 5 .......... 31

Table 20: SEIFA Indices for STAR Suburbs ............................................................................ 35

Table 21: Pattern of Arrivals of New Overseas ImmigrantsSTAR Suburbs ............................ 36

Table 22: % High–Low Income Earners, STAR Suburbs ........................................................ 36

Table 23: Employment Status, STAR Suburbs ........................................................................ 37

Table 24: Occupations, STAR Suburbs .................................................................................... 37

Table 25: Highest Educational Qualification, STAR Suburbs ................................................. 37

Table 26: Educational Requirements for Career Choice: Kindergarten at Schools 1 and 2. ... 38

Table 27: Educational Requirements for Career Choice: Year 5 at Schools 1 and 2 ............... 39

Table 28: Educational Requirements, Career Choice and Gender ........................................... 40

Table 29: Frequency of Reasons for Career Aspirations: Year 5 Schools 1 and 2 ................... 41

Table 30: Themes – Teacher Focus Groups Primary: Schools 1 and 2 .................................... 42

Table 31: Themes – Teacher Focus Groups Secondary: Schools 3, 4 and 5 ............................ 44

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Career Aspirations – Low SES Students Years 9 and 11 ........................................... 21

Figure 2: Reasons for Career Choices – All Students Years 9 and 11 ...................................... 21

vi

LIST OF ACRONYMS

ATSI Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

BLC Blacktown Learning Community

CER Centre for Educational Research

GWS Greater Western Sydney

HEPP Higher Education Participation Program

HREC Human Research Ethics Committee

HSC The Higher School Certificate

LBOTE Language Backgrounds Other Than English

LGA Local Government Area

NAIDOC Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee

OC Opportunity Class

OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

SEIFA Socio-Economic Indices For Areas

SERAP State Education Research Approval Process

SES Socio-Economic Status

STAR Student Trajectory Aspiration Research

TAFE Technical and Further Education

VET Vocational Education and Training

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction

The Student Trajectory Aspiration Research (STAR) project was a partnership between the

Blacktown Learning Community and the Centre for Educational Research, University of

Western Sydney. It was funded by the Higher Education Participation Program, a scheme

initiated in Australia by the Commonwealth Government in 2010 in response to the Bradley

Review of Higher Education which found that particular groups of people – Indigenous

people, people of low socio-economic status1 and people from regional and remote areas –

continue to be under-represented in Australian tertiary education (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent &

Scales, 2008).

The project used a participatory action research approach with teachers from five schools

within the Blacktown Learning Community (BLC). The aim was to investigate how

children’s career and further study aspirations are shaped over time in low SES, culturally

and linguistically diverse communities and to explore the enablers and barriers to progression

to further education. The study used creative methods integrated within day to day classes to

investigate career aspirations in four snapshots of different age groups in early and late

primary school and early and late secondary school. A focus group was held in each school

with teachers, and another with parents, to investigate the enablers and barriers to the

participation of children from these schools in further education.

Blacktown City is located in western Sydney about 35 kilometres from the Sydney Central

Business District. Blacktown City is rated at 972.8 on the SEIFA index, indicating it is more

disadvantaged than the national average (1005.2) and the New South Wales average (1003.3).

It has higher unemployment, higher levels of employment in unskilled occupations, and

lower levels of educational qualifications compared to Greater Sydney as a whole. Patterns of

disadvantage are unevenly distributed across the different suburbs within the Blacktown

LGA, allowing the project to make some preliminary comparisons about the differential

aspirations of children growing up in different socio-economic circumstances. The Blacktown

Learning Community was set up by an active group of local primary schools in order to

enhance the schools’ capacity building in Blacktown schools. The partnership was initiated

by the Principal of Marayong Public School and the Principal invited the participation of two

primary and three secondary schools.

The STAR Project

The STAR project asked three central research questions:

What are the aspiration trajectories of children in the Blacktown Learning

Community?

What are the enablers and barriers to their participation in further education?

What factors can facilitate the development and support for aspirations to participate

in further education?

Within the framework of place, teachers participated in a collaborative ethnography to gather

children’s artefacts using creative methods integrated within the school curriculum. Two

1 In the Bradley Review, low SES was determined by postcode and includes all those students whose permanent home

address postcode falls within the lowest 25% of postcodes as coded by the ABS SEIFA Index of Education and Occupation

(Census 2006).

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classes in early and late primary and early and late secondary were selected at each of the five

participating schools. In all classes, students were asked to reflect on and represent ‘What I

want to be when I grow up’. Open ended focus groups were conducted at each of the schools

with parents and with teachers to explore what they thought about the children’s aspirations,

and the enablers and barriers to children’s participation in further education.

Analysis of Primary School Artefacts

144 Kindergarten children and 87 Year 5 children produced drawings and text about what

they wanted to be when they grew up. Rather than collapse the data from the two primary

schools, however, it was found to be useful to compare them because of the marked

difference in the children’s aspirations, possibly due to differences in the socio-economic

status of the families in School 1 and School 2. A quantitative analysis of the children’s

aspirations according to the levels of education required for the nominated career found that,

in School 1, 17% of children at Kindergarten level compared to 28% of children in School 2

aspired to a career requiring tertiary education. The gap had increased to almost half by Year

5 with 40% of children in School 1 aspiring to a career requiring tertiary education compared

to 80% of children in School 2. The overall trajectory showed a strong increase from

Kindergarten to Year 5 in those children aspiring to tertiary education and an increasing

proportion of children in School 1 aspiring to careers with less education requirements than in

School 2. This data suggests that a marked differentiation occurs between children of

different socio-economic backgrounds as they progress from Kindergarten to Year 5.

An analysis of the written data for Year 5 classes in School 1 and 2 revealed seven main

themes as reasons for choosing a particular career. The themes of job satisfaction, a desire to

help people, experience or confidence with the activity/career, appeals to remuneration,

family influences, and visions of inventing reveal a more complex shaping of aspirations for

children than either their teachers or their parents revealed in the focus group data.

Analysis of Secondary School Artefacts

Secondary schools chose different means of collecting data and although direct comparison

across the three secondary schools is not possible, much interesting data came to light.

In School 3, 18 children in a Year 8 selective stream made a class video to identify their

preferred career and potential enablers and barriers that might impact on their career

trajectories. Career choices were mixed but with a clearly defined gender pattern of lower

aspirations for girls than boys, with half the boys identifying computer related careers. These

children showed a major focus on educational achievement as influencing their career

trajectories that was absent in primary school children. They identified their own individual

attitudes and behaviours as more important than any other factor that might influence their

career trajectories. Positive attitudes and behaviours directed towards learning were seen as

even more important than actually achieving good grades in terms of realising their career

aspirations. They were also concerned about the fact that they might change their minds

about their career choice, even though Year 8 may be too early for fixed career aspirations,

which can change throughout one’s life. Individual children’s socio-economic status was not

identified in this data.

In School 4 (single sex, female) 26 Year 9 and 10 students produced individual videos about

their career choices, how this might change over time and factors that might influence their

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choices. Socio-economic status was identified by teachers and this data showed a marked

tendency for students identified as mid-high SES to select high status and high income

professional careers requiring tertiary study, over those students in other SES categories. Far

fewer students in the low SES category identified tertiary pathways. Options associated with

fashion and display, or that might seem glamorous (model, hairdresser, designer, air hostess)

were all associated with students from low SES backgrounds. Many careers named by low

and mid SES students were ambiguous in terms of higher education requirements. This

school provided data about changing career aspirations over time with children nominating

their past, present and future aspirations. While the numbers are too small for valid

comparisons they do suggest some marked differences between children identified as low

SES compared to children of mid to high SES, with fewer low SES students expecting to go

to university and more specifying that they would be working during their study. Possibly the

most significant aspect of this school is the development of teaching and learning activities

that open the topic of career and further study aspirations as an area of open interest and

exploration.

In School 5 (single sex, male) data was collected from two Year 9 classes (41 students) and

one Year 11 class (25 students). Career aspirations were highly gendered and show

disproportionate orientations towards working in the computer industry (Year 9) and

professional sport (Year 11). In the younger cohort the aspiration towards professional sport

is spread evenly between SES groupings whilst in Year 11 it is markedly the preference of

students who are identified by teachers as coming from low SES backgrounds. Collated data

from all students lists financial reward as the most often occurring reason for career choice

followed by: personal interest and talent, helping others, exciting/fun; always wanted/my

dream; specific discipline and specific role models; and finally, challenging/interesting.

Marked differences were revealed, however, from Year 9 to Year 11 with no children

identifying Financial reward or Exciting/fun in Year 11. Further data would need to be

collected to make statistically significant comparisons but nevertheless there are some

marked trends that warrant further investigation.

Parent Focus Groups

Primary school parents identified issues concerning their children’s aspirations as: the

appropriateness of changing aspirations over time; the fact that they wanted their children to

be happy in their career choices; the influence of media celebrities and sports stars; and the

long term aspiration of a good income. Low SES parents overwhelmingly emphasised the

importance of support for whatever career was chosen, the value of trade-related education

and careers, the importance of realistic achievement, and financial considerations such as the

cost of education, including lack of income during study. They overwhelmingly identified

parental influence as a critical enabling factor in children’s aspirations. Items relating to

financial struggles and monetary constraints were most often cited as barriers to children

aspiring to further education. Other factors most frequently mentioned were their children not

applying themselves at school, deficiencies in the curriculum or teaching, and lack of role

models within the family.

At secondary schools several themes emerged from the parent focus groups relating to the

factors that influence young people’s career choices. These included: low SES as a limiting

factor; lack of clarity and certainty about their career choices; an overarching desire by

parents for their children to be happy, content and successful with the career choice made; the

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constant state of flux in career choice; parents role modelling career aspirations to children;

and the importance of parents ‘chasing the right school’ for their children.

Open communication channels between parent and child and parents’ acceptance of their

child’s wish to leave school were all seen as enabling factors for career aspirations. The

success of the school and the expectations of teachers were also flagged as significant factors

in the process. Interestingly, some parents were highly satisfied with the schooling their child

received whilst others were dismissive about the quality of education on offer (see section on

‘barriers’ for information on parents’ discontent). Issues relating to financial struggles and

monetary constraints were most often cited as barriers by parents of secondary school

children. Other factors included discontent with the school’s performance; their children not

applying themselves at school and having to set additional homework; deficiencies in the

curriculum or quality of teaching on offer; the impact of technology in the learning process;

and the anxiety produced when a child was not coping in the system.

In summary, the emergent themes gleaned from the parent focus group data included the

financial struggles of low socio-economic families and the hardships endured to enable their

children to pursue their career aspirations. Similarly, many articulated that their children had

no clear ambitions for their future careers. This was particularly evident in the primary school

data where the career choices varied frequently. Being happy, content and personally fulfilled

with the career choice were also recurring themes at both the primary and secondary level.

The influence of role models, the media and sporting heroes was noted as a significant player.

Parental aspirations were projected onto their children, and many parents wanted their

children to be earning a decent wage in the future. This attitude can, in part, be linked to

parents who were adamant that ‘chasing the right school’ was important. Parents of secondary

school children were more critical of the school system and teachers in relation to their

children achieving their career aspirations, possibly because of the pressure of performance in

secondary school.

Teacher Focus Groups

The same themes emerged from the data analysis of teacher focus groups at both primary and

secondary school level. The key themes that emerged from this data included the impact of

family background, socio-economic status of the family, support opportunities provided in

schools, role models at home and in school, and values (motivation, self-esteem, confidence).

Teachers believed that factors important for students’ successful transition to further

education included the provision of resources, abilities and support provided by families, in-

school support programs, and role models inside and outside the family structure. Teachers

saw the lack of continuity between home and school as having a major impact on the

aspirations of students and their transitioning into further education. Families with fewer

financial, social and cultural resources were less likely to be involved in the education of their

children.

Migrant parents, however, were viewed as having a positive attitude towards education so

that lack of financial, social and cultural resources did not always mean that students from

those backgrounds were doomed to failure. Teachers also emphasised that high parental

aspirations did not necessarily guarantee the student academic achievement. The school and

the teachers themselves were seen as important role models for the students. Teachers also

felt that good career counselling could assist students to make informed choices about their

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future and saw themselves as demonstrating respect and care, including additional in-class

support, which they believed gave students the opportunity to enjoy academic success.

Teachers further acknowledged that low socio-economic status, especially coupled with

language difficulties, did affect students’ attitudes towards school and contributed to limited

aspirations in further education. There was a correlation, according to the teachers, between

firm, targeted career goals and self-esteem and confidence, in that students who had given

thought to their future choices and who were confident about them, generally had high self-

esteem, which further assisted them in achieving academic success. Essentially, teachers

believed that the attitudes and values held by the students had a strong impact on their

educational outcomes.

Finally, teachers indicated that in-school and after-school support programs were a good way

of encouraging student engagement in learning and developing positive attitudes towards

school. Effective role models from the home, school and community were seen to inspire

students and inform them of the opportunities available to them. Teachers strongly affirmed

that the tertiary sector could expose students to reliable and relevant information about

tertiary study and students should also be given an opportunity to sample university life.

Conclusion

In summary, the STAR project has provided an opportunity for the development of a

collaborative model for university–school partnerships in relation to supporting the

development of appropriate career and further education aspirations for all children. The

creative methods trialed in this study have provided important information about the

significance of opportunities for teachers and students to imagine possible futures at all levels

of schooling. For low SES students this is particularly important in primary schools, where

early differentiation in career choices becomes strongly established. Rather than supporting

the idea of early fixed career choice, the findings of this study suggest that children need to

understand the multiple pathways to career choice and the factors that will assist their

success. By Year 5 children have sophisticated ideas about their choice of careers but little

information about the multiple pathways to achieving their career aspirations. The lack of

specific insights about participation in university education is apparent at all levels. By Year 8

children are seriously concerned about their educational achievement and lack of fixed career

goals, when it might be more effective to develop passionate engagement with learning as an

opening to future possibilities. The findings suggest that socio-economic and gendered

limitations on career and further education aspirations become more entrenched as students

progress through secondary education, when it might be reasonable to expect that school

education should be able to mitigate against these outcomes.

Teachers and parents appreciated the opportunity to engage in discussions about the career

and further education aspirations of the children and had many insights to offer about the

factors that enable children to achieve their goals or prevent them from doing so. Teachers in

particular had a wealth of ideas for the support of children’s developing aspirations over time,

although teachers at primary school level had not previously engaged in such conversations.

Schools and teachers in the Blacktown Learning Community could benefit from sharing these

ideas and strategies with each other and continuing the conversation about how children’s

career and further education aspirations are shaped over time. These conversations will

support the ongoing aspirations of all parents and children for a future of social engagement

and contribution.

1

INTRODUCTION

The STAR Project

The Student Trajectory Aspiration Research (STAR) project was a participatory action

research study with teachers from five schools within the Blacktown Learning Community

(BLC). The aim of the project was to investigate how children’s career and further study

aspirations are shaped over time in low SES, and culturally and linguistically diverse

communities and to explore the enablers and barriers to progression to further education. The

study used creative methods integrated within day to day classes to investigate career

aspirations in four snapshots of different age groups in early and late primary school and early

and late secondary school. A focus group was held in each school with teachers, and another

with parents, to investigate the enablers and barriers to the participation of children from these

schools in further education. Preliminary findings suggest that the career aspirations of

children are influenced by multiple factors including gender, ethnicity and socio-economic

status, and that family poverty in particular is significant. The influence of parents on their

children’s aspirations, however, appears to be more important than socio-economic status.

Teachers were believed to be a significant influence and the participatory action research

process with BLC teachers has assisted their capacity to support children’s aspirations

towards further education. Focus group discussions with parents potentially raised their

awareness and could lead to the establishment of mechanisms to support families in their

aspirations for their children.

BACKGROUND

Higher Education Participation Program (HEPP)

The STAR project was funded by the Higher Education Participation Program, a scheme

initiated in Australia by the Commonwealth Government in 2010 after the 2008 Review of

Higher Education (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent & Scales, 2008). The Bradley Review found that

university performance and participation in Australia were slipping relative to other OECD

nations and that particular groups of people – Indigenous people, people of low socio-

economic status2 and people from regional and remote areas – continue to be under-

represented in Australian tertiary education. University enrolments from these groups had

remained static or had decreased through the previous decade. Aspiration amongst those

groups of students to participate in higher education is an issue that is raised for particular

attention in the Bradley Review.

From 1989 to 2007 there was only a 1% increase (from approximately 14% to approximately

15%) in tertiary participation of students from the lowest 25% of socio-economic status

groups (Bradley et al., 2008, p. 28). The Report found that ‘a student from a high socio-

economic background is about three times more likely to attend university than a student from

a low socio-economic background’ (Bradley et al., 2008, p. 29). There is also a distinct

differentiation in the courses and institutions low SES students attend if they do go to

university, with their lowest representation in medicine, dentistry, economics, law,

architecture and creative arts (Bradley et al., 2008, p. 30). Students from low SES

communities are most highly represented in agriculture and education. Data presented in the

Bradley Review suggests that despite low access rates, the success rate of such students at

2 In the Bradley Review, low SES was determined by postcode and includes all those students whose permanent home

address postcode falls within the lowest 25% of postcodes as coded by the ABS SEIFA Index of Education and Occupation

(Census 2006).

Focus Group Summaries

2

university is almost equal (97%) to that of their peers from medium and high SES

communities.

In 2009, the Federal Government adopted modified recommendations from the Bradley

Review and set the following national targets: a) that by 2025, 40% of the Australian

population aged 25 to 34 years should be qualified with a bachelor level degree or above, and

b) that by 2020, at least 20% of the undergraduate student population nationally should be

from low socio-economic status backgrounds. The HEPP scheme is designed to assist

progress towards these targets by supporting projects that focus on increasing the participation

and success of domestic students from low SES backgrounds in tertiary education.

HEPP encourages partnerships between universities and primary and secondary schools to

raise the awareness, aspirations and capacity of students from communities where articulation

to universities historically has been low. These focus areas match the three precursors to

increased tertiary participation that the Bradley Review identified: awareness of higher

education, aspiration to participate, and educational attainment to allow participation

(Bradley et al., 2008, p. 40). The Student Trajectory Aspiration Research (STAR) project is a

partnership between schools in the Blacktown Learning Community (BLC) and the Centre for

Educational Research (CER), University of Western Sydney. It is directed towards the second,

and in some ways the most complex, of these prerequisites for participation. Aspiration to

participate in higher education starts early and is entangled with awareness and attainment

goals. It drives school choice, subject selection and focus through secondary school, and

contributes to the goal setting and planning that are essential if young people are to secure a

life trajectory that incorporates tertiary study.

Demographic Indicators in Western Sydney

The population of western Sydney is characterised by high cultural diversity and pockets of

extreme disadvantage. The majority of new immigrants (60%) that come to Australia settle in

western Sydney, with 35% of these coming from more than 170 countries, and speaking over

100 different languages. Over the past decade 50% of new arrivals came from Iraq and Sudan,

often as refugees. The region is also home to the largest single Indigenous community, 10% of

whom have relocated from other parts of the country.

Seven of the ten local government areas in western Sydney rated as having the highest levels

of disadvantage on the SEIFA index are in the GWS region. The SEIFA index is derived from

factors such as low income, low educational attainment, high unemployment, jobs in

relatively unskilled occupations, and other general variables that reflect disadvantage.

Economic disadvantage is related to poor health outcomes and the only single factor that has

been found to alleviate entrenched poverty and disadvantage is education. Educational

achievement in western Sydney reflects the low socio-economic status of many communities

in the region. The overall secondary school retention rates for Years 7 to 12 in western Sydney

is the lowest in the Sydney metropolitan area (69.5% compared to 95.2% in northern Sydney).

In 2009 twice as many people in western Sydney aged 15 or older had not attended school at

all compared to the rest of Sydney and NSW.

The University of Western Sydney has a mandate to ‘enhance the cultural, economic,

environmental and educational development’ of its local and regional communities. It is the

only university in the region and offers a range of courses and research programs to some

36,000 students. The University offers a large number of access and pathways programs,

funded through the Higher Education Participation Program and the Bridges to Higher

Education program, to support participation by low SES students in higher education.


3

Blacktown City and Local Government Area

Blacktown City is located in western Sydney about 35 kilometres from the Sydney Central

Business District. Blacktown Local Government Area (LGA) is bounded by Hawkesbury

LGA in the north, The Hills in the north-east, Parramatta in the east, Holroyd and Fairfield in

the south and Penrith in the west. Blacktown LGA has a population of 301,096. Of the total

population, 113,213 people were born overseas and 19% arrived in Australia within the last

five years. Blacktown City is rated at 972.8 on the SEIFA index, indicating a level of

disadvantage greater than the national average (1005.2) and the New South Wales average

(1003.3). It has a higher level of unemployment, higher levels of employment in unskilled

occupations, and lower levels of educational qualifications when compared to Greater Sydney

as a whole. Patterns of disadvantage are unevenly distributed across the different suburbs

within the Blacktown LGA and the tables at Appendix 1 provide further information about

these patterns.

Blacktown Learning Community

The Blacktown Learning Community was initiated in 1995 as an alliance of six state primary

schools in the Blacktown area, in order to increase opportunities for professional development

of teachers and capacity building across the schools. It has expanded over time and now

consists of 15 public schools. Led by Ian Feneley, the long term Principal of Marayong Public

School, the core group of schools has been Marayong PS, Seven Hills North PS, Schofield

PS, Seven Hills PS, Hambledon PS, Quakers Hill PS (primary schools), Quakers Hill High

School and Seven Hills High School. The Blacktown Learning Community is supported by

the Department of Education and Community Quality Assurance Unit at Nirimba, Blacktown.

The STAR Project

The Blacktown Learning Community requested the collaboration with the Centre for

Educational Research and the availability of HEPP funds provided the opportunity to form a

collaborative project. The first STAR project meeting took place in September, 2012 with the

Principal of Marayong Public School, Ian Feneley, the Principal of Quakers Hill Public

School, Bert Lo Campo and the Director of the Centre for Educational Research, Margaret

Somerville. Following this meeting these lead Principals invited the following five schools to

participate in the project: Marayong Public School, Quakers Hill Public School, Quakers Hill

High School, Blacktown Boys High School and Blacktown Girls High School. A second

meeting was organised with Principals and key teachers from the participating schools and the

larger project research team to formalise the project.

Many issues of concern in relation to the aspirations of children in the participating schools

were raised during the meetings. The demographic and geographic characteristics of

Blacktown were explored and the particularities of place were identified as important features

of the research. Pockets of potentially ‘depressed’ communities with ‘depressed aspirations’

within the larger Blacktown area were discussed. Teachers described key times in children’s

progression through school when some children become ‘future poor’ with regard to

aspirations. Issues of recognition and identity were seen to be important in shaping the

aspirations of young people, which the teachers believe develop within and are influenced by

family, community and school. Parents from different socio-economic and ethnic

backgrounds were seen to emphasise and direct their children’s career aspirations in different

ways and at different stages. Student engagement and disengagement were also discussed,

with teachers agreeing that while children begin school ‘fresh and bright’, for a number of


4

students disengagement seems to begin as early as Years 3 or 4. The overarching research

questions and aims of the project were formulated and discussed.

Research Questions

What are the aspiration trajectories of children in the Blacktown Learning Community

from the time they enter primary school until they leave secondary school?

What are the enablers and barriers to their participation in further education?

What factors can facilitate the development of and support for aspirations to

participate in further education?

The STAR Project Aims

To understand how the career and further education aspirations of school students in

the Blacktown Learning Community are shaped over time

To identify the enablers and barriers to participation in higher education

Methodology

Place as conceptual framework

The project methodology is framed within the concept of place, emphasising the significance

of place and community in the formation of children’s aspirations. The framing of place is

evident in the overall characteristics of Blacktown as a Local Government Area in the Greater

Western Sydney (GWS) region as described above.

Collaborative ethnography

Within the concept of place the project employed a collaborative ethnography research

approach developed in partnership with teachers of the identified classes. Storytelling and art-

making were identified as potentially productive methods of investigating children’s

aspiration as they elicit more imaginative and deeper connections with a sense of self, they

can be open-ended and they are especially suitable for research with young children. Semi-

structured focus groups were chosen as the means of exploring with parents and teachers the

enablers and barriers to participation in higher education. Analyses of the qualitative data

were based on identifying emergent themes in the children’s artefacts and in the transcribed

focus group conversations.

Methods

Ethical procedures

The research methods implemented in the STAR project were approved by the University’s

Human Research Ethics Committee (approval number: H9888) and also by the NSW

Government’s Department of Education and Communities (approval number: SERAP-

2012221).

Research sites

Two primary and three secondary schools were selected from the Blacktown Learning

Community (BLC) to participate in the STAR project. The schools are located in the socio-

economically mixed area described above, which is multicultural, multilingual and growing.

There are differences across the schools in the Blacktown Learning Community, with small

pockets of poverty amplified by intergenerational disadvantage alongside an emerging

affluent population. These demographics produce community desires and needs that shape

school responses. The outcome is a diverse range of programs and strategies within and across


5

schools in the BLC aimed at enriching the educational experiences of students. The schools

therefore have much to share and to learn from each other but these opportunities for

collaboration are also constrained by individual contexts.

The two primary schools are medium sized (500–700 students) with similar demographics,

although one is low SES while the other has a number of students from out of the area due to

its offering an Opportunity Class and Enrichment Classes in each grade except Kindergarten.

The school with a low SES population receives Federal funding under the National

Partnerships initiative, while the other primary school has never received funding to assist

students from disadvantaged backgrounds under any program. While all schools in the BLC

have increased the number of enrichment classes and selective streams they offer, this primary

school has always had an Opportunity Class.

Two of the three secondary schools are single sex – one male and one female – while the

other is a typical comprehensive secondary school. The comprehensive secondary school has

the largest population of students, followed by the girl’s school, which draws on 40 primary

schools. The diversity of primary feeder schools to this secondary school results from the

desire by aspirational parents and/or parents with specific cultural and religious needs for

single sex schooling for their children, and because it is one of only two all girls’ secondary

schools in western Sydney. The boy’s secondary school has a smaller student population. It is

important to consider such demographics in secondary schools because these shape staffing,

curriculum choices and opportunities for providing special programs. None of the secondary

schools have National Partnerships funding but all have some form of program targeting the

extension of students, such as enrichment classes, selective streams and accelerated literacy.

School 1 is a mid-sized primary school with 505 students enrolled in 2012, of whom 51.7%

are from LBOTE and 7.5% from Aboriginal backgrounds. School 1 receives funding under

the National Parnerships program. The school currently has 33 teaching staff and 13 support

staff. School 2 is also a mid-sized primary school with enrolments of 676 students in 2012.

Students from LBOTE backgrounds comprise 59% of the students and 4% are from

Aboriginal backgrounds. The school currently has 38 teaching staff.

School 3 is a co-educational secondary school catering for students from Years 7–10 (Stage

4/5) with 39% from non-English speaking backgrounds and 5% from Aboriginal

backgrounds. The school currently has 87 teaching staff and a support unit. The school’s

desirable academic reputation makes it commonplace for ‘out of area’ students to seek

admission. As a result, many students travel long distances to attend. School 4 is a partially

selective, girls only, secondary school with both academically selected students and local

comprehensive classes. It had approximately 700 students in 2012 with 47% from non-

English speaking backgrounds and 2% Aboriginal students. The school currently has 55

teaching staff, two specialist ESL teachers and one Support Teacher Learning Assistance. It is

one of only two government girls’ schools in western Sydney. School 5 has been a partially

selective, boys’ secondary school since 2010, drawing students from 50 primary schools

across a geographic region stretching from the Blue Mountains to Liverpool. The school had

372 students in 2012 with 44% from non-English speaking backgrounds and 3.5% ATSI

students. The school currently has 42 teaching staff and 10 support staff. It emphasises boys’

education strategies, literacy and numeracy, and technology for teaching and learning.

A single university researcher was allocated to each of Schools 1, 2 and 3 with another

university researcher working with both Schools 4 and 5. It was decided that each school

would negotiate the classes which would be invited to participate, the teachers who would

become co-researchers in the project, and the creation of artefacts to represent the students’


6

imagined futures. It was agreed that data collection should be non-intrusive and integrated

into everyday classroom practice.

Children’s artefacts from classroom based activities

Two classes were selected at each of the five participating schools. In primary schools,

children in an early primary class and children in a late primary class participated in the

project. In secondary schools, young people in a lower secondary class and young people in

an upper secondary class participated. In all classes, students responded to a prompt that

asked them to reflect on and represent ‘What I want to be when I grow up’.

Focus groups

At each school a focus group discussion with teachers was facilitated by the university-based

researcher, and another focus group was held with parents from that school. Each focus group

consisted of between three and eight participants. Particular questions were devised from the

broad research questions to shape focus group discussions with parents and teachers at each

school:

What are the career and further education aspirations of your children and how do they

change over time?

What are the factors that would assist children from your school to go on to further

education?

What are the barriers to children in your school going on to further education?

Although specific questions were used to initiate the discussion, a range of other issues and

specific insights emerged during each focus group discussion.

7

PRIMARY SCHOOLS

Analysis and Discussion of Children’s Artefacts

School One

Fifty-four artefacts were collected from two Kindergarten and one composite

Kindergarten/Year 1 class. Teachers were asked to annotate the back of children’s artefacts

with their perception of the child’s SES status and ethnicity. In the Kindergarten classes the

teachers talked with the children about the fact that when they grow up they will be adults and

will have a job. They asked the children what they would like to be when they grow up. In

two classes the teacher wrote on the board the words ‘When I grow up I want to be…’ for the

children to copy. In the other class the children were provided with an A4 sheet with the large

outline letters ‘When I grow up …’ at the top, and an outline of a square for the children to

draw in. Underneath the square were seven ruled lines for the children to write their story.

Ability to write clearly varied, with most children only copying the words ‘When I grow up’

and adding their imagined occupation. Three children in the composite class wrote longer

stories including a reason for their choice of career. All three of these students were girls, two

of them wanting to be a teacher, and one wanting to grow up to be ‘kind’.

When I grow up I wunt to be a teecha, teeching kids like you

do. You know wy. Bcos I like to teech like wen I am 33. If

that is too old then I will be 23.

In all classes there are marked gender differentiations in choices, with the girls wanting to be

teachers, princesses, or carers of animals, and the boys policemen, sporting heroes or robots.

Forty-five artefacts were collected from two Year 5 classes which showed the expected

marked change in sophistication from Kindergarten to Year 5. Year 5 children were introduced

to a computer-based activity in which they were invited to find images of what they wanted to

be when they grew up and to create an A4 sheet with images and a typed story. Again there

was a marked gender differentiation, with girls preferring caring professions and boys heroic

male occupations (professional football player, policeman). There was a marked increase in

aspiration towards high level professional occupations requiring tertiary study, including vets

(largest number overall), doctors, and computer engineers. The students’ stories show a very

sophisticated understanding of their particular career choice and are long and complex enough

for the source of their aspiration to be apparent. For example:

Lawyer

When I grow up I want to be a lawyer. I like defending the innocent. And I like pursuing

the accused. The only thing about a lawyer is that I could speak for the unspoken, who

could not speak for themselves. (Female, Anglo)

Children’s doctor

When I grow up I want to be a children’s doctor. I like young children and would like to

help them when they are sick. My mother always wanted me to be a doctor as well.

(Female, Indian)

Police officer

I would like to be a police officer when I grow up because I would like to help the world

from badness and put them in custody. (Male, Anglo)


8

School Two

At School 2, the learning activity was entitled ‘Future Me’. It invited students to ‘think about

what you want to be and what you will look like when you grow up’. Students were asked to

draw a self-portrait in a ‘work outfit’ and to write a line or a paragraph underneath their

illustration, explaining ‘what you want to become and why’. Three classes at Kindergarten

level participated in the activity. In these classes the teachers orally scaffolded the activity,

brainstorming the range of possibilities together with the students as a talking/listening

activity and then sending them off to draw on their own. Teachers assisted students by

scribing if they were unable to write the caption for the image.

Many of the boys wanted to be superheroes, firemen, or policeman and one child specifically

said he wanted to change the world. Many children at the Kindergarten level were altruistic,

wanting to help people. Several children wanted to be doctors and nurses, and the teacher

thought this may have been related to ethnicity. Other occupations named by boys included

soldier, captain of a boat, dog catcher, race car driver, and the Hulk. While in the discussion,

the girls said they wanted to be nurses and boys wanted to be doctors or police, in their

individual work on the task several girls wrote that they wanted to be pop stars, and one

wanted to work in a shop or a supermarket. Some boys wanted to be astronauts, a choice that

seems to reflect the sorts of games they play in the playground.

Three Year 5 classes completed the task, including the OC class and two mainstream classes.

The OC class has twenty-two boys and eight girls, with the gender imbalance being an effect

of the testing that secures places in the selective streams. Eighteen of the boys are Indian and

the teacher thought that these were the boys who wanted to become scientists or physicists.

The OC students completed the task independently. The teacher’s initial impressions were that

science or medicine related careers were the most common choices in that class and video

game design was also popular. The teacher thought that girls in the OC class were more

oriented towards creative occupations, with one girl wanting to be a photographer. Another

wanted to be a secretary, and another a teacher. None of the boys were interested in these sorts

of options. Several of the boys mentioned that they wanted a career that would make lots of

money and the teacher thought this may have been a result of family influence. Many students

were thought to be under pressure to have their choices shaped by parental preferences.

The students in the mainstream classes also seemed to display a gendered bias, with girls

having an orientation towards nursing. Male students wished to be a ‘cop’, Prime Minister or

a member of a SWOT team. A low achieving boy wanted to be a train driver. Sport was

prominent in boys’ choices and many students in the mainstream classes wanted to work with

animals. Another student wanted to teach people how to be a ninja. Otherwise, however, the

students’ aspirations were reality-based and students suggested that their choices were

predominantly based on their interests.

A quantitative analysis of the data from primary school children’s artefacts revealed that there

were marked differences between the aspirations of children at School 1 and School 2, which

are most likely related to the marked differences between the two suburbs in SES rating as

shown at Appendix 1. It was decided to compare the data between the two schools rather than

collapse it. In Tables 1 and 2 the numbers and percentages were calculated for children at

Kindergarten and at Year 5 level at each of the two schools, according to the educational

qualifications and training required for children’s career aspirations.


9

Table 1: Summary Table – Educational Requirements for Career Choice,

Kindergarten Schools 1 and 2

Educational Requirements for

Career Choice

Kinder School 1

N=54

Kinder School 2

N=90

Tertiary Education 9 (17%) 25 (28%)

Further Education TAFE – (Diploma,

Apprenticeship) or Training Colleges 20 (37%) 29 (33%)

On the Job Training 11 (20%) 24 (26%)

Fantasy (Princess, Queen, Robot,

Superhero) 14 (26%) 12 (13%)

Total 54 (100%) 90 (100%)

* Full table appears in Appendix 2, Table 26

Table 2: Summary Table – Educational Requirements for Career Choice,

Year 5 Schools 1 and 2

Educational Requirements for Career

Choice

Year 5 School 1

N=45

Year 5 School 2

N=42



Apprenticeship) or Training College 11 (24%) 4 (9%)



Superhero) 1 (2%)

Total 45 (100%) 42 (100%)


There were marked differences between School 1 (low SES) and School 2 (higher SES) in the

choice of careers associated with different levels of education, which became more marked

with age level. At Kindergarten level, 17% of children at School 1 chose a career requiring

tertiary level study compared with 28% of children from School 2 (Table 1). By Year 5, 76%

of children from School 2 aspired to careers requiring tertiary education compared to only

40% of children from School 1 (Table 2). The proportions of children from each school

aspiring to careers requiring further non-tertiary education (TAFE colleges and equivalent) are

very similar for children in Schools 1 and 2 at Kindergarten level (37%:33%) and quite

differentiated by Year 5, with more children from School 1 (24%) than from School 2 (9%)

aspiring to such careers. Similar proportions of children in Kindergarten at each of the schools

chose careers requiring no ‘formal’ further education, but by Year 5 marked differences were

apparent, with 36% of children from School 1 aspiring to careers which required no ‘formal’

further education or training compared to only 12% from School 2. We can conclude from

these comparisons by socio-economic status, that a marked differentiation in career aspiration

occurs between children of different SES status as they progress from Kindergarten to Year 5

in primary school.

While it is only a very slight finding that is not statistically significant, it is interesting to note

that at Kindergarten level the proportion of children aspiring to fantasy careers in School 1 is

twice that in School 2, but by Year 5 no children in School 1 aspire to such careers while 2%

of children in School 2 continue to do so. This phenomenon is significant in that the reverse

might be expected, and it supports the idea of the role of imagination in the creation of

alternative futures, which could be further investigated.


10

Gender

Table 3: Summary Table of Gender and Educational Requirements for Career Choice

Gender and Educational Requirements

for Career Choice All Year 5 All Kinder

Male

N=52

Female

N=31 Male

N=72

Female

N=72

Tertiary Education 27 (52%) 18 (58%) 5 (7%) 29 (40%)


Apprenticeship) or Training College 12 (23%) 4 (13%) 32 (44%) 17 (24%)

On the Job Training 12 (23%) 9 (29%) 23 (32%) 12 (17%)


Superhero) 1 (2%) 12 (17%) 14 (19%)

Total 52 (100%) 31 (100%) 72 (100%) 72 (100%)

Gender unidentified 4


At Kindergarten level nearly six times as many girls as boys aspire to a career requiring

further education, but by Year 5 the gender balance is almost equal. In both Kindergarten and

Year 5, more boys than girls aspire to a career requiring further (non-university) education.

More boys than girls at Kindergarten level, and more girls than boys at Year 5 level show

preferences for a career requiring on the job training, which possibly indicates an increasing

gender differentiation, as children progress through primary school, in the choice of those

careers requiring no further education.

Reasons for career aspiration

Year 5

The study recorded 199 reasons given by the Year 5 children for choosing a nominated career.

Some children gave just one reason while others were able to visualise a career with as many

as four key advantages. For example, one student described her multiple aspirations for her

career as:

I like to be a doctor because a doctor earns a lot of money. And I want to be

rich. I even like to help a lot of sick people. So I will be reliable and

responsible enough for this job. (Female)

An analysis of the written data revealed the following themes, listed here in decreasing order

of the number of times they were cited as a reason for choosing a particular career. The seven

categories are: job satisfaction; the desire to help people, animals or the broader community;

the desire to contribute to the community; already having experience or confidence with the

activity/career; appeals to remuneration; family influences; and visions of inventing. One

child also focused on what he wanted his life ‘not to be’. Table 4 below shows the frequencies

with which these themes were generated by the students.


11

Table 4: Frequency of Reasons for Career Aspirations,


Reasons/Themes Number of

times

Job satisfaction 76 (38%)

Contributing to the Community 55 (28%)

Experienced with, and/or confidence to do the

job

23 (11%)

Remuneration 22 (10%)

Family influence 12 (7%)

Inventions 11 (6%)

Total 199 (100%)

* Full table, including sub-theme frequencies, appears in Appendix 2, Table 29

Excerpts from the data confirm that by Year 5 the children (10 and 11 years old) have clear

thoughts guiding their aspirations towards certain careers. Some examples of children’s stated

reasons for career choice, from within the identified themes, are as follows:

Job satisfaction

I would like to be a professional dancer because I have loved dancing since

I was a little girl and I would love to become famous for dancing!!!

I would like to be an artist because I would be able to create artworks and

have them displayed and feel proud to know that I had created the art.

… a chemical engineer because she loves science and seeing reactions to

chemicals. (Female, Zambian/Indian)

Contributing to the community/altruistic

I want to be a fighter pilot because I want to help Australia in the war.

(Male)

When I grow up I would like to be a veterinary because I love animals and

to save all the animals in need. Just seeing the animals in poor condition

makes me sad, so I would love to help all animals in need. (Female)

Experienced with and/or confidence to do the job

I want to be a football player because I have played it my whole life. (Male,

Low SES)

Remuneration

I want to be a cricketer because it is fun and you get a lot of money. (Male)

... so I can help my family with money. (Male)

I would like to be a professional soccer player because I’m good at it and

you get good money for playing something you like. (Male)

… a professional basketball player and play in the NBA. He practises every

day to improve his ability and says it will also make him rich. (Male,

Filipino)


12

Inventing

… a scientist to create things. (Male, Filipino)

… a scientist to invent eco-friendly power. (Male, Fijian/Indian)

… a scientist to find new ways of extracting and harnessing energy. (Male,

Indian)

Family influence

… a V8 super car driver in the Bathurst 1000 – brought up with lots of cars

as well as name being a car! (Male, Australian)

… a vet. Because she likes animals her father suggested she be a vet.

(Female, Chinese)

I want to be a builder because I can build a mansion for my family to live in.

(Male, Low SES)

Fantasy

One student, thought it would be fun to be

… a superhero with a bike, guns and a helicopter. (Male, Fijian)

An outlier

An interesting comment was recorded by one student who focused not only on ‘what he

wanted’ for his career, but also on ‘what he didn’t want’ to experience in his life. He indicated

he would like to be the

… CEO of Woolworths for good salary and to give money to charity, help

my family and live a good life. Not to give up or make a major mistake and

not to struggle. (Male, Fijian)

13

SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Analysis and Discussion of Children’s Artefacts

The three secondary schools in the STAR project took different approaches to the generation

and collection of student artefacts representing the students’ aspirations for the future. In one

school, students created individual video statements, which were edited together by their

teacher. In another school students spent a day creating short films where students interviewed

each other in pairs on a range of aspects of intended careers and related issues and filmed

these interviews. At the third school students used a single lesson to create images and text on

a poster or PowerPoint presentations to represent what they wanted in the future. The method

selected for data elicitation was decided by the school, and was integrated as far as possible

into the everyday learning and organisation of the school. As well the student artefacts,

teachers at each school provided additional information on the students, identifying gender,

low SES students, and year level or age.

This section of the report focuses on the research question: What are the career and further

education aspirations of the children and how do they change through time? The schools are

discussed in order of the Year level of children selected for the study, beginning with School 3

which worked with the youngest age group, in Year 8, then School 4 which focused on Year 9

and Year 10 students, and finally School 5 which selected classes of students in Year 9 and

Year 11. Depending on the varying data sets generated at each school, some comment can also

be made in each school about emerging patterns in terms of gender and SES, and about

students’ perceptions of enablers and barriers to the achievement of their desired career path.

School Three – Co-educational

In this school artefacts were collected from 18 students in one Year 8 selective stream class,

comprising ten male and eight female students. These students made a class video, which was

edited by the teacher, to identify their preferred career and name potential enablers and

barriers that might impact on their career trajectories.

Gender

Table 5 lists students’ career choices at School 3 by gender, revealing some gendered patterns

in their selections – half of the boys have indicated computing/engineering related careers.

Though the girls’ options appear quite varied, only two of the eight identified careers clearly

entail higher education at university. Slightly more boys than girls identified career pathways

that will involve tertiary study, though some careers are ambiguous in terms of the necessity

for further education e.g. ‘zoo keeper’ and ‘dance teacher’. A small number of the career

options for boys and girls are also likely to lead towards further education in the VET

(Vocational Education and Training) sector rather than at university. Although students

identified particular professions requiring further study, or referred generally to ‘courses’,

only one student named a particular university degree, Bachelor in Business and Hospitality,

as a necessary prerequisite (to be a chef) and this may not be accurate.


14

Table 5: School 3 – Aspiration by Gender

Aspirations of GIRLS Aspirations of BOYS

Chef

Ultra-sonographer/ cardiologist

Hairdresser

Dance teacher

Photographer

Radiology/ vet

Casting director

Zookeeper

Graphic designer

Vet

Electronics programmer/ robotics

IT/ computers

Software engineer

RAAF fighter pilot

Mechanical engineer

Vet

Builder

Table 6 identifies the perceived enablers and barriers to success in the chosen careers. These

have been sorted into ‘in school/ university factors’ including academic results, course and

subject selections and attitudinal or behavioural factors relating to study, and ‘out of school

factors’ including family, income and the broader knowledge of the sphere of work that the

students hope to enter. Items that relate to individual attitudinal or behavioural factors

(attitude, motivation – work hard, study, enjoy) are marked in the table with an asterisk (*).

Items that relate to academic success (results, grades) are marked with a hash sign (#). While

it is difficult to distinguish factors that are necessarily entangled (for example, studying hard,

which is indicated as behavioural/ motivational *, is likely to lead to good grades, indicated as

academic #), the distinction nevertheless reveals some interesting patterns which are

discussed in the following section.

Table 6: School 3 – Enablers and Barriers to Success in Career Choice

Enablers Barriers

School/ university factors School/ university factors

Right classes

Get into elective

Get into particular Bachelor degree

Not getting right classes

Not get into courses I want

Not getting into desired institution

Getting subjects I need

#Good grades

#Grades needed

#Bad grades

#Bad grades

#Grades

#Grades/ computer games

#Good marks

* Put time and effort in

* Try hard, get into right courses

* Try to like science more

* Motivation

* Study more, get better grades

* Study & get experience

* Work extra hard

* Changing mind/ become impatient

with study

* Changing mind

* Change my mind

* Change my mind

* My attention span

* Too lazy/ not right attitude

Out of school factors Out of school factors

Parents in profession

Start outside of school

Go to FTV institutes to find out more

Not enough money

Barriers and enablers

In terms of both enablers and barriers students recognise that their own individual attitudes

and behaviours are significantly more important than any other factors that might impinge on

their career trajectories. Positive attitudes and behaviours directed towards learning were seen

as even more important than actually achieving good grades, in terms of realising their career

aspirations. This may reflect students’ understanding that positive learning behaviours precede


15

learning success and it also implies that this is a domain that students perceive is under their

control. They understand that they have control and responsibility for managing their time,

behaviour and affective orientations or feelings towards what they are learning (‘try to like

science more’). These individualised factors were seen by students as the most important

factors for enabling their success, with significantly more attention given to attitude or

behaviour (*7) than actual results (#2). This may also reflect the year level of students, as in

Year 8 it is less likely that career paths will be closed off by poor results. However, when it

comes to barriers to achieving their career aspirations, the risk of poor grades (#5) in the

future has increased to almost the same level of concern as attitude and behavioural aspects

(#6) that students might perceive to be under their control. This may indicate an expectation

of higher anxiety about their future success being less under their control than the present.

However, it is difficult to determine these factors from the data.

Another important factor that emerges as a potential barrier in the future for some students is

the concern that they might change their minds (4) about their desired career path. This seems

to be perceived by them as a disadvantage. However, in Year 8 perhaps it is rather early for

students to expect that they should have locked in linear and singular career paths. None of

the student responses suggested that they are thinking about flexible or multi-directional

career plans that could allow productive changes of direction or adjustment as they proceed

through secondary school and learn more about their own skills and interests and the breadth

of career options that might be available. In terms of academic pathways, students were very

aware that certain subject choices, courses or institutions will be necessary for their chosen

careers and access to these was identified equally as enabling (4) and disabling (4).

Teachers did not identify students in School 3 in terms of SES, therefore no conclusions can

be drawn about how SES status might impact on students’ aspirations. All students were in the

selective stream in Year 8.

School Four – Single Sex, Female

This school embedded the creation of the artefact into a full day career-planning event for

Year 9 and Year 10 students from a mix of selective and non-selective streams. Students

ranged in age from 14 to 16 years and their responses have been organised according to age.

Overall 26 student videos were produced throughout the day, although not all students

completed all elements of the activity. All students used the same setting for their videos and

took turns to conduct and record extended video interviews. Each student sat in a throne-like

chair and spoke directly to the camera in response to a series of identical questions focusing

on desired career choice, how this has and might change over time, factors that will assist

them to achieve these goals, as well as several other related factors (after school plans,

friends’ plans, general sense of the future). Students at School 4 were not asked for factors

that might serve as barriers to the achievement of their goals. Each student’s video is edited as

a separate file but has been enhanced and extended by the teacher with an introductory

sequence incorporating images, props and costumes that are relevant to that student’s career

choice. Teachers identified students as being from low, mid and mid-high SES backgrounds.

Career aspirations by age and SES

In Table 7, students’ current aspirations are listed and organised according to SES as identified

by teachers. They indicate a marked tendency for students identified as mid-high SES to

select high status and high income professional careers requiring tertiary study, over those

students in other categories. Far fewer students in the low SES category identified tertiary

pathways. Options associated with fashion and display, or that might seem glamorous (model,

hairdresser, designer, air hostess) were all associated with students from low SES


16

backgrounds. Many careers named by low and mid SES students were ambiguous in terms of

higher education requirements.

Whilst there was an inclination towards gendered options in many of the selections, there was

also a small number of unconventional career choices for girls (tattoo artist, construction

worker, panel beater). However these were modified by their more detailed responses to later

questions (receptionist at tattoo parlour; construction worker – ‘I have no idea’). Students

were not asked directly why they had chosen their particular career option but traces emerge

in some of the more detailed responses. Only two students mentioned role models or family

influence (optometrist – ‘due to my parents’; teacher – ‘because of my Dad’). Students often

added other possible pathways in their answers to later questions. These ‘proliferating’

aspirations, in that the more some students spoke, the more options they came up with, have

been indicated by (+…..) in Table 7.

Although students made general comments about the university study they expected to

complete, only one student named a specific course (Bachelor of Science with major in

biochemistry or forensics – to become a chemist). Another student named particular

institutions (Sydney University or Macquarie University). As student numbers varied in each

age group, it is difficult to draw conclusions about aspirations across time from their current

imagined career options, however there may be a clearer focus emerging for 16 year olds in

terms of a single preferred career option, as they seemed less inclined than the younger

students to give multiple responses.

Table 7: School 4 – Career Choices by Age & SES Category

Age/

Years Low SES Mid SES Mid-high SES

14 Army/ law

Model

Army / journalist/ freelance photographer/

history teacher (+bakery, butcher)

Air hostess (+counsellor, work with

children)

Hairdresser

Fashion designer/ successful business

woman

Fashion designer

Panel beater

Veterinarian (+zoology)

Tattoo artist

Concert pianist (+play

music in movies)

Zoologist/ optometrist

(+dietician)

Doctor/ cosmetic

dermatologist

Copyright lawyer/

writer/ actress

15 Art teacher

Accountant

Obstetrician / astrophysicist (+write

books)

Dance teacher

Construction worker/ nurse (+life guard)

Nurse

Registered nurse

Chemist

Policewoman

16 Nurse

Tourism industry

Architect

Career aspirations over time

Past aspirations

School 4 provided an expanded opportunity to look at changes to students’ aspirational

trajectories over time because of the way the artefacts were constructed. As well as indicating

their preferred career options now, students were also asked to recall what they had wanted to

do when they were at primary school (Table 8), and where they imagined themselves in the


17

future – both ‘after school’ (Table 9), and then ‘in ten years’ (Table 10). Table 8 suggests that

only three students maintained a clear commitment to a single career path from their primary

years (doctor, hairdresser, fashion designer) through to the present. Two of these were in the

low SES group. Several other low SES students had modified their aspirations – from dancer

and artist to dance teacher and art teacher. Modifications of aspirations were also apparent

where two students (low and mid SES) who had wanted to be doctors as children, now want

to be nurses, and a third (mid SES) has changed her preference from doctor to chemist. As

would be expected, childhood fantasy categories (princess, mermaid, vampire) have been

replaced by what seem to be more realistic options. Notably, almost all the students who could

not recall thinking about future careers while they were at primary school were in the low

SES group.

Table 8: School 4 – What I Wanted to be in Primary School

Age/ Years Low SES Mid SES Mid-high SES

14 Hairdresser*

Fashion designer*

Vampire

Princess

Farmer/ mermaid

Singer

?

Doctor/ teacher Doctor*

Rapunzel/

optometrist

Singer/ doctor

15 Artist*

Dancer*

Lawyer

Archaeologist

Astronaut

?

Fashion designer

Doctor in ER

?

16 Dancer/doctor

2 x ?

Model

(Asterisk indicates same as or closely related to present option; ? indicates that students

don’t recall the future careers they imagined in primary school.)

After school

At School 4 students’ imagined trajectories into the future were captured via snapshots at two

points in time – ‘after school’ and ‘in ten years’. Table 9 suggests that almost half (12 of 26)

of the students plan to go to university soon after finishing secondary school, comprising

almost all of the students in mid and mid-high SES groups and only four of the thirteen

students in the low SES group. Two of the low SES students expected to study at TAFE after

they finished school. Three of the four university-bound low SES students specified that they

would also need to be working while at university. However this was specified by only one of

the eight students from the mid and mid-high categories intending to go to university. Six of

the twelve low SES students expected to be working when school finished (sometimes

combined with study), while only two of the mid and mid-high SES students identified paid

work as part of their immediate post school planning. Amongst the low SES students, one

anticipated combining parenthood and marriage with university (army/law), and three planned

to travel overseas. Two of the mid-high SES students also planned to travel but their travel

was embedded into an educational pathway (i.e. as a ‘year off’ before university or within a

student exchange program).


18

Table 9: School 4 – Careers After School

Age/

Years Low SES Mid SES Mid-high SES

14 University/ married/

babies

TAFE/ job/England

2 x Work in preferred

job

University/ p/t work

TAFE/ university/ work

University University

/student exchange

University

Year off/work/

university

15 2 x Work in preferred

job

Go to America

3 x University

Work in preferred job

16 Travel around the

world

University

University University

(‘Work in preferred job’ means that students repeated their initial career choice in

response to this question)

In the future: ten years

The imagined futures of ‘in ten years’ enabled students to develop mini narratives about the

order in which they intended to make certain choices in their lives. As with other elements of

their responses, these were not always complete or consistent with what they had answered

earlier in their interviews. Ten of the 26 students imagined themselves having children within

ten years, though two students (mid and mid-high SES) specifically noted that they would be

too young to be married or have children. Only seven of the 26 students specifically identified

themselves as working in ten years’ time. Three students of the 26 expected they would be

still studying at university. Nine of the students identified themselves as living or travelling

overseas. While none of these categories are mutually exclusive (for example, living overseas

is likely to incorporate working overseas and parenting may be accompanied by work), the

students’ responses do indicate the factor that was foremost at the time of their responses to

the question. Although numbers of students are small, and any conclusions to be drawn are

tentative, there were emerging patterns in SES terms. Having children was specified as a

career related life goal to be achieved within ten years by more than half (7 out of 11) of low

SES girls, a third of mid SES girls (2 out of 6), and one quarter of mid-high SES girls. Work

(or work-specific study) was specifically named as part of their life in ten years time by less

than half (4 out of 11) of low SES girls, by half (3 out of 6) of mid SES girls, and more than

half (3 out of 4) of mid-high SES girls. Although student responses included some which may

have been intended to be provocative or humorous (for example, ‘pregnant living in a

trailer’), it is nevertheless significant that these girls did not have in mind (or did not choose

to offer) a recognisable career choice in answer to this quite specific question, and such

responses are likely to indicate uncertainty around aspirational trajectories.


19

Table 10: School 4 – Career in Ten Years

Age Low SES Mid SES Mid-high SES

14 Travelling by the beach,

have some kids

Be overseas, start family,

go back to work after

they start school

Have ten or more kids, be

married

Have lots of babies, be

married, in big house, be

hairdresser

Living by myself, at least

engaged, have kids after

few years

Finish study, get married

and have own life

Masters degree after

nursing

Married with kid or two,

travelling around the

world

Pregnant living in a trailer

or in England

Finishing university/ travelled

around world/ living alone

(too young for

marriage/kids)

Still finishing university

(dermatology)

Have a partner, be married,

working or in university or

writing or freelancing or

living alone or with my

friend, and travelling, living

in America (too young for

kids)

15 Go to uni, get money/work,

have kids

Independent career driven

woman – mum wants me

to be married and I’ll

have kids but still study

and learn and write

books

Overseas in Paris , NY or

England

In America, NY mall, be

rich and perhaps have

goat, pig, cow

Working playing piano at

different concerts or

still at university

Living in Hawaii on the

beach

In my dream job working

in a lab of forensic

scientist, in relationship

or single (too young for

kids or marriage)

16 Maybe married Married in Dubai with

husband and two children,

working as architect and

travelling all around the

world with kids

School 5 – Single Sex, Male

School 5 selected two classes in Year 9, giving a total of 41 students, and one class in Year 11

of 25 students. The Year 9 cohort included students from both the selective and non-selective

streams.

Career choice by year level and SES

Student career choices are listed by year level and SES in Table 11.

Career aspirations were highly gendered and show disproportionate orientations towards

working in the computer industry (Year 9) and professional sport (Year 11). In the younger

cohort the aspiration towards professional sport is spread between SES groupings, whilst in

Year 11 it is markedly the preference of students who are identified by teachers as coming

from low SES backgrounds.

Apart from the computer studies orientations, only a small proportion of the responses suggest

a higher education pathway and these were concentrated within the Year 9 cohort, possibly

amongst the students in the selective stream. In students identified by teachers as low SES,

there was an increasing orientation towards professional sporting careers as students


20

progressed to Year 11. Amongst Year 9 students from low SES backgrounds, there was a

relatively even distribution between sport and non-sport careers.

Table 11: School 5 – Career Aspiration by Year Level and SES Category

SES Category Year 9 Year 11

Low SES Army pilot

Aeronautical engineer

Neurosurgeon

Car engineer

Car designer/ bridge engineer/ car artist

Architect/ army

Rugby league player

Soccer player

Rugby league coach

Tradie/ own business

Police officer

Fly for British airways

Join the army

Game designer/ architect/ chef

Business man

Basketball player

Rugby league player

Soccer player x 4

Cricket player x 2

Record producer/ CEO/ hiphop artist

Actor

Bartender

Non-Low SES Pilot of a commercial airline

CEO of big company or engineer

Engineer/ CEO

General practitioner

Dentist

Medical science

Lawyer/ software engineer

Physics

Engineer

Architect

Electronic engineer

Indie game programmer

Gamer/ Software developer or designer

Software/ hardware engineer/

programmer/ gamer

Computer designer

Software engineer x 2

NBA player

Soccer player

Soccer player/ personal trainer/

PDHPE teacher

Cricket player

J rock/ pop song artist

Work at MacDonald’s during

secondary school to build résumé

Army hospital paramedic

Heavy mechanics/ trucks in mines

SAS soldier

Computer designer

Computer sales/ professor

Singer

Join the army

SAS soldier

Software engineer

Petroleum engineer

Professional basketball player

Rugby league player

Builder/ police officer

Police officer

Police officer

Art & design/ author

NOTE: Where students named multiple options, the first named option was used for the figures below. Where

student SES was not identified by teachers, or students did not include their names on their artefacts, their data

was placed in the third section of Table 11 (above) and was not included in the low SES figure below.

The data to show comparative frequencies for career choice between Year 9 and Year 11

students have also been organised into two column/bar graphs. Figure 1 represents the career

aspirations of identified low SES students in Years 9 and 11, while Figure 2 reveals the

reasons that all students gave for their career choices.


21

Figure 1: Career Aspirations – Low SES Students Years 9 and 11

Figure 2: Reasons for Career Choices – All Students Years 9 and 11

28

45

0

18

9

50

12.5 12.5 12.5 12.5

sport professional (HE) artistic police/ military trade/ business

Yr 9 low SES Yr 11 low SES

% LOW SES students: Career Aspirations

17

10 10 10

12 12

5

7 7

0 0

12 12

8 8

4 4

0 0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

% Yr 9 % Yr 11

Reasons for career choices - % all students Invalid Year 9: 4(10%) and Year 11: 13(52%)

22

PARENT FOCUS GROUPS

STAR Parent Interviews

Focus group interviews were conducted within the respective five schools in the Blacktown

Learning Community. The parents or caregivers were invited to attend sessions that generally

lasted for approximately 60 minutes. The focus group sizes varied from site to site, ranging

from the smallest cohort (three participants) to the largest (seventeen participants). A series of

open-ended questions was posed during these sessions, and participants were invited to

respond to the general questions identified earlier:

What are the career and further education aspirations of your children and how do

they change through time?

What factors would either enhance or impede your child’s career aspirations?

If responses required additional elaboration the facilitator delved further for clarification and

verification. In the following analysis the parent focus groups are discussed in order of the

age levels of their children, primary schools first and then secondary schools.

Analysis of Primary School Parent Focus Groups

Aspirations

Beginning with the two primary schools (both co-educational schools ranging from K–6) the

general comments made by the parents concerning aspirations were varied. The emergent

themes included: aspirations for a trade; no clearly identified aspiration at this stage;

happiness in their chosen career; parents’ aspirations projected upon their children; an attempt

to dissuade children from jobs requiring hard manual labour; their child’s fluctuating career

choices over time; the influence of media and sports; and the long-term aspiration for a ‘good

income’. These are identified in Table 12.

Parent Focus Groups Focus Group Summaries

23

Table 12: General Data – Parents/Caregivers, Primary Schools

Themes Parent comments and Quotes from data

Aspirations for a trade Having a trade to fall back on … if you have a trade, even if you don’t like it you

can go back to it, you can change to something else but you still have it. … my

son wanted to do with his electrical apprenticeship, he said, ‘I want to do that

because that’ll set me up’.

No clear idea at this

stage

The only thing that’s important to him at the moment is TV and video games, and

all of that sort of stuff. … He’s quite bright and above average in most of his

results, but he would have no idea where he wants to go at the moment.

Happiness I want them to be happy, like that’s why I’m not forcing my son over it, like I

can’t tell him what he wants to be. I want him to be happy.

… as long they’re happy, they can be what they want to be.

Parent aspiration

projected onto kids

Even parents should just stay out of it. Like they should be there to lend a hand

and push them along the way, like you can do it. But actually take over and tell

them what they have to do and – I think that’s just wrong.

Aversion to manual

labour

I don’t want him to work hard all his life, like in a hard job.

Randomly selected –

Changing choices over

time

Her career choices change depending on what she’s into at the time. She

originally wanted to be a vet because she loves the animals, and now she’s

learning to braid, and she wants to be a hairdresser and, you know, next week it’ll

possibly change depending on what she starts doing next week. So, yeah, it just

seems to be at the moment whatever she seems to be into, she’ll look for a job

that’s related to that.

Influence of media My daughter wants to be Kym Kardashian.

Influence of sports He wants to play for the Rabbitohs when he grows up … But he fights with his

father because his father wants him to play for Penrith … But that’s all he thinks

about is sport, sport, sport, sport all the time.

Earning a decent wage I think, sometimes they can’t see like the big picture. You might be losing the

money now, but if you put the hard work in academically you’re setting yourself

up for later, and you don’t have to work as hard or do a job that you’re not that

crash hot on.

Enablers

The parents and caregivers of primary students articulated the overwhelming importance of

parental influence as a critical ‘enabling’ factor. In Table 13, the most significant factors

acknowledged were parental support of their child’s career choices.

Table 13: Enabling Factors – Parents/Caregivers, Primary Schools

Themes Parent comments and quotes from data

Parental influence

(supportive,

confident

encouraging)

Give them support and just say, ‘yeah, sure you can do that’, or even if it’s

something that you think, ‘oh never in a million years would my child be able to

do that’ go ‘I bet you could’. Yeah, I guess like pump them up, give them the

courage to be able to say, ‘oh well try it’; not just go ‘oh don’t you want to – this

might be easier if you do this’. If they choose something, be supportive.

Give them a high level of self-confidence, they’re more likely to succeed in life.

They’ve got a lot of years before they might change their mind, but even if they

don’t, who is anyone to say that they can’t do it.

… that’s the other thing is to always be there as support for the kids to allow them

to do whatever they choose to do. If they go out and get a job and they go ‘well,

look I’m going to stop my job because I want to go back and do this’, hopefully

financially we can support that.

I guess support also comes in is to have them at home for a longer period of time,

even if they’re driving you nuts.


24

Barriers

Table 14 identifies the primary school parents’ perceptions of barriers to their children

achieving their career aspirations. Items relating to financial struggles and monetary

constraints were most often cited. Of the other factors which were discussed less frequently,

children not applying themselves at school, deficiencies in the curriculum or teaching, and

lack of role models within the family were the most frequently mentioned.

Table 14: Barriers to Career Aspirations – Parents/Caregivers, Primary Schools


Financial struggle in

general

[speaking about a family member – nephew] He did his HSC a few years ago,

and all he ever wanted to do all his life was be a doctor, and he would have been

the best doctor in the world. He missed out by 2 points to get into uni as a doctor.

So he tried to get a review of grade and all that sort of stuff, you know, and they

wouldn’t do it. So he ended up, he went to uni to do something else, and he hated

it.

Not applying

themselves at school

I don’t know that my daughter would ever go off and do uni because she just

tends to be just cruising. … She may have to really apply herself if she decides

that she wants to do something that requires uni. … It doesn’t come easily for her.

Deficiencies in

teaching and

curriculum

There are good teachers, and then there are some teachers that aren’t. … [They]

are just there for the money … and you still get personality clashes too.

Lack of role models I know no one in my family has gone to university, not one.

Analysis of Secondary School Parent Focus Groups

Aspirations

Several themes emerged from the parent focus group about the factors that influence young

people’s career choices. These included: low SES as a limiting factor; lack of clarity and

certainty about their career choices; an overarching desire by parents for their children to be

happy, content and successful with the career choice made; the constant state of flux in career

choice; parents’ role modelling career aspirations to children; and the importance of parents

‘chasing the right school’ for their children. Collectively, these factors are identified in Table

15.


25

Table 15: General Data – Parents/Caregivers, Secondary Schools


Low SES

I think … it’s family dynamics. Sometimes along the way, families break down, and

then there is the economic – the socio-economic background that people … I know

from my own ethnicity – Pacific Islanders – I don’t think many of us go to university

because of the fact that the financial stress of the pressure of actually getting out of

school and get a job to help the family.

The fact that there’s a lot of financial pressures in families that – I know my kids

sometimes – they say to me, ‘Mum, we don’t want to go to university’. I will say,

‘why?’ ‘Because it’s going to cost so much money for you and Dad, and we want to

go get a job and help you’. I goes, ‘no you’re not. You are going to go to university. If

you can’t go to university, go to TAFE’.

Still unclear bout

career choice

When they are younger … I think they fancy being something, but they don’t – they

actually don’t know. I will ask this question many times to my children. ‘What do

you want to be?’ ‘I don’t know’. Every time the question, answer is, ‘I don’t know’,

which is great. I think because that’s how it is. They’re still growing up.

She has no clue what she wants to do, and that’s fine too because they actually told us

at the elective night, do something you’re interested in and something you’re good at,

not what you think is going to be good for your career, because he said, she might

have three different careers before she gets the right thing.

Importance of

happiness and

contentment in

their career choice

A lot of children choose what is comfortable and familiar. They see what their parents

are doing – but that sometimes this narrows their options. He is reasonably bright; we

would just like him to be happy with whatever career he chooses … We are not very

pushy parents … just encouraging him to do the very best he can do.

That’s a pathway, and you’ve got to go and do what you want to do and be what you

want to be. Get a job that you like. Don’t just go get a job. Get something – do

something you enjoy doing so that when you wake up in the morning, you’re not

dreading going to work. You’re happy to get up and go to work. That’s the little

things I’ve given to my children.

Achievement and

success in career

choice

We’re planting seeds to actually see them in greatness. They could be the greatest

plumber. Nothing wrong with that. The greatest builder – nothing wrong with that.

But it’s having that – changing the minds of a society, and it starts from the home.

All I ask of my son is that he do his very best that he can do, respect everybody, give

it his best shot and fingers crossed to some point isn’t it as well.

Choices changing

over time

My daughter’s aspirations over time have changed dramatically. But I think that’s

purely because her world has gotten wider. Before she started school, the only

profession that she was aware of was medicine because that was the only profession

that she experienced. She certainly didn’t want to follow her dad because he’d come

home exhausted. But the doctor looked glamorous. When she started school, she

wanted to be a teacher because that was her whole world. Then she went through a

stage of wanting to be a spy and a rock star. But that changes because she’s now

recognising what her talents and deficits are. She can’t hold a tune, so rock star’s not

going to happen. She’s quite timid, so she’s not going to be able to get up in front of

20,000 people. It’s just that because they’re experiencing – at four, she wouldn’t have

known what an engineer was. Now she knows, not that she wants to be an engineer.

But they’re just exposed to so many more careers and professions than they were as a

young child.

But she’s loves English, so she talks about possibly doing human rights law because

… because every new career that she hears about is more exciting than the last. It’s

just fine-tuning it, and that’s going to happen.

Divergence within

families

But at least us parents can support her. This is what she wants. Sometimes the parents

– you should be a doctor, but that’s not what she wants. They only did it because the

parents want it. When they got up to year 12, they change. They say, ‘no that’s too

hard, we don’t want to do that because only Mum and Dad want us to do it’.

Parents as role

models to children

I’m going to university next year for the simple fact that I want to set examples for

my children and say to them, ‘you know what? I’m struggling, studying, family and


26

work. I don’t want you to do this’. So I’m setting an example for my children that

they have to do it now while they’re young. … To the core of things, it’s the home

that – where the values are put in, instilled and everything.

It’s that nurturing that we do at home. I think – and one of the most – I think the

highest barrier for my ethnicity, or my – Pacific Islanders – is the financial side of

things and the lack of education, because some of us parents, the highest education –

our parents’ parents, their highest education was primary school.

I think his dad is his role model … [He] is very dedicated, studious and career

minded. He always makes my son aim for the very best he can. And I think he thrives

on that.

Chasing the right

school

I knew then that they were taking the application seriously and that this school was

the one. They were doing things the right way. You can see it is a good environment,

good teachers, well looked after, yeah sure there have been little things I am not

happy, no place is going to be perfect, but my kids love it here. … To get my child

here each day, there are a few of us where we live that car pool, so my husband does

the morning shift, and another parent does the afternoon shift. It is worth the extra

effort to come here.

Enablers

In parallel with the findings from the primary school parent cohort, one of the frequently

mentioned enablers for the parents and caregivers of secondary school students was the need

for creating a supportive, encouraging and nurturing environment. In Table 16, several factors

are indicated as being instrumental in achieving this goal; for example, parental influence was

viewed by parents as an integral factor in shaping their child’s career choices. Open

communication channels between parent and child and parents’ acceptance of their child’s

wishes to leave school were all seen as enabling factors for career aspirations. The success of

the school and expectations of teachers were also flagged as significant factors in the process.

Interestingly, some parents were highly satisfied with the schooling their child received whilst

others were dismissive about the quality of education on offer (see section on ‘barriers’ for

information on parent dissatisfaction.


27

Table 16: Enabling Factors – Parents/Caregivers, Secondary Schools


Parental influence –

supportive, confident

encouraging

We don’t say that you have to push a child in academics or in maths or science.

That’s not the thing. Let them be where they want to go, but whatever he wants to

do, give them enough support. I think the curriculum lacks here, and I have – in

my learning time, I have learned enough.

We are always pushing him to do better. He doesn’t like it, but he has to learn to

try harder. They slacken off thinking everything is fine.

He doesn’t put time aside; he just ‘wings it’. But life is not like that any more …

but it is good to push them now, because if they do it later, the chances might be

gone.

I’m not – overly – just leaving all my kids worrying to the schools and the

teachers. I take responsibilities for my kids’ learnings, and I teach them to take

responsibilities for their learnings, for the simple fact that the first – I believe the

first school is the home. Some of the time, the teachers do it hard because the kids

don’t have respect for the teachers.

Communicating values

There’s other skills that has to be fostered, not only academic skills. There’s

social skills. There’s other skills that need to be fostered. I know some parents – I

know I’m not one of those parents that focus on wholly academic because I know

that my kids may not be – think they’re doing well. But there’s more to them than

their brains. Do you know what I mean? They have to be good human beings, and

being academic is not really meaning that you are a good human being. I want

them to be all-rounders instead of just being academics – academia.

Not having a career

choice at school is

‘OK’

I think it’s expected of children to know what they want to do. Some people do,

and that’s great. But then there’s other people that need to experience a bit before

and hope that they’ve made the right choices to get them to there. But no child is

a lesser child for going – finishing year 12 or less and going to university or not

going to university.

Like you said, you were a factory worker before you went to university. You

know what? The world survives on every different kind of person. So it doesn’t

mean that a university person is better than a factory worker or anything like that.

I think there’s so much pressure on children to know what they want to do.

They’ve not been exposed to some bizarre career that is really necessary because

it’s not a mainstream doctor, nurse, lawyer, teacher. I think that they need to chill

sometimes and be able to find – and do the work experience.

School success and

electives

I think one of the things that this school – that would have a positive bearing – is

an expectation that they’re going to take it seriously, whereas in my experience,

that’s not always a blanket coverage for all schools, whether primary or

secondary school.

Teachers (values &

expectations; support

programs)

Creative areas, they do problem solving and all sorts of things. My kids have

come home with big canvases that they’ve had to paint, and make decisions all

the way through on how they will do – so all of those skills, I believe will

contribute to their future choices.

General homework

comments

I’ve always checked with my kids that they have homework. The last time

[unclear]. It’s due this week. They feel that pressure. So you have to do your

homework. I never write notes for my kids to say that they haven’t done it simply

because of so and so. I say, ‘no you have to get it done. If you don’t, you have to

go and talk to the teacher. That’s something you have to sort out yourselves’. So

those are the skills I’m trying to teach my kids, that it’s their life. They have to

learn to deal with pressures and deal with things the way it should be done.

Barriers

The perceived hardships, roadblocks and impediments for secondary school students in

attaining their career aspirations became clearer with discussions where parents began to

more specifically blame the children’s schools. Table 17 illustrates the parents’ perceptions of


28

the barriers their children may encounter whilst trying to pursue the career goals to which

they aspire. Issues relating to financial struggles and monetary constraints were most often

cited. Other factors included: discontent with the school’s performance; their children not

applying themselves at school and having to set additional homework; deficiencies in the

curriculum or quality of teaching offered; the impact of technology in the learning process;

and the anxiety produced when a child was not coping in the system.

Parents with children in the secondary school system were more verbose than their primary

school counterparts. Their comments were more critical of the quality of curriculum and

teaching. This, in part, could be due to the increased pressure on secondary students to

perform well and attain good results in the HSC. Also, the parents were more engaged in the

educative process and not afraid to voice their frustrations.

Table 17: Barriers – Parents/Caregivers, Secondary Schools


Monetary issues Yes, the monetary barrier is a real issue, but you do what you can to help your

kids. If he keeps up the grades … then we will do what we can to assist.

A lot of people that are working class, blue collar are worried about a $60000

HECS fee … That’s a lot to be hanging over somebody’s head.

He’s now left in year 11. What a waste. There is a brain there, but it was all

getting to him: two hardworking siblings, mum’s struggling, so I think he sees he

can get out to work and maybe help mum a little.

Parents having to set

additional homework

due to dissatisfaction

I would like to say that I have seen the homework system. When my daughter

comes back to home and she’s doing her homework, actually I’m not satisfied

with what the homework has been given.

As we said about homework and stuff, my kids bring home – if I feel that – I

usually sit with them sometimes. I feel like they still need to be doing more. I

give them more homework. I say to them, the same exercise that you’re – go – I

give them some more questions to do.

Underwhelmed with

the school

I think curriculum here in schools is below par. It doesn’t help students to achieve

more. The reasons could be plenty. Obviously, it’s both parents as well as

teachers. What I should say is responsibility, that both should do enough. As far

as social skills are concerned, as the other lady over there was talking, I feel

enough is being done in school to be very, very great socially, communication

wise.

When she was in primary school, she was aiming to become a doctor, but now

she said, ‘Mum, it’s so hard. I don’t think I can do it’. I think the school’s not

enough pressure to achieve.

Suddenly in year 10, 11, 12, everything becomes, whoa. It’s difficult, it’s

stressful. You have not given them enough opportunity to go and feel how to deal

with the stress. You’ve not done enough and that’s why all these problems are

there.

I would like to say that school has to give more little attention towards how to

take the pressure of the work.

My son was – is pretty intelligent, but what I’ve seen over a period of time – he is

in year 10 now. What I’ve seen is he is slowly going down. I still feel he is

intelligent, but I don’t think schools have done enough.

Issues with technology I’ve got – one of my kids is in high ability and one is in low ability – in the

mainstream, but the lower end of the mainstream. I want to raise a couple of

points. Firstly, the issue of technology within their class. For example, the use of


29

mobile phones amongst low stream kids, because one of the things that has

happened is that they don’t seem to – we’ve got legislation that’s just passed in

Parliament that verifies that we can’t drive and text at the same time because our

brains can’t do it. I believe that we can’t learn – children can’t learn and they

can’t have those mobile phones going. That is such a distraction. I know that my

kid included is affected by this.

If the child in US or Sweden or anywhere can achieve, why not an Australian

child? What stops them? It’s basically the thinking. The whole curriculum is not

correct, and it’s below par. That’s why the children are losing the focus. They

spend five hours on computer, but can’t spend half an hour to one hour on

studies, whether academic or anything else. That’s what the problem lies, in my

opinion.

In my son’s year 10 class, he will tell me – and although he’s high ability, they

will toggle between screens. They’re supposed to be working, but they will also

have something else on. We were given these computers by the Government as

so-called education.

Deficiencies in

teaching and

curriculum

So I’m not talking this school is lacking, or any other school is lacking. What I’m

saying is the curriculum is lacking. The whole national curriculum is lacking.

I would say that curriculum is below par, and it needs to be looked at so that

children achieve much more and they get more focused. If this is going to make

any impact, maybe as a feedback from a parent, I personally feel that really needs

to be looked at.

Parent anxiety trying to

keep up

We’ve had arguments at two o’clock in the morning trying to get assignments

done, and I have rung the schools and said we were up until two this morning

screaming at each other. Its horrendous … he hates me, I hate him. Of course,

we’re all sleep deprived.

He’s falling behind again in another subject. It’s not that he doesn’t get the help at

home. I did the best I can but … that huge gap doesn’t help.

Summary: Parent Focus Group Data Primary and Secondary Schools

In summary, the emergent themes gleaned from the parent and caregiver data included the

financial struggles of low socio-economic families and the hardships endured to pursue their

children’s career aspirations. Similarly, many articulated that their children had no clear

ambitions for their future careers. This was particularly evident in the primary school data

where the career choices varied on a frequent basis. Being happy, content and personally

fulfilled with the career choice were also recurring themes at both the primary and secondary

level. The influence of role models, the media and sporting heroes was noted as a significant

player. Parental aspirations were projected onto their children, and many parents wanted their

children to be earning a decent wage in the future. This can, in part, be linked to parents who

were adamant that ‘chasing the right school’ was important.

30

TEACHER FOCUS GROUPS

Teachers from each school in the Blacktown Learning Community were asked to discuss

what they thought were the barriers to and enablers for the successful transition of students

into further education. The key themes that emerged from this data include: the impact of

family background; socio-economic status of family; support opportunities provided in

schools; role models at home and in school; and values (motivation, self-esteem, confidence).

Family Background

Family backgrounds and expectations may have an effect on student aspirations through such

things as parent contact with the school and positive reinforcement of school work and

performance. Selective school parents were seen by teachers to have a comfortable

relationship with the schools because they understood the requirements of the school. On the

other hand, some parents from low SES backgrounds are not comfortable assisting their

children with school work. Migrant families in general were perceived to be strongly

supportive of achievement, at times despite their low SES status. Family income was another

example of a link to aspirations because income determined the resources that parents could

provide to support their children’s education, including access to after school programs, and

more support for learning within the home. For many young people living in low SES

contexts, less family experience of tertiary education meant less access to potentially

valuable forms of knowledge regarding it.

SES Status

Teachers felt that socio-economic deprivation did influence parental aspirations because those

living in economic hardship had less financial security and fewer material resources of their

own to support their child. However, migrant parents (for example, parents of refugee

students at the school) had high aspirations, since educational achievement was seen as a

means to better job opportunities. Parents were seen to justify their high aspirations from the

perspective of their own adversities (in low skilled jobs) and therefore wanted educational

and occupational success for their children even when their children were low achievers at

school.

Support Opportunities

Schools can play a part in assisting students’ transition through the support they provide. This

is important when family resources are limited. Support such as advice and guidance from

school and university staff and the involvement of professionals or university students in a

mentoring role were stated as important in making a difference. Support in the form of

programs like Fast Forward, Step Up, RAS, and NACARA helped to motivate students to

take the steps necessary to reach their goal. These programs specifically target groups of high-

risk students who, because of poor academic performance and low income, were at greatest

risk of school failure. For example, in some schools the support programs offered a non-

threatening environment for learning, caring and committed staff, a school culture that

encouraged professional collegiality, and a school structure with a low student–teacher ratio

that promoted student engagement.


31

Role Models

School staff were aware of the importance of role models in the home and at school and the

part these play in cultivating students’ aspirations through messages about academic

performance. These were seen to be more significant for students whose family background

did not offer support for their abilities and aspirations. Some students came from families

where no person went beyond secondary school and hence had no role models within their

networks to show the benefits of tertiary education. Thus, there was a stronger likelihood

that the lack of role models would have an impact on their study performance, or even their

continuation of study. Teachers also felt that it was important for universities to understand

how they [the universities] could be an alienating environment for many students, and felt

that there was a need to take steps to address this alienation. Suggestions for addressing this

possible alienation were to bring university students to talk to school students or to have

school students visit the university’s campus.

Values (Motivation, Self-esteem, Confidence)

Students with a positive attitude towards school work had a positive self-image and this led to

personal ownership of a desire to go to university. What was clear across teachers’ comments

was the impact that career education and counselling made in encouraging students to

transition into further education. Students who were motivated and confident developed a

strong sense of self-efficacy with regard to school and learning which in turn encouraged

them to go beyond what might be expected. As a result, these students became active agents

of their academic success. Teachers felt that many of these values were passed on from the

parents and indeed the family background. In many instances teachers described successful

low SES students as ‘very focused on the goals’, ‘inquisitive’, ‘aspirant’, and ‘work

consistently towards achieving that goal’.

In both primary and secondary schools, the same themes emerged through the data analysis.

Table 18 includes representative quotes from the primary school participants whilst Table 19

contains quotes from the secondary school teachers.

Table 18: Summary: Themes – Teacher Focus Groups Primary: Schools 1 and 2

Theme Quotes from Teacher Focus Group Data

Family/

parental

background

Supportive parents that will sit down with you and say, ‘Okay what can I do? Help me help

this child?’ You can actually sort of pull those families through a whole lot better than you

can with the parents that sit there and go ‘whatever’.

SES status There are so many educational and social and emotional experiences that they [low SES

children] need, to be able to widen their horizons … but we’re also always being told, ‘be

careful, be mindful of how much you’re expecting the parents to pay’. We’ve got to make

sure that we’re keeping costs to a minimum. You’ve got to space excursions out so that

they’re not all bunched together because you’ve got parents who have multiple children

and may all have them due at the one time. We’ve got to be careful of that hardship factor

while we’re trying to be aware of all these experiences that some of the children will only

experience through school and usually only through primary school.

Values

students

possess

I’ve got a lot of kids in my class who have really low self-confidence and they say, ‘I can’t do

this, I’m dumb. I can’t do this, I can’t write’ and I’ll say to them, ‘No, everybody is good at

something’. I put a sign on my wall actually because I saw a quote from Albert Einstein, saying

… if you judge a fish by its ability trying to climb a tree it will spend its whole life believing

that it’s stupid.



32

Table 19: Summary: Themes – Teacher Focus Groups Secondary: Schools 3, 4 and 5


Family/

parental

background

It [family background] has an impact on their schooling, their attitude to whether school is

important, finishing tasks is important, working hard, but then also for their future even going

to university and other things, other jobs that they might do.

SES status I actually think that a lot of our students, their parents are from low socio-economic areas and

background. Their parents aren’t working. The students are forced to go and work from the

moment they can work and then the kids often realise that they can get money and it’s instant.

Once they have that money they think well I don’t need to go to university ’cause I’m earning

money. But they don’t see the potential of what they could be earning with a career. So

obviously they get a job at Kentucky, the manager at Kentucky offers them a little management

role which is supervising on a Friday night or something, and they get a step up in money, but

they don’t actually see any potential for going any further and they give up on the uni idea.

Values

students

possess

I think as well they [low SES students] haven’t had a taste of success at all throughout their

school life, so they’re lacking the confidence in their own abilities. That affects their outlook

on the future as well.


Summary: Teachers’ Data from Primary and Secondary Schools

In summary, teachers believed that factors important for students’ transition included

resources, abilities and support provided by families, in-school support programs and role

models inside and outside the family structure. Teachers saw the lack of continuity between

home and school as having a major impact on the aspirations and transitioning of students

into further education. Families with fewer financial, social and cultural resources were less

likely to be involved in the education of their children.

However, in the BLC, migrant parents were viewed as having a positive attitude towards

education, so that lack of financial, social and cultural resources did not always mean that

students from those backgrounds were doomed to failure. Teachers also understood that high

parental aspirations did not necessarily guarantee the student academic achievement. The

school and the teachers themselves were seen as important role models for the students.

Teachers also felt that good career counselling could assist students to make informed choices

about their future and saw themselves as demonstrating respect and care, including additional

in-class support which they believed gave students the opportunity to enjoy academic

success.

Teachers further acknowledged that low socio-economic status, especially coupled with

language difficulties, did affect students’ attitudes towards school and contributed to their

limited aspirations in further education. There was a correlation, according to the teachers,

between firm targeted career goals and self-esteem and confidence, in that students who had

given thought to their future choices and who were confident about their choices generally

had high self-esteem which further assisted them to achieve academic success. Essentially,

teachers believed that the attitudes and values held by the students had a strong impact on

their educational outcomes.

Finally, teachers indicated that in-school and after-school support programs were a good way

of encouraging student engagement in learning and developing positive attitudes towards

school. Effective role models from the home, school and community were seen to inspire and

inform students of the opportunities available to them. Teachers strongly affirmed that the

tertiary sector could expose students to reliable and relevant information about tertiary study

and students should also be given an opportunity to sample university life.


33

CONCLUSION

In summary, the STAR project has provided an opportunity for the development of a

collaborative model for university–school partnerships in relation to supporting the

development of appropriate career and further education aspirations for all children. The

creative methods trialed in this study have provided important information about the

significance of opportunities for teachers and students at all levels of schooling to imagine

possible futures. For low SES students this is particularly important in primary schools,

where early differentiation in career choices becomes strongly established. Rather than

supporting the idea of early fixed career choice, the findings of this study suggest that

children need to understand the multiple pathways to career choice and the factors that will

assist their success. By Year 5 children have sophisticated ideas about their choice of careers

but little information about the multiple pathways to achieve their career aspirations. The lack

of specific insights about participation in university education is apparent at all levels. By

Year 8 children are seriously concerned about their educational achievement and lack of fixed

career goals when it might be more effective to develop passionate engagement with learning

as an opening to future possibilities. The findings suggest that socio-economic and gendered

limitations on career and further education aspirations become more entrenched as students

progress through secondary education when it might be reasonable to expect that school

education is able to mitigate against these outcomes.

Teachers and parents appreciated the opportunity to engage in discussions about the career

and further education aspirations of the children and had many insights to offer about the

factors that enable children to achieve their goals or prevent them from doing so. Teachers in

particular had a wealth of ideas for the support of children’s developing aspirations over time,

although teachers at primary school level had not previously engaged in such conversations.

Schools and teachers in the Blacktown Learning Community could benefit from sharing these

ideas and strategies with each other and continuing the conversation about how children’s

career and further education aspirations are shaped over time. These conversations will

support the ongoing aspirations of all parents and children for a social engagement and

contribution.

34

REFERENCES

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008) 2006 Census Community Profile Series: Blacktown (C)

(Local Government Area). Available at

http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/censushome.nsf/home/communityprofiles?opendocu

ment&navpos=230

Blacktown City Council. (2013) Community Profile: Blacktown City – About the Area.

Available at http://profile.id.com.au/blacktown/about

Blacktown City Council. (2013) Community Profile: Blacktown City – SEIFA Disadvantage.

Available at http://profile.id.com.au/blacktown/seifa-disadvantage

Blacktown City Council. (2013) Community Profile: Blacktown City – Overseas Arrivals.

Available at http://profile.id.com.au/blacktown/overseas-arrivals

Bradley, D., Noonan, P., Nugent, H. & Scales, B. (2008) Review of Australian Higher

Education. Final Report. Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra. Available at

www.deewr.gov.au/he_review_finalreport

Daily Telegraph. (1997) ‘The class who failed’, [front page].

APPENDIX 1: Blacktown City and the STAR Project Suburbs

Blacktown City is located in Sydney’s western suburbs – about 35 kilometres from the

Sydney GPO. Blacktown Local Government Area (LGA) is bounded by Hawkesbury LGA in

the north, The Hills in the north-east, Parramatta in the east, Holroyd and Fairfield in the

south and Penrith in the west. Blacktown LGA has a population of 301,096. 113,213 people

living in Blacktown LGA were born overseas and 19% arrived in Australia within the last five

years. (Source: Blacktown City Council website)

In the 2011 Census, there were 303,528 people in Sydney–Blacktown (Statistical Area Level

4). Of these, 49.7% were male and 50.3% were female. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

people made up 2.7% of the population. There were 8,210 Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander people. Of these, 4,111 (50.1%) were male and 4,099 (49.9%) were female. The

median age was 19 years. (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics website)

The most common ancestries in Sydney–Blacktown (Statistical Area Level 4) were Australian

20.7%, English 17.6%, Filipino 7.0%, Indian 6.0% and Irish 4.6%. In Sydney–Blacktown

(Statistical Area Level 4), 57.6% of people were born in Australia. The other most common

countries of birth were Philippines 6.4%, India 5.1%, New Zealand 2.5%, Fiji 2.1% and

England 2.0%. In Sydney–Blacktown (Statistical Area Level 4), 35.3% of people had both

parents born in Australia and 54.7% of people had both parents born overseas. In Sydney–

Blacktown (Statistical Area Level 4) 58.7% of people spoke only English at home. Other

languages spoken at home included Tagalog 4.0%, Hindi 3.6%, Arabic 3.2%, Punjabi 2.3%

and Filipino 2.1%. There were 145,326 people who reported being in the labour force in the

week before Census night in Sydney–Blacktown (Statistical Area Level 4). Of these, 63.6%

were employed full time, 23.5% were employed part-time and 7.1% were unemployed. The

most common occupations in Sydney–Blacktown (Statistical Area Level 4) included Clerical

and Administrative Workers 18.3%, Professionals 17.5%, Technicians and Trades Workers

13.5%, Machinery Operators And Drivers 10.9%, and Labourers 10.5%. The median weekly

personal income for people aged 15 years and over in Sydney–Blacktown (Statistical Area

Level 4) was $566.

SEIFA Index of Disadvantage

Blacktown City scores 972.8 on the SEIFA Index of Disadvantage, indicating a higher level of

disadvantage than the national average (1005.2) and the New South Wales average (1003.3).

The SEIFA Index of Disadvantage measures the relative level of socio-economic disadvantage

based on a range of Census-measured characteristics that reflect disadvantage such as low

income, low educational attainment, high unemployment, and jobs in relatively unskilled

occupations. (Source: Blacktown City Council website)

STAR Project Suburbs Table 20: SEIFA Indices for STAR Suburbs

Location SEIFA Indices

(2006 Census) Postcodes

Greater Western Sydney 982.9

Blacktown City LGA 972.8

Marayong 942.7 2148

Blacktown Precinct 980.2 2148

Quakers Hill 1049.2 2763

http://profile.id.com.au/blacktown/individual-income?

http://profile.id.com.au/blacktown/qualifications?

http://profile.id.com.au/blacktown/employment?

http://profile.id.com.au/blacktown/occupations?


36

Pattern of Settlement by Overseas Arrivals

The Year of Arrival data records when the overseas-born population

arrived in Australia. The data shows the degree to which areas are ‘ports’

for new overseas migrants and reveals the role of Blacktown City in

housing the overseas-born. The number of recent arrivals in an area is

often determined by housing affordability, employment opportunities and

pre-existing communities located in the area. (Source: BCC website)

Table 21: Pattern of Arrivals of New Overseas Immigrants – STAR Suburbs

Suburb

Arrivals

2006–9th

August 2011

Arrivals

2001–2005

Number % of total

since 1960 Number

% of total

since 1960

Greater Sydney 20.1 12.2

Blacktown City – Total 21,079 18.6 17,211 15.2

Marayong 518 19.3 354 13.2

Blacktown Precinct 9967 20.8 7091 14.8

Quakers Hill 1559 16.2 1726 18 Note: All increased from 2001–05 to 2006–11 except Quakers Hill

Source: BCC website

Economic

Family income

Table 22: % High–Low Income Earners, STAR Suburbs

Location

High income:

$2,500 + per

week

Low Income:

> $600 per

week

Greater Sydney 23.6% 18.3%

Blacktown City 17.7% 18.%

Marayong 12.8% 23.8%

Blacktown Precinct 15.6% 19.9%

Quakers Hill 24.5% 11.4% Source: BCC website


37

Employment

Status Table 23: Employment Status, STAR Suburbs

Location Employed

full time

Employed

part time

Employed

hours not

stated

Total

employed

Un-

employe

d

Greater Sydney 62% 30.1 2.1% 94.3% 5.7%

Blacktown City 63.6% 26.7% 2.5% 92.8% 7.2%

Marayong 62.1% 25% 2.7% 89.9% 10.1%

Blacktown Precinct 62.7% 27% 3% 92.7% 7.3%

Quakers Hill 65% 27.2% 2.2% 94.3% 5.7% Source: BCC website

Occupations for those employed

Table 24: Occupations, STAR Suburbs

Location Manager Professional

Tech.

and

Trade

Workers

Commun

and

Personal

Service

Clerical and

Administrative

Workers

Sales

workers

Machinery

Operators

and

Drivers

Labourers N/A

Greater

Sydney

13.3 25.5 12.2 8.8 16.2 9 5.7 7.3 2

Blacktown

City

9 17.4 13.5 8.9 18.3 9.3 10.9 10.5 2.1

Marayong 6.6 14.7 15.8 10.1 18.8 8.4 11.1 11.2 3.2

Blacktown

Precinct

8.4 17.5 14.3 9.1 18.7 9 10.3 10.3 2.4

Quakers

Hill

10.4 20.2 13.4 8.6 19.5 9.8 7.9 8.2 2

Source: BCC website

Educational

Highest qualification

Table 25: Highest Educational Qualification, STAR Suburbs

Location Bachelor or

higher

Advanced Dip

or Dip Vocational

No

qualification

Not

stated

Greater Sydney 24.1% 9.0% 15.1% 40.5% 11.3%

Blacktown City 17.2% 7.7% 17.1% 47.6% 10.5%

Marayong 12.6% 6.1% 17.1% 51.1% 13.1%%

Blacktown

Precinct

17.2% 8.1% 17.4% 46.6% 10.6%

Quakers Hill 22.6% 9.4% 18.5% 41.8% 7.6% Source: 2011Census-BCC website

Appendices

38

APPENDIX 2: Educational Requirements for Career Choices: Primary Schools

Table 26: Educational Requirements for Career Choice:

Kindergarten at Schools 1 and 2


Choice

Kinder

School 1

N=54

N (%)

Kinder

School 2

N=90

N (%)


Scientist

Doctor 1 (2%) 8 (8%)

Vet 1 (2%)

Lawyer

Engineer

Politics (Prime Minister)

IT Program Design

Teacher 6 (11%) 12 (13%)

Nurse 4 (4%)

Artist (Creative Arts) 1 (2%) 1 (1%)

Further Education TAFE – Diploma,

Apprenticeship, Training Colleges 20 (37%) 29 (33%)

Secretary

Child Care

Hairdresser 2 (2%)

Chef 1 (2%) 1 (1%)

Construction Trade (Builder, Painter,

Crane Driver) 4 (7%)

Police 8 (15%) 15 (17%)

Armed Forces (Soldier, General,

Fighter Pilot, Spy) 2 (4%) 2 (2%)

Pilot 3 (3%)

Entertainer (Singers, Dancers,

Actors) 5 (11%) 6 (7%)


Firefighter 1 (2%) 4 (4%)

Transport Drivers 1 (2%) 4 (4%)

Make-up Artist

Professional Sportsperson (football,

netball, soccer, gymnastics,

Olympic swimming, basketball,

athletics, boxing, wrestling,

cricket)

5 (9%) 10 (11%)

Extreme Sports (motocross)

Cheerleader 1 (2%)

Retail 2 (2%)

Personal/ Family Caring Role 1 (2%) 1 (1%)

Zookeeper/Animal Keeper 2 (4%) 3 (3%)


Superhero) 14 (26%) 12 (13%)

Totals 54 (100%) 90 (100%)

Appendices

39

Table 27: Educational Requirements for Career Choice:

Year 5 at Schools 1 and 2


Choice

Year 5

School 1

N=45

Year 5

School 2

N=42


Scientist 6 (14%)

Doctor 5 (11%) 4 (10%)

Vet 5 (10%) 3 (7%)

Lawyer 1 (2%) 1 (2%)

Engineer 3 (4%) 2 (5%)

Politics (Prime Minister) 1 (2%)

IT Program Design 1 (2%) 6 (14%)

Teacher 1 (2%) 5 (12%)

Nurse 1 (2%)

Artist (Creative Arts) 2 (2%) 3 (7%)

Further Education TAFE – Diploma,

Apprenticeship, Training College 11 (24%) 4 (9%)

Secretary 1 (2%)

Child Care 1 (2%)

Hairdresser

Chef

Construction Trade (Builder, Painter,

Crane Driver) 2 (4%)

Police 4 (10%) 2 (5%)


Fighter Pilot, Spy) 1 (2%) 1 (2%)

Pilot


Actors) 3 (9%)


Firefighter

Transport Drivers

Make-up Artist 1 (2%)

Professional Sportsperson (football,

netball, soccer, gymnastics,

Olympic swimming, basketball,


cricket)

10 (22%) 2 (5%)

Extreme Sports (motocross) 2 (4%)

Cheerleader

Retail 1 (2%) 1 (2%)

Personal/ Family Caring Role

Zookeeper/Animal Keeper 2 (4%) 2 (5%)


Superhero) 1 (2%)

Total 45 (100%) 42 (100%)

Appendices

40

Table 28: Educational Requirements, Career Choice and Gender

Educational Requirements and Career

Choice Year 5 Kinder

M F M F

Tertiary Education 27 18 5 29

Scientist 6

Doctor 6 3 3 6

Vet 1 6 1

Lawyer 1

Engineer 4 1

Politics (Prime Minister)

IT Program Design 7

Teacher 1 5 2 16

Nurse 4

Artist (Creative Arts) 2 2 2

+2 participants gender

unidentified Lawyers School 2


Apprenticeship) or Training College 12 4 32 17

Secretary 1

Child Care 1

Hairdresser 2

Chef 1 1

Construction Trade (Builder,

Painter, Crane Driver) 2 4

Police 6 1 19 4


Fighter Pilot, Spy) 2 4

Pilot 3


Actors) 2 1 1 10

On the Job Training 12 9 23 12

Firefighter 5

Transport Drivers 2 3

Make-up Artist 1

Professional Sportsperson

(football, netball, soccer,

gymnastics, Olympic

swimming, basketball,


cricket)

7 5 12 3

Extreme Sports (motocross) 2

Cheerleader 1

Retail 1 2

Retail Manager 1

Personal/ Family Caring Role 1 1

Zookeeper/Animal Keeper 1 3 3 2


Superhero) 1 12 14

Total 52 31 72 72

Gender unidentified – 4

Appendices

41

Table 29: Frequency of Reasons for Career Aspirations


Theme and Sub-theme Subtotal Total

Job satisfaction

Love of the job – people/animals involved

Receiving praise or rewards

Travel

Being famous

Equipment (perks) of the job

Job suited to personality

Power

51

1

5

1

9

7

2

76 (38%)

Contributing to the Community

Helping animals, people, Australia

55 55 (28%)

Experienced with, and/or confidence to do the job 23 23 (11%)

Remuneration 22 22 (11%)

Inventions 11 11 (6%)

Family influence

Parental influence

Family responsibility

Being different

6

5

1

12 (6%)

Total 199

(100%)

Appendices

42

APPENDIX 3: Full Tables: Data from Teacher Focus Groups

Table 30: Themes – Teacher Focus Groups Primary: Schools 1 and 2


Family/

parental

background

There are two strands of … parents that value education – high end that push children too

much and those that don’t seem to really value the effect of an education on what you can

do with the rest of your life and how you can improve your life. There are some very low

socio-economic families where welfare’s a big issue and that sort of tends to become their

priority. The need of sort of day to day life becomes their focus and their vision sort of

comes into a very short term basis and so then any sort of projection into their child’s future

is not even on the table.

Those parents [Indian families] aspire better for their children because maybe they didn’t

get that when they were younger, they want better for their children.

Culturally, education is more valued [by some families] … a lot of migrant children of

migrant parents, those children have had to go through a huge process to actually plan to

come to this country in whatever form it is. They’ve all had to make that decision to come

and having made that decision usually a big part of that drive is to make things better for

my kids and the first way to do that is to give them the aspirations to be better than we are.

So I think that’s why a lot of that … but the other part of it, is how much teachers and

education are valued in other cultures.

What are the major factors to affect aspiration? Is family and education; is that care factor.

It’s care factor for family. It’s care factor from education so that’s the dominating principle

really.

See a lot of the parents that we’re dealing with, in that low area, in that group, didn’t

succeed at school themselves and their experiences of school, their memories of school,

taint how they then talk to their children. Supportive parents that will sit down with you and

say, ‘Okay what can I do? Help me help this child?’ You can actually sort of pull those

families through a whole lot better than you can with the parents that sit there and go

‘whatever’.

I think there are a lot of families here too that do not have money but that doesn’t stop them

from nurturing their children and motivating their children.

As a person who actually grew up in Mount Druitt I’ve also got another perspective where

my family were quite obviously a very well together family, a very close-knit family, very

supportive but I also went to school with peers they were not from those families and to see

that kind of difference towards education …

Parents urged … requested a meeting straight away because they were concerned that all their

child wanted to do, when they come home, is play and he wanted him to read novels because

he’s reading like a level 29 which is equivalent to like about year three.

Some of the families come from these hard countries and they know how important education

is and they see that significance so they push their kids in as the way out. Whereas kids that are

born in this country they’ve got everything.

Indian parents and our Chinese parents particularly, very driven.

I had one girl, from the beginning of the year, the first thing she ever said to me is, ‘I’m going

to be a surgeon when I grow up because that’s what my mum’s dad said I have to be’.

[Comes down] to their family. Like I know, my kids last year and we were talking about what

their parents do and one kid ‘oh my dad lives above a pub and doesn’t work’. That kid has no

aspiration to education. He’s like, I don’t want to achieve anything, I just want to – why should

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I? I can get money for doing nothing … I don’t know. It comes back to what’s happening at

home with the parents.

SES status Those kids in low socio-economic homes they have no money … so if you don’t have the

money you need to then work hard.

There are so many educational and social and emotional experiences that they need, to be

able to widen their horizons … but we’re also always being told, ‘be careful, be mindful of

how much you’re expecting the parents to pay, we’ve got to make sure that we’re keeping

costs to a minimum’. You’ve got to space excursions out so that they’re not all bunched

together because you’ve got parents who have multiple children and may all have them due

at the one time. We’ve got to be careful of that hardship factor and things and so while

we’re trying to and being aware of all these experiences that some of the children will only

experience through school and usually only through primary school. If you inject money

into some of these families it doesn’t mean that they’re going to value education or have

greater aspirations for their children. It’s just unfortunately, it’s kind of a mindset and it’s

something that it’s a cycle that keeps repeating itself and it’s ingrained and how do you

break through that when as you said before, when they get to us, they’ve already got that

influence.

And I think for children in low socio-economic areas that reality hits a lot sooner because

it’s been so much harder … Maybe kids in those families never get a chance to do that

dreaming or that creative play. They just don’t.

There’s low economic who can cope and deal with it and there’s the low economic who just

don’t have any skills, life skills.

Really it’s not socio-economic that influence us it’s cultural background that are influencing

the drive to succeed and to go some way.

Values

students

possess

I think their own self-belief a lot of the time. If they set the bar and go for themselves then

there’s probably not much that we can do but I think if we just continue to encourage them we

have an important role in what they want to become.

I’ve got a lot of kids in my class who have really low self-confidence and they say, ‘I can’t do

this, I’m dumb’. ‘I can’t do this, I can’t write’ and I’ll say to them, ‘no, everybody is good at

something’. I put a sign on my wall actually because I saw a quote from Albert Einstein, saying

... if you judge a fish by its ability trying to climb a tree it will spend its whole life believing that

it’s stupid.

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Table 31: Themes – Teacher Focus Groups Secondary: Schools 3, 4 and 5


Family/

parental

background

... generally the kids, don’t you think, the ones that play up in class, the ones that have issues,

and they’re the ones that come from actually probably the more violent families and the abused

backgrounds and they’re the ones that actually don’t get the [unclear] support or whatever.

I think that also impacts when you have parents wanting the wrong things for their kids, more

about their family status than what’s actually there for the kids.

A lot of them [refugee students] are quite aspirant, they do have dreams and a lot do want to go

to university, but they come to us lacking the basic skills and their family background, there’s

not a lot of education within their family most of the time. So they don’t have that help at

home.

It [family background] has an impact on their schooling, their attitude to whether school is

important, finishing tasks is important, working hard, but then also for their future even going

to university and other things, other jobs that they might do.

Selective kids very much reflecting their parents’ drive and aspirations … push coming from

parents and their expectations.

Unrealistic expectations of parents. Insisting that they do subjects that they really –

Huge gap between the selective classes and our low ability classes in regards of the kids from

the low ability class do not have that reflection giving at home from their parents for wanting

to go to uni.

SES status I think that the students don’t really have the support at home and I think that reflects in their

work and whether they’ve got finances to buy text books.

I actually think that a lot of our students, their parents are from low socio-economic areas and

background. Their parents aren’t working. The students are forced to go and work from the

moment they can work and then the kids often realise that they can get money and it’s instant.

Once they have that money they think well I don’t need to go to university ’cause I’m earning

money. But they don’t see the potential of what they could be earning with a career. So

obviously they get a job at Kentucky, the manager at Kentucky offers them a little management

role which is supervising on a Friday night or something, and they get a step up in money, but

they don’t actually see any potential for going any further and they give up on the uni idea.

I know some of the students that I taught in year 12, or in year 11, they work up to 20 hours per

week and I think really that is a major factor that when they’re 14 and 15 they start out working

and they have one shift a week and they rely on the money that they get, and work more and

more, and that just takes up all their time.

A lot of students have parents that are on unemployment benefits and they don’t really see any

way that it can be different. They don’t see how, and it’s those small steps between. Well first

of all there’s getting the marks and working hard enough at school, but even if they did, and a

lot of students do have potential to do that, but they don’t make that step or that transition from

high school to university because of those small barriers. I don’t think they see how to fix those

problems.

A lot of the refugees and the immigrants and the migrants that we’ve got coming now into the

selective stream and things like that, they’re brought up that it’s go to school, finish school,

then go to university or tertiary education.

Values

students

possess

To me that shows the kids are working on a short list. They are young and going through that

process which is a good thing. They may change their mind a dozen times. But that is much

better than kids who in my experience don’t know where they are heading and don’t do

anything to get there. If I don’t know, I won’t aspire to get there.

I just read a list of the kids in my class who brought the forms back and what they want to be

and I think they’re very focused on the goals whereas I think the other kids in the other year 5

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classes are probably going to change what they want to be a million times before they get to

the end of high school whereas these kids, they’ll likely say they want to be a surgeon or a

physicist or whatever are probably going to aim towards that thing ...

Corey was talking about going into the military and he has done a lot of research – and I think

he knows in a finite way what he needs to do to get there, in terms of his grades, the course he

will choose, so that he has the most potential to matriculate.

I think as well they [students] haven’t had a taste of success at all throughout their school life,

so they’re lacking the confidence in their own abilities. That affects their outlook on the future

as well.

A lot of them [refugee students] are quite aspirant. They do have dreams and a lot do want to

go to university, but they come to us lacking the basic skills and their family background,

there’s not a lot of education within their family most of the time. So they don’t have that help

at home. Not to stereotype, but generally the African refugees have had more of a limited

educational background.

Realistic view of what further education is. What their choices are, what options are available

to them, what kind of back door options are available to them if they don’t quite get the mark

or if they don’t see themselves as being able to aspire to a university entrance.

A lot of our boys in our mainstream particularly, are just basically straight up scared of failure.

They don’t extend themselves past the bare minimum because they’ve taken the mentality that

if they say I didn’t try my best and I fail, it’s because I didn’t try my best. They’re so scared of

failing that they refuse to do their best … It’s like beating your head up against a wall. They

would rather put a half effort in and just not achieve.

Selective kids are very inquisitive … they want to find out where does this subject lead you to?

What are the things I can do after I study this subject and at what level? So I think that will get

them to the uni because they will create a path for themselves, where they want to get to.

A student’s ability to have a focus and a goal, and to work consistently towards achieving that

goal. Where they might have an idea, they just don’t have the skills to get there?

student trajectory aspiration research (star): a study …€¦ · summary: teachers’ data from...

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