The Legitimacy of Early School Leaving: Occupational Orientations, Vocational Training Plans, and Educational Attainment Among Urban Australian Youth

Abstract

In Australia, students can leave high school after Year 10, the approximate end of compulsory schooling, or continue through Year 12. Some early high school leavers enter into apprenticeships or enroll in vocational training programs, the impact of which has not been extensively examined. The availability of vocational training programs to early school leavers provides an alternative path to occupational attainment and thus may serve to legitimate early school leaving. This article reports findingsfrom a study of urban Australian students who were about to leave high school after Years 10, 11, and 12 and who either had plans to enroll in college or in vocational training programs or had no plans to pursue further education or training. Linear regression (path) models are replicated for males and females and for those whose fathers were born in Australia, the United Kingdom, or Europe. The intention to pursue vocational training is negatively related to school attainment for all six groups, and with few exceptions, it is unrelated to socioeconomic background, type of school attended, and career orientations. Possible interpretations and implications of the findings are discussed.