Improving Domestic Students Equity for College Studies
Given the recent increase in income inequality in Australia in recent years, it is more urgent today to improve equity in education. The goal of student equity is in ensuring that students’ academic performance and social and emotional well-being are not dependent on their socio-economic background. The unfortunate situation is that a student’s educational success is highly related to his or her background and capacity for high-quality education.
Studies done by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed that about 51% of disadvantaged students in Australia attended disadvantaged schools; and the disadvantaged students who were actually able to attend advantaged schools tended to score higher points in assessment tests than the former group.
Additionally, disparities in student performance which are connected to the students’ socio-economic status take root at an early age and tend to grow further throughout their lives; which only emphasises the strong link between social background and success at school even more.
Studies have as well found that in Australia, adults with tertiary-educated parents were six times more likely to obtain tertiary education than adults with low-educated parents. Only 25% of adults with parents who had low educational attainment completed tertiary education. Therefore, parental influence also plays a big role in the educational aspirations of a student.
Based on all these findings, we may adequately conclude that more focus must be given in the way of providing more resources to the disadvantaged students and schools in order to narrow down the gap between social standing and educational attainment. Policies and programmes that support disadvantaged students will provide more equal educational opportunities to leverage with the more advantaged institutions.
In lieu of this, the Equity in Higher Education Panel (EHEP) has been focusing efforts on improving student equity in higher education. The EHEP has been developing a Student Equity in Higher Education Roadmap to support a five-year strategy with the aim to:
“…drive and support wider aspiration, improved access, participation, retention, success, and completion and better transition to employment outcomes of students from under-represented groups nationally.”
To conclude, many efforts have been set into motion for the facilitating of equal opportunities for students across Australia. The impact of these reform projects will definitely affect the economic capacity of the country, with a promising higher percentage of better-educated and job-qualified student graduates. Regardless of race, gender, disability or economic background, all students can reap benefits in schools across Australia.
We at Education Training and Employment Australia (ETEA) are in full support of the Australian government’s educational reform programs for student equity. That’s why we provide our students with benefits based on their unique needs and circumstances. Get in touch with us today for higher education opportunities that can prove to upscale your social mobility.
