Influences on post-school decision-making: Perspectives of school students, parents, teachers (Phase 1)

Abstract

Parents, teachers and other familiars each play a significant role in the process of young people’s decision-making about occupations and educational pathways, albeit sometimes inadvertently and unintentionally. Other factors such as societal sentiments about occupations also shape the decision-making, while students, parents and teachers may be understood as selectively mediating these broader influences. This chapter reports and discusses the findings of a project conducted in Queensland, Australia, that sought to elaborate processes of decision-making, the various actors’ influence on it, and how students mediate these suggestions. It also describes and discusses a qualitative phase of the research which sought perspectives of students, parents and teachers about vocational education and decision-making regarding school age children’s post-school study and work options. The analysis revealed a complex of factors and negotiations that shape this decision making.

Analyses of student interview data revealed wide variation in level of certainty about post-school options among students and parents. The degree to which students and their parents were informed about options, including the nature of occupations, and what educational pathways lead to particular occupations, were all factors in level of certainty in decision-making. These data also pointed to a tendency to favour higher education pathways when level of uncertainty was higher. At the same time, limited or distorted information about pathways and occupations facilitate influence of societal sentiments on decision-making. Teachers interviewed were informed about pathways that reflected their own experiences. They often articulated an awareness of the constraints on student decision-making arising from government, education system or school policy that favoured higher education pathways and/or undermined the image or efficacy of vocational education as a viable option for young people. Students, parents and teachers also provided suggestions about how to enhance the standing of vocational education and the occupations it serves. Through analyses of these findings, a more nuanced understanding of the processes of educational and occupational decision making is possible, in turn allowing more informed responses to shape decision-making about post-school pathways, and how vocational education can be viewed in a more constructive and impartial way.