Guest Lecture - Associate Prof. Jenny Chesters: How well does the Australian education system prepare young people to achieve their aspirations?
Time
2.10.2025 11.15 – 12.15
Associate Prof. Jenny Chesters | University of Melbourne, Australia
Abstract: Measures of success of education systems typically focus on levels of, and gaps in, student achievement in standardised tests, such as PISA (Programme for International Student Achievement), or the proportion of young people attaining target levels of education (e.g. completing secondary school or higher education). These approaches define educational success externally, without consideration of students’ own interests and goals. In this presentation, I propose a different approach to examining education system success. I explore the ability of young people to achieve their aspirations, regardless of their family background, as an alternative measure of success. This approach defines educational success by considering students’ own goals and interests. My theoretical perspective combines theories of social justice and social class to explain how institutional settings shape opportunities and outcomes. Drawing on longitudinal data collected from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) project (LSAY2009), I examine occupational aspirations at age 15 and occupational outcomes at age 25. Initially, I focus on associations between the level of prestige of the occupational aspirations and the students’ social origins. Secondly, I examine occupation at age 25 for those who have completed their education, or current program and field of study for those still engaged in education. Regarding social class, I use two measures of family background, level of prestige of parents’ occupations (ISEI) and ESCS (Economic Social and Cultural Status). The preliminary results indicate that parental occupational prestige is a strong predictor of students’ occupational aspirations and the achievement of these aspirations. In other words, the ability of the Australian education system to successfully prepare young people to achieve their aspirations is correlated with family background. Consequently, we argue that the education system reproduces rather than alleviates social inequality, not only in externally defined measures of success but also in young Australians’ ability to achieve the aspirations they develop.
Abstract: Measures of success of education systems typically focus on levels of, and gaps in, student achievement in standardised tests, such as PISA (Programme for International Student Achievement), or the proportion of young people attaining target levels of education (e.g. completing secondary school or higher education). These approaches define educational success externally, without consideration of students’ own interests and goals. In this presentation, I propose a different approach to examining education system success. I explore the ability of young people to achieve their aspirations, regardless of their family background, as an alternative measure of success. This approach defines educational success by considering students’ own goals and interests. My theoretical perspective combines theories of social justice and social class to explain how institutional settings shape opportunities and outcomes. Drawing on longitudinal data collected from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) project (LSAY2009), I examine occupational aspirations at age 15 and occupational outcomes at age 25. Initially, I focus on associations between the level of prestige of the occupational aspirations and the students’ social origins. Secondly, I examine occupation at age 25 for those who have completed their education, or current program and field of study for those still engaged in education. Regarding social class, I use two measures of family background, level of prestige of parents’ occupations (ISEI) and ESCS (Economic Social and Cultural Status). The preliminary results indicate that parental occupational prestige is a strong predictor of students’ occupational aspirations and the achievement of these aspirations. In other words, the ability of the Australian education system to successfully prepare young people to achieve their aspirations is correlated with family background. Consequently, we argue that the education system reproduces rather than alleviates social inequality, not only in externally defined measures of success but also in young Australians’ ability to achieve the aspirations they develop.
Piia Åminne