This systematic review reports evidence on practices and programmes that enhance successful primary-secondary school transition and participation for Indigenous students in Australia. A thematic analysis found three sets of practices: the school context; bridging practices; and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students cultural recognition.…

A 'quantum leap' (Kift, 2015) in our understanding of the transition to university studies has brought about a reimagining of the role of transition programs from attempting to remediate deficiencies in 'underprepared' students, to instead using engagement with the curriculum to instil success-oriented behaviours and attitudes in them. In…

Positive psychology is one of the newest branches of psychology to emerge, and there is a growing research base of scientific study to validate the significance of this psychological approach in people's lives. This research investigates a unit of study that was developed for students entering university through an enabling program in order to…

Adolescents on the autism spectrum often have difficulties with the transition from high school to post-school activities. Despite this, little is known about the transition planning processes for this group. This study explored predisposing, reinforcing and enabling factors related to the transition planning processes for adolescents on the…

Autistic adults are willing and able employees but face a number of barriers to gaining and maintaining meaningful employment, one of which is a lack of exposure to work experience and workplace training opportunities. A case study of an autism specific employment program is presented, which provided an opportunity for autistic candidates to learn…

In Australia access to university studies is supported through students' participation in government funded, pre-award programmes called 'enabling' programmes. These programmes allow students to meet university entry requirements and are designed to prepare students for the rigours of study. This article explores the performance and experience of…

Australia wide, universities are offering tertiary education to the broader socio-economic cohort; however, alongside this educational reform, there is a concern that students who have been away from the formal education context for many years may not cope with the rigors of university. Consequently, prior to and conditional to admission to…

University-based enabling programs have become an important pathway to university for non-traditional students. There is increasing interest in understanding the mechanisms that facilitate retention and success of enabling pathway students, with the aim of developing effective strategies for maximising opportunities for university access and…

Taking the students' perspective, Education Policy Outlook 2018: Putting Student Learning at the Centre analyses the evolution of key education priorities and key education policies in 43 education systems. It compares more recent developments in education policy ecosystems (mainly between 2015 and 2017) with various education policies adopted…

This research investigates the oft-criticised segment of the vocational education and training (VET) sector in Australia--private, for-profit registered training organisations (RTOs)--with the aim of gaining a clearer understanding of the approaches they adopt in training 15 to 19-year-olds who have left school early. Through a nationwide survey…

The engagement and retention of commencing students is a longstanding issue in higher education, particularly with the implementation of the widening student participation agenda. The early weeks of the first semester are especially critical to student engagement and early attrition. This study investigated the perceived early transition needs of…

This report uses Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) data to look at the impact of schools on a student's tertiary entrance rank (TER) and the probability of them going to university (controlling for TER). It shows that the characteristics of schools do matter: although young people's individual characteristics are the main drivers of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of participation in workplace learning among senior secondary students in Australia. Work placements are deemed to be effective if they meet policy objectives of improving student transitions by (a) enhancing Year 12 completion rates and (b) increasing the engagement of…

The issue of outcomes for youth who transition from state care to adulthood is not unique to any one country. Youth exiting the child welfare system, or aging out, face a plethora of problems and issues associated with the transition to adulthood. For the majority of youth, the transition to adulthood represents a process that takes place over a…

This paper examines the perceptions and interactions of disadvantaged young people returning to mainstream education through Street Kids Access Tertiary Education (SKATE), a university bridging program in Sydney, Australia. Although both males and females in the study shared common backgrounds of disadvantage, "second-chance" educational…