The rise of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) has democratised education, yet student dropout remains a persistent challenge. This research tackles this issue by analysing 1,273 publications on MOOC dropout rates (2020-2023) from the Scopus database using VOSviewer, a bibliometric analysis tool. By mapping the intellectual landscape, the study…

School non-completion and non-completers' subsequent pathways into employment or back into education are enduring issues for policy-makers in Australia. Understanding the factors that predict a higher probability of leaving school before completing Year 12, as well as those that increase the chance of reengaging with education, can inform action…

The Australian education system works well for most students. However, equitable access to secondary education is problematic for First Nations people living in remote communities. There is a strong emphasis on Year 12 completion as an indicator of successful engagement in remote First Nations education. This has been partly driven by Australian…

This report is the support document accompanying "VET as a re-engagement pathway for early school leavers," which explores the pathways of early school leavers -- that is, those who leave school without completing Year 12 -- by means of an analysis of data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY). In particular, the…

In this article, we empirically validate Tinto's Student Integration model, in particular, the predictions the model makes regarding both students' academic outcomes and their dropout decisions. In doing so, we analyze three decades' worth of student enrollments at an Australian university and present a novel methodological approach using graph…

Many former university students on the autism spectrum have poor employment outcomes despite strengths, qualifications, and ability. This article presents findings from a qualitative study of 11 former university students on the spectrum (self-identified: 2 males, 7 females, 2 non-binary, 18-50+ years), and five significant others (2 mothers, 3…

Many remote Aboriginal Australian students live away from home for periods of time to access secondary education through boarding schools. While financial, political and community support is burgeoning for boarding models that provide scholarships, sports programs, or accommodation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, very little…

School absenteeism is a major societal problem, with a range of potential adverse long-term consequences. This scoping review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the research on school absenteeism in autistic children and adolescents, expose important gaps in the literature, and explore possibilities for future systematic reviews. Five…

The middle-school years (Year 7 to Year 9) is a particular challenge for socially disadvantaged populations, with high proportions of children either repeating school years or dropping out of school. In Australia, a group of particular concern is First Nations children for whom there is a collective effort by all governments to improve education…

Flexible learning programs (FLPs) provide a place for students who have disengaged and disconnected from mainstream schools. Despite the legislative framework in Australia supporting the participation of students with disability in their local mainstream schools wherever possible, very little research focusing on whether students with disability…

Despite compelling qualitative arguments for scale and scope economies in university-level distance education, as distinct from traditional class-based face-to-face instruction, there is little rigorous quantitative evidence in support. In this paper, we explore the scale and scope economies of distance education using a multiplicatively separable…

This product provides a summary of the outcomes and satisfaction of students who completed nationally recognised vocational education and training (VET) delivered by registered training organisations (RTOs) in Australia during 2022 using data collected between June and August 2023. The figures are derived from the National Student Outcomes Survey,…

No course exists in isolation, so examining student progression through courses within a broader program context is an important step in integrating course-level and program-level analytics. Integration in this manner allows us to see the impact of course-level changes to the program, as well as identify points in the program structure where…

Even though distance education from the home environment has seemed comfortable and economic for students with disability in formal higher education during the pandemic, insufficiency in their academic self-efficacy, satisfaction and an increasing tendency to drop out were observed. This quantitative research is based on development of the scales…

This study examines the impact of an Australian enabling program, underpinned by critical pedagogy, on students' academic and professional success. Qualitative focus group data were collected from individuals who had completed an enabling program at a regional Australian university and progressed to undergraduate study. Quantitative data comparing…