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This study compares the educational, employment, health and partnership outcomes of teenage mothers with outcomes of women first giving birth in their 20s and those without children. The study finds that teenage motherhood has a range of negative effects, some of which worsen over time (e.g. educational outcomes) and others diminish over time (e.g. employment effects). Although some of the associations of teenage motherhood with poorer outcomes in the first years after birth are unlikely to be causal since they disappear after ensuring treatment and control group are comparable, other associations remain strong. Propensity score matching analysis suggests that relative to childless women: teenage mothers are less likely to complete Year 12, be employed, and be in good health; they are more likely to smoke; and have less personal income.

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This report analyses data from the 2004 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS), the 2008 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) and the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Australia (HILDA) survey (2004 and 2008 waves) to examine the factors that affect labour force status (distinguishing four outcomes: not in labour force (NILF), unemployed, part-time employed and full-time employed, which are assumed to reflect an increasing attachment to the labour market) of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It then decomposes the gap in labour market attachment between the two populations into a component explained by observed characteristics and an unexplained component which could represent a range of things, such as unobserved characteristics, differences in the effect of observed characteristics, but also potentially discrimination. The report has four aims: (1) to identify the factors that play a role in the labour force status of Indigenous Australians; (2) to determine whether these factors differ from those affecting non-Indigenous Australians; (3) to determine whether the effects of these factors on participation and employment differ between these two populations; and (4) to determine how much of the difference in labour force status is explained by observed factors.

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This project was initiated and undertaken by the Accreditation and Assessment Section of the Curriculum and Assessment Branch, using funding provided by the Participation and Equity Program of the Commonwealth Schools Commission.

The main objectives of this study are four-fold. First, the educational and occupational choices of Years 10 to 12 students in the Northern Territory are examined, with special reference to the choices taken by students of Aboriginal descent. It is hoped that a clear profile of choices of Aboriginal students at senior secondary level in the mainstream high schools will emerge. Secondly, the study aims at exploring the school factors and out-of-school factors which influence students’ choices of career and participation in post-secondary education. In order to provide background information for the planning and development of the University College of the Northern Territory, the Darwin Institute of Technology and other NT post-secondary colleges, the third objective is to make explicit the demand for tertiary education in the Territory. Finally, the study intends to provide research-based information and reference for the PEP Committee of the Commonwealth Schools Commission and to create an hierarchical data base on students flowing through the Northern Territory senior secondary education.

A questionnaire was developed and 3071 students, 84.51% of the total population, from Years 10 to 12 throughout the Northern Territory were surveyed between September and October 1985. The findings of the study showed that the educational aspirations of Aboriginal students cannot be under-estimated, at least 60% intended to pursue a post-secondary course. The findings also showed a high demand for tertiary education in the Northern Territory with 2/3 of all senior secondary students surveyed aspiring for post-secondary study. A continuation of the study regarding Years 10 to 12 students is considered extremely necessary, and it is suggested that the NT Department of Education should monitor the relevance of curricula to the projected needs of the future labour market.

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Increasing education and training is considered one means by which to reduce the extent of social exclusion and as such has been a key focus in recent public policies. This study investigates the impact of education and training on the extent of social exclusion using a measure of multidimensional social exclusion. A simulation of the effect of the COAG target relating to halving the proportion of 20-64 year olds without at least a certificate III qualification between 2009 and 2020 on the measure of multi-dimensional social exclusion is also undertaken. The study finds a clear dichotomy in the extent of social exclusion experienced between those with low levels of education (early school leavers or those with a certificate II qualification at the most) and the rest.

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We examine the effect of university education on students' non-cognitive skills (NCS) using high-quality Australian longitudinal data. To isolate the skill-building effects of tertiary education, we follow the education decisions and NCS - proxied by the Big Five personality traits - of 575 adolescents over eight years. Estimating a standard skill production function, we demonstrate a robust positive relationship between university education and extraversion, and agreeableness for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The effects are likely to operate through exposure to university life rather than through degree-specific curricula or university-specific teaching quality. As extraversion and agreeableness are associated with socially beneficial behaviours, we propose that university education may have important non-market returns.

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Cognitive and non-cognitive skills are important determinants of labor market outcomes, but are often unobserved. [The authors] propose a proxy for these skills derived from item non-response information and a procedure to test its validity. Exploiting a unique data-collection feature of an Australian survey, [the authors] find that fraction answered on a self-completion questionnaire fulfils all necessary requirements to be a valid proxy for cognitive skills and outperforms alternative proxies derived from paradata. Fraction answered captures a third of the effect of cognitive ability on wages and education. [The authors] provide a simple solution to reduce omitted-variable biases by up to 11 per cent.

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This paper examines the effects of university education on students' non-cognitive skills, an alternative component of human capital, using data from an Australian birth cohort. We follow the educational decisions and the evolution of non-cognitive skills - proxied by the Big Five personality traits and mental health - of 618 adolescents over eight years. We pay particular attention to possible interactions between university education and socioeconomic status. We find that university education has significant effects on outward orientation and mental health, and agreeableness for students from low socioeconomic status. These effects cannot be explained by individual-specific heterogeneity, time-varying life events, work experience or differences in the initial level of non-cognitive skills. The buffering effects of university education on extraversion are equally strong across all university groups and fields of study, suggesting that they are not driven by self-selection of students into specific degrees or universities.

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[The authors] investigate whether universities select by, or also shape, their students' personality, as implied by the human capital investment model. Using a nationally representative sample of Australian adolescents followed over eight years, [the authors] find that youth conscientiousness, internal locus of control, and low extraversion strongly predict the probability of obtaining a university degree. However, university education does not shape those personality traits associated with a strong work ethic and intellect. Yet, it offsets a general decline in extraversion as individuals age and boosts the development of agreeableness for men from disadvantaged backgrounds. [The] findings contribute to the discussion whether universities should teach their students broader skills.

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This study estimates impacts of the Victorian Training Guarantee (VTG) reforms that were implemented in the Victorian [vocational education and training] VET sector between 2009 and 2011. Nationally, market-based reform to make the VET sector more responsive to changing skill demands is seen as key to maintaining Australia’s competitiveness and enhancing labour market participation. Replacing the existing supply-driven training system, where the number and type of publicly-funded VET places is set by government, with a more demand-driven system where the number and type of VET places provided more closely reflects student demand, is seen as an important step along this path. Victoria is the first Australian state to embrace such market-driven reforms.

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