• Happy and confident
• Supportive relationships
• Healthy
• Education and training
  • Resources at home
  • School engagement
  • Participation rates
  • On-the-job learning
  • Skills at age 15
  • School-leavers
  • Tertiary attainment
• Meaningful employment
• Economically secure
• Recreation and leisure
• Safe
• Active citizens

Achieving in education and training

Desired outcome

Young people gain the skills, qualifications and attitudes that will enable them to meet their potential and become full participants in society.

Relevance

Education assists young people to understand the world around them. The knowledge and skills acquired through education enable young people to take up opportunities and enhance their ability to influence the direction of their lives.

All young people need to develop key literacies in order to access, interpret and use information in their everyday lives and to engage in an informed way in democratic processes.

The attainment of educational qualifications has a positive impact on career options, employment stability and living standards. Young people who disengage from education and training with low or no qualifications are at much greater risk of vulnerability in the labour market, low income, unemployment and reliance on social assistance in the immediate and long-term.(1)

There is growing evidence that educational outcomes have a causal influence on other areas of wellbeing. For example, young people who leave school early are a high risk group for engagement in other ‘risky’ behaviours - such as alcohol and/or other drug abuse and youth offending. Educational outcomes also have long-term implications for the physical and mental health, criminal behaviour and community participation of adults.(2)

Acquiring knowledge and skills can contribute to self-worth and be a significant source of personal satisfaction. Young people with positive attitudes towards learning are well-positioned for adapting to future challenges and upskilling throughout their lives.

Indicators

There is a strong relationship between family socio-economic characteristics and educational achievement. Access to educational resources at home helps to create a positive learning environment for young people. The first indicator in this domain reports on the proportion of 15 year olds that have access to educational resources in the home such as a desk, a quiet place to study, school text books and calculator.

Students that have a positive attitude towards school are more likely to enjoy their time at school and make the most of their opportunities there. The second indicator measures motivation and engagement in learning among secondary school students.

The next two indicators report on participation in education and training. These indicators provide information about access to education and who takes up the opportunities to learn. Enrolment rates of young people aged 15 to 24 in educational institutions show the proportion of young people that are participating in upper secondary school or tertiary education. Together with information about student achievement, this indicator helps to illustrate the extent to which young people are gaining the higher level skills required to contribute to a modern knowledge economy. The next indicator provides more detailed information about participation in work-based learning. Industry training provides opportunities for ongoing development and updating of applied skills needed in the workplace. The proportion of young people aged 15 to 24 engaged in industry training and Modern Apprenticeships are reported here.

The final indicators report on student achievement and the outcomes of learning. The reading, mathematics and science literacy of 15 year olds is included as a measure of how well New Zealand young people perform in these three core areas. Upper secondary school qualifications provide a basis for future education and training as well as direct entry to the labour force. The proportion of school leavers with NCEA level 2 or above is reported here. The last indicator in this section measures the proportion of 25 to 34 year olds who have achieved tertiary qualifications at bachelor’s degree or higher.

Use the links on the left to explore the indicators in this domain.

Notes

1. McLaren K (2003) Reconnecting Young People: A Review of the Risks, Remedies and Consequences of Youth Inactivity, Report prepared for Strategic Social Policy Group, Ministry of Social Development.

2. Department for Education and Skills (2006) The Wider Benefits of Learning: A Synthesis of Findings From the Centre for Research on The Wider Benefits of Learning 1999-2006, Research Brief RCB05-06