Y'all Ready for This? (Part 5)
Are they ready?
After spending thirteen years in classrooms many young Australians are not ready.
A comprehensive report has come out claiming that schools are failing to teach students the skills that make them employable. "Australian schools are failing to prepare students for life after school" states the study by the Mitchel Institute. "Young people are struggling to find full-time employment after high school" and the report blames the Australian educational model for "remaining static in the face of significant change".
The report identifies an over-emphasis on preparing students for standardised tests, which measure a narrow range of skills, as the chief culprit.
But I’m quite certain the report shouldn’t be blaming schools and teachers for fixating on test preparation at the expense of teaching other skills. (We all know where to point the finger there.)
James Phelps
Continue the conversation on Facebook
The full report can be downloaded here - http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Preparing-young-people-for-the-future-of-work.pdf
Read the summary from Nine News below:
Australian schools 'not preparing students for real life'
Australian schools are failing to prepare students for life after school, according to a new report.
A study by the Mitchel Institute has claimed young people are struggling to find full-time employment after high school and have blamed the basic educational model remaining “static” in the face of significant technological change.
“Technology is rapidly disrupting how we live and work – many tasks at the core of low and medium skill jobs are being automated or contracted offshore,” the study said.
“Many young people are being left behind, and this challenge will only intensify into the future.”
The study found schools were more focused on test scores rather than developing workplace skills and has urged educators to adapt their approaches so students are prepared to “thrive in technology-rich, globalised, competitive job markets”.
“Schools educate children for thirteen years, so have a prime role in developing the capabilities young people will need to thrive,” it said.
“Basics, such as literacy, numeracy and core subject knowledge, are important. But the senior secondary years need to go beyond this and provide young people with advanced capabilities within and across subject areas.”
It said the overwhelming drive to improve scores in National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) and Australian Tertiary admission Ranks (ATAR) was a narrow measure of skills needed going forward in life and desperately needed to be broadened.
The Institute has recommended shifting community perceptions on vocational education, expanding students understanding of future workplace pathways and growing apprenticeship models to incorporate jobs outside current trade roles.
“The UK is experimenting with degree apprenticeships in non-traditional areas such as digital and technology, banking and engineering. In this model, employers, universities and professional bodies co-design new degrees combining a full bachelor’s or master’s degree with employment.”
A review of the curriculum is expected by 2020.