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2009
Wellbeing and Retention: A Senior Secondary Student Perspective Wellbeing and Retention: A Senior Secondary Student Perspective
Jan Gray
Edith Cowan University
Mark Hackling
Edith Cowan University
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This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of: Gray,J., & Hackling, M. (2009). Wellbeing and Retention: A Senior
Secondary Student Perspective. The Australian Educational Researcher, 36(2), 119-145.
This Journal Article is posted at Research Online.
https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworks/493
Wellbeing
and
Retention: A Senior
Secondary Student Perspective
Abstract
Jan Gray
Mark Hackling
Edith
Cowan
University
Non-completion
of
senior secondary schooling continues to be a matter
of
concern
for
policy makers
and
practitioners
in
Australia today. Despite the efforts
of
governments
to improve participation
and
retention rates, 30%
of
students drop out
of
school before
completing Year
12. Further, some students remain
at
school,
just
biding their time
until graduation. Within this context, we investigate whether the wellbeing
of
the
students
is
a key factor
in
supporting senior students
in
deciding to continue
at
school.
Tbe article reports
on
the first phase
of
a two-year study
of
factors impacting
on
quality
retention
and
participation
of
250
Year 11 students from two school communities.
Tbis
initial phase focuses
on
the senior students' perspective
of
their wellbeing
in
Year
11,
and
includes
our
development
of
a suite
of
scales
to
measure the impact
of
students'
social connectedness
and
academic engagement
on
academic achievement
and
retention. Data
from
the survey
of
students are enriched through student focus groups.
Tbe
article identifies critical dimensions
of
what
students regard as a healthy senior
school culture; that
is,
a culture conducive to a positive
and
productive experience
in
terms
of
their retention, participation
and
achievement. Implications
for
school
and
system policy
and
governance are proposed.
Introduction
Concern related to increasing the length
of
time students remain at school
is
a global
issue. A recent report into school retention (White,
2003) summarised the position in
the following way:
Compared with young people
who
complete secondary schooling, those
who don't fmish
secondary schooling, are more likely to experience
The
Australian
Educational
Researcher, Volume 36,
Number
2,
August 2009
JAN
GRAY
AND
MARK
HACKLING
--------------
extended periods
of
unemployment, obtain low-paid
and
low-skilled
jobs and have difficulty obtaining relatively stable jobs: they are more
likely to earn less, rely
on
government assistance and not actively
participate in community life (p.
4).
This
not
only raises the question of
how
to improve retention and participation rates
for senior secondary students, but, more importandy, how to improve the quality
of
the retention experience itself. Legislation alone will not persuade students to remain
at school. Although there has
been
a recent shift in conceptualisation
of
"retention"
to embrace school-to-work
and
school-to-training transitions, the challenge remains
in providing a positive, purposeful and productive experience for students that helps
them attain the self-esteem, qualification
and
experiences
needed
to reach their goals.
Further, the wellbeing of the students within this culture
is
critical.
Within Australia, the secondary school completion picture mirrors the
OECD
data,
with
30%
of
students dropping out
of
school before completing
12
years of schooling
(Lamb, Walstab, Teese, Vickers,
& Rumberger, 2004), (Organisation for Economic
Cooperation Development, 2005), Table C1.3).Variations in retention data across the
Australian states are influenced
by
factors such as the proportion
of
Indigenous
students, the remoteness
of
secondary schools from key metropolitan education
districts, access to post compulsory education within the local school,
and
access to
Technical And Further Education colleges
and
workplace learning opportunities. The
impact
of
these factors
on
participation rates
of
young people in Australia are
documented by Fullarton, Walker, Ainley
and
Hillman (2003). The authors found that
participation rates in the final year of secondary schooling varied according to the
following factors:
• Gender - girls were more likely to complete than boys by
10
percentage
points;
• Socio-economic background - students from low
SES
background were
less likely to complete
by
15
percentage points;
• Cultural background - students from a non-English speaking background
were less likely to complete by 8 percentage points;
• Earlier school achievement -
low
achieving students are less likely to
complete by
31
percentage points;
and
• School sector
and
location - students from government schools (by 8
percentage points)
and
non-metropolitan schools (by
14
percentage
points) were less likely to complete their fmal year
of
schooling.
(Fullarton et aI., 2003)
120
•
WELLBEING
AND
RETENTION
A growing body
of
research
on
school retention seeks institutional, socio-economic,
and
personal factors that may impact
on
the completion
of
12
years
of
schooling. Many
of
these studies identify students most at risk
of
leaving school without certification, or
adequate educational
or
training requirements for on-going employment (Beavis,
Curtis,
& Curtis, 2005b; Gray & Beresford,
2002;
Lamb et
aI.,
2004; Munns & McFadden,
2000;
Ross
& Gray,
2005;
Wyn, Stokes, & Tyler, 2004). However, little research
is
available to explain the retention
of
students from their point
of
view.
Voelkel (1997) has examined two key concepts underpinning the establishment
and
fostering
of
participation
and
retention: student identification with school. through a
sense
of
belonging
and
valuing
of
school
and
related outcomes,
and
others have
looked at trust relationships within the school (Mitchell
& Forsyth, 2004). Research
has established the effect
of
student perceptions
of
their learning environment,
and
especially their teachers,
on
achievement and learning (Darling-Hammond, 2005;
Fisher & Khine, 2006; Fraser, 2007; Hattie, 2005). Although this growing
body
of
research
is
shaping an understanding
of
the influence
of
the learning environment
on
students
who
leave school before completion, very few studies focus
on
understanding the perspectives
and
learning needs
of
those students
who
choose to
complete their fmal two years
of
schooling.
The missing voice in the current debate related to retention
is
that
of
the senior
student. Without an insight into student experience
of
the senior school learning
environment, school cultures, systems
and
course are limited in targeting offerings to
provide positive experiences
of
participation
and
retention for their senior students.
After a decade
of
researching the impact
of
early school leaving,
we
took
up
this
challenge
and
undertook a two-year study tracking all Year
11
students in two schools
through to their completion
of
Year
12.
This allowed us to use repeated surveys
and
focus groups over
an
extended period
of
time to get to
know
these students. Through
this,
we
were able to develop a theoretical
and
practical understanding, from the
students' perspective,
of
the impact
of
students' wellbeing within the senior school
learning environment
on
their retention
and
achievement.
This
article draws
on
the
first
year
of
our research of the senior secondary students'
perspective of their wellbeing in the
Year
11
school culture, and includes our development
of a suite of scales to measure the impact of students' social connectedness and academic
engagement on academic achievement and retention. Data from the survey of students are
enriched through student focus groups.
-121
JAN
GRAY
AND
MARK HACKLING
-------------
We
based the paper
on
three premises:
• That students' perceptions
of
the school culture
and
the extent to which
it satisfies their social, academic and aspirational needs are indicators
of
the wellbeing
of
senior school students
• That the level of engagement
of
senior school students influences the
quality
of
their participation
and
retention
• That there are critical dimensions
of
a supportive school culture
conducive to quality retention
and
participation.
Wellbeing
in
Senior
School
Research indicates there are three key factors influencing students' decisions to
become non-completers
and
leave school before graduation (Alexander, Entwisle, &
Olson,
2001;
Lamb
et al.,
2004;
Smyth & Hattam,
2004;
Teese & Polesel, 2003):
CO
work
and
employment opportunities,
(ii)
negative
and
unfulfilling school experiences,
and
(iii) severe home and welfare problems.
These three factors interact with each other and, combined with gender
and
ethnicity
influences, affect students' decisions to leave school early. Research shows students
most likely to succumb to low level, temporary employment opportunities, courses
leading to limited opportunities for on-going education, training
or
employment,
failed transitions
and
poor
quality retention experiences are those
who
are already
struggling to deal with disadvantage (Beavis et al.,
2005b; Lamb et al.,
2004;
Ross &
Gray, 2005; Thomson, 2005). Early studies found students least likely to succeed were
disaffected by their experience of school,
and
appeared to have less realistic
aspirations than their not-at-risk peers (Bradley, 1991).
As foreshadowed above, this paper focuses
on
the second
of
these three factors: the
capacity for the school experience to impact
on
students' active participation and
retention in the senior secondary years. This is the one factor that education systems
can
influence (Hemmings et al., 1998).
Identification
with
the
school
community
The relationship between students' failure to identify with their school community
and
their academic achievement has
been
well established (Finn, 1989; Finn & Rock,
1997; Fordham, 1996).
Such a sense
of
identification involves for the student a sense
of belonging and this in
tum
entails a valuing
of
school
and
school-related outcomes.
Recent research has expanded the concept
of
student "identification" with their school
to include trust relationships within the school (Mitchell
& Forsyth, 2004). Martin
122 •