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A Second Chance at Education for Early School Leavers

Author

Listed:
  • Polidano, Cain

    (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research)

  • Tabasso, Domenico

    (UNHCR)

  • Tseng, Yi-Ping

    (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research)

Abstract

Despite efforts to engage youth in education, there have been only modest improvements in the rates of school completion across OECD countries since the mid-1990s. These modest improvements underline the importance of programs that encourage early school leavers to return to post-school education. The objective of this paper is to better understand the factors that affect the chances of re-engaging early school leavers in education, with a particular focus on the importance of time out from school (duration dependence) and school-related factors. Using data from three cohorts of the Longitudinal Survey of Australian Youth and duration models that control for unobserved heterogeneity, our results suggest that programs that encourage an early return to study and programs that develop post-school career plans may be more effective than programs that concentrate on improving numeracy and literacy scores.

Suggested Citation

  • Polidano, Cain & Tabasso, Domenico & Tseng, Yi-Ping, 2012. "A Second Chance at Education for Early School Leavers," IZA Discussion Papers 6769, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6769
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Nicoletti, Cheti & Rondinelli, Concetta, 2010. "The (mis)specification of discrete duration models with unobserved heterogeneity: A Monte Carlo study," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 159(1), pages 1-13, November.
    6. Rumberger, Russell W. & Lamb, Stephen P., 2003. "The early employment and further education experiences of high school dropouts: a comparative study of the United States and Australia," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 353-366, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Cain Polidano & Chris Ryan, 2017. "What Happens to Students with Low Reading Proficiency at 15? Evidence from Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 93(303), pages 600-614, December.
    2. Dong, Beidi & Krohn, Marvin D., 2020. "The effects of parental school exclusion on offspring drug use: An intergenerational path analysis," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    3. Cain Polidano & Chris Ryan, 2016. "Long-Term Outcomes from Australian Vocational Education," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2016n35, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    4. Portela-Pruaño, A. & Rodríguez-Entrena, M.J. & Torres-Soto, A. & Nieto-Cano, J.M., 2022. "Push and pull reasons underpinning vulnerable young people’s decisions regarding re-engagement with education and training," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    5. Justman, Moshe & Méndez, Susan J., 2018. "Gendered choices of STEM subjects for matriculation are not driven by prior differences in mathematical achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 282-297.
    6. Hickey, Grainne & Smith, Stephen & O'Sullivan, Lorraine & McGill, Lucy & Kenny, Mary & MacIntyre, Deirdre & Gordon, Mary, 2020. "Adverse childhood experiences and trauma informed practices in second chance education settings in the Republic of Ireland: An inquiry-based study," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    7. Daniel Gladwell & Gurleen Popli & Aki Tsuchiya, 2022. "Predictors of becoming not in education, employment or training: A dynamic comparison of the direct and indirect determinants," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 185(S2), pages 485-514, December.
    8. Cain Polidano & Barbara Hanel & Hielke Buddelmeyer, 2012. "Explaining the SES School Completion Gap," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2012n16, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    demand for schooling; educational economics; human capital;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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