In March, a major survey revealed some much needed good news for school leavers off the back of the massively disruptive Covid-19 pandemic.
Indeed’s Graduate Outcomes Survey found that graduates and employers are feeling increasingly optimistic about graduates’ job prospects, and that high school graduates are now securing opportunities at a rate not previously seen during the pandemic.
However, some experts say the mental health crisis and the flow-on effects of it shows that significantly more can be done to help improve post-school opportunities for young people.
Dr Brian Moore, a registered psychologist and educator at Charles Sturt University, says the idea that education’s primary role will be to prepare young people for the 21st century workforce “may be built on problematic forward-thinking assumptions”.
“Digital technologies and automation may provide new job opportunities, but may also lead to the end of full employment,” Dr Moore told The Educator.
“This may be a scary notion, but it provides Australia with an opportunity to reconceptualise what our society looks like and what purpose we give to education.”
Dr Moore said that given uncertain workforce trajectories, it is critical that schools foster positive attitudes to life-long learning through developing young people’s higher order thinking processes, cognitive flexibility, and capacity to adapt to change.
“The performance [results-focused] orientation of Australian schools encourages students to compare themselves with others and leads some students to make negative self-evaluations,” he said.
“Many students find the performance orientation of schools a stressful experience resulting in poor self-esteem.”
Dr Moore's research develops wellbeing in schools by engaging students in activities that are accessible and appealing to participants, including martial arts training and cooperative electronic gaming. That is, activities that youth and adolescents (ideally) want to do.
He says Australian schools could become “vibrant centres of mastery and creativity” by delivering education programs that focus on self-directed student learning including discovery-based learning and mastery-oriented education.
“Delivering school curriculum based on student interests that emphasise comparison with one’s previous performance has the potential to foster wellbeing and mental health by providing a more meaningful education experience.”
“It's not that we shouldn’t aim for excellence in education. Rather, perhaps we should reconsider how we go about achieving this.”