Laura Perry PhD

This study proposes a more nuanced understanding of the elements constituting refugees' cultural and social capital to help education providers and policymakers develop a non-deficit view of refugees. Such an understanding, informed by empirical research, ought to shape the type of support that is offered to this cohort to facilitate successful participation in higher education. This paper deploys the concepts of cultural and social capital, habitus and field as articulated within Bourdieu's theory of practice. The findings of this study favour an 'asset view' of refugees within the higher educational context. Using a qualitative research design, 20 participants who come from a refugee background were interviewed. It was found that cultural identity and embeddedness within community has a varied influence on the higher educational experience of people from a refugee background in Australia. Additionally, diverse learning environments and, even, generic support structures, help provide a positive higher educational experience for refugees. These findings complement current research suggesting that people who come from a refugee background possess a range of cultural and social capital which can be assets to their higher educational endeavours.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has become the world’s largest comparative assessment of academic achievement. To integrate the extensive number of studies that have investigated factors influencing math achievement across countries, we conducted a systematic literature review to present a comprehensive overview of factors influencing math performance in PISA. Guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 and Bronfenbrenner’s theory of human development, we searched peer-reviewed journal articles in five databases, quantitatively and qualitatively synthesized the 158 articles. Over 140 factors were identified and categorized into five categories, namely: individual student, household context, school community, education systems and macro society. The analysis uncovered some factors, such as family socio-economic status, student-centered instruction, teacher and general staff shortage, Confucian culture and long-term orientation, that are consistently associated with math achievement. The explanatory power of most other factors, however, varied cross-nationally. The findings indicate that policy makers and stakeholders need to be cautious of national context when borrowing education practices and policies from other countries or regions.

Since 2000, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has directly and indirectly led to educational reforms and policy changes in many countries. PISA 2022 will focus on mathematics, with 38 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries and probably over 50 non-members participating in this cycle. With the increased attention being paid to PISA results, extensive research has been conducted to investigate which factors contribute to high PISA math performance. This presentation will present the first comprehensive, systematic literature review on the factors that shape PISA math performance. Informed by an extensive understanding of these factors, the presenter will then utilise qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), an innovative method in education research, to further analyse the driver of high performance. Using the most recent math scores available from 65 countries, I will introduce my research design, share some preliminary results, and discuss pathways for further research.

Since 2000, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has directly and indirectly led to educational reforms and policy changes in many countries. PISA 2022 will focus on mathematics, with 38 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries and probably over 50 non-members participating in this cycle. With the increased attention being paid to PISA results, extensive research has been conducted to investigate which factors contribute to high PISA math performance. This presentation will present the first comprehensive, systematic literature review on the factors that shape PISA math performance. Informed by an extensive understanding of these factors, the presenter will then utilise qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), an innovative method in education research, to further analyse the driver of high performance. Using the most recent math scores available from 65 countries, I will introduce my research design, share some preliminary results, and discuss pathways for further research.

Very little research has examined the long-term effects of elite schooling on life opportunities. While some Australian studies have examined the structures and processes used by elite private schools to reproduce social status and inequality, no studies have examined the perspectives of elite school alumni about the benefits and disadvantages [#_msocom_1] conferred upon them by an elite private education. Bourdieu’s cultural and social capital theory underpins the analysis of this study. In-depth interviews were conducted with three male and five female alumni, revealing common themes and patterns that spanned different time periods and outcomes. Alumni were sent to elite schools because their parents perceived they would experience a wider range of opportunities and academic rigour than they would in the public system. Reflecting on their school experiences, only one alumnus reported any disadvantage of attending an elite school concerning a lack of exposure to real world experiences. Others perceived the benefit of attending an elite private school steered them towards further education and away from risky behaviour, serving as a refuge from less refined peers and ‘dangerous’ behaviour at public schools. Post schooling reflections highlighted the main benefit related to social capital, rather than any cultural capital, with females reporting long-term friendships as a key benefit, and males leveraging the ‘old boys’ network’ for career opportunities and financial gains. However, these are not unique to private schools. Over half of the alumni chose elite schooling for their own children, with one participant choosing elite schools so that their children could mix with similar or higher classedpeers. While participants valued their school experience the individual benefits were limited and almost all did not believe elite private schooling benefited wider society. When compared to the status of their parents, participants were either at the same or of a slightly higher socio-economic status. Overall, the benefits of attending an elite private school centred on safety, social exclusion and social reproduction rather than on the development of cultural capital or social mobility [#_msocom_6]. The findings of this study – that there are only limited benefits to elite schooling - may be useful for families who are considering such an education for their children, elite schools to strengthen their relationship with alumni, and government policy makers to review funding and subsidisation of elite private schools. But more importantly it begs the question – is elite private schooling really worth it?

No studies have examined the perspectives of elite school alumni about the value and disadvantages conferred upon them by an elite private education. This project sought to establish whether elite alumni's school experiences positively affected their post-school lives and what wider patterns or themes about elite education could be found. The study was guided by Bourdieu's concepts of cultural and social capital, used to understand the benefits, limitations and opportunities afforded by elite private schools. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight participants, three male and five female, then transcripts coded in Nvivo. Preliminary results showed the long-term value of social capital first acquired at school differed by gender. Some participants credited their elite schooling with steering them away from drug-taking and poor decisions about sexual behaviour, and towards university; they felt this would have been reversed had they attended a public school. The benefits of social capital that were found could easily be acquired at non-elite schools. Also, when compared with their parents, participants were either at about the same or of a slightly higher socio-economic status. Given these limited long-term benefits of elite schooling it could be timely to reconsider the utility of continued government subsidisation of private schools.

This study examines the impact of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) on teaching and learning. The IB is growing exponentially worldwide, but little is known about the impact of the MYP on teaching and learning, from the perspectives of key stakeholders who have been offering the program in their school for many years. We use a qualitative research design to examine stakeholders' perspectives about three research questions. First, what are the impediments and enablers of offering the MYP? Second, what are the benefits and opportunities of the MYP on teaching and learning? And third, what are the limits and challenges of the MYP on teaching and learning? The sample includes five schools (three government and two independent) with a range of socio-economic compositions (one low, three average, one high). While analyses are ongoing, preliminary findings suggest that stakeholders value how the MYP promotes students' critical thinking and global mindedness. They also value the MYP's attention to the holistic development of students via community service. In terms of teaching, they value how it helps teachers work collectively and provide clear feedback to students. On the negative side, stakeholders noted that the MYP creates extra demands on teachers in terms of lesson planning and assessment; juggling competing pressures on the curriculum were also noted. Stakeholders noted that training, support and resources for managing the extra demands associated with offering the MYP are not always adequate. Recommendations for policy and practice will be discussed.

This study examines access to International Baccalaureate (IB) schools in Australia. The IB is a highly regarded programme of rigorous, inquiry-based academic education. It is offered in most countries and in more than 4,000 schools worldwide. It is growing at a dramatic rate, with the number of IB programmes increasing by almost 50% in the last five years. Australia is the fourth largest provider of IB schools in the world, with 155 schools that offer one or more of the three IB programmes (primary, lower secondary and upper secondary). While largely catering to privileged students, the IB is committed to increasing the proportion of low-income students enrolled in its programmes. Our study provides a benchmark for assessing the degree to which this goal is being achieved within an Australian context.Using data from the MySchool website, we examined the characteristics of all 155 schools in Australia that offer an IB programme. Specifically, we examined their geographic location (metropolitan, provincial, rural and remote), sector, fees and student characteristics. We also examined housing prices of the communities in which IB schools are located. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first of its kind to examine the characteristics of all IB schools in a given country with this level of detail.The findings show that access to IB schools in non-metropolitan locations is severely limited, with 92% of all IB schools located in metropolitan locations. Two-thirds of IB schools are private, and 40% of them charge in excess of $15k in fees per year. All 13 non-metropolitan IB schools are private. Half of all students at IB schools come from the top SEA quartile, whereas only 7% come from the bottom quartile; overall, 75% of students at IB schools are in the top two SEA quartiles. Only 11 IB schools (7%) have a level of socio-educational advantage that are less than the national average. Our findings show that access to IB schools in Australia is largely limited to families who reside in large cities and who can afford to live in communities with high housing prices or pay fees to attend a private IB school. Because of these systemic barriers, it is not surprising that students from higher SES backgrounds are over-represented at IB schools in Australia. We recommend an increase in the number of public schools in non-affluent communities and rural areas that offer the IB. In-depth research about the challenges, benefits and enablers of implementing IB programmes in low SES public schools and in rural areas would be a useful next step.