Ahead of the 2024 ATAR results, young people are calling for an education system that values their full range of skills, strengths, and capabilities – not just a number ranking them against peers in a system where Australia stands alone globally.
Learning Creates Australia has unveiled its latest report in the Power of Recognising More series, amplifying the voices of young people who say the current system fails them.
Titled The Whole Learner: Young People on the Next Chapter in Learning Beyond Limits, the report – co-led by young people as both researchers and contributors – delivers a clear message: it’s time for the education system to move beyond narrow academic results and truly recognise the whole learner.
The report, grounded in participatory workshops and in-depth interviews, reveals powerful insights:
- Young people highly value recognition of their non-academic skills and strengths – those transferable qualities that shape who they are and align with what future employers and educators prioritise.
- Recognition can happen formally or informally. Either way, young people thrive when they feel seen and valued as whole individuals, fostering self-awareness and resilience.
- Recognition beyond grades and awards validates and motivates on a deeper level.
- Connections with educators and mentors beyond the classroom builds a stronger sense of self and worth.
- Embracing diverse learning and career paths empowers students to pursue goals aligned with their passions and talents.
- Broadening recognition for students from disadvantaged backgrounds can break barriers, reduce stigma, and boost resilience and self-esteem.
Learning Creates Australia CEO Bronwyn Lee said that young people are often overlooked in conversations about their education.
“We have been working with young people to build an evidence base that shows why Australia’s education system must evolve beyond ranking our students at the end of their schooling,” she said.
“To take this to the next level, young people are front and centre in this report to amplify their voices and empower them to be part of creating change and helping to design better solutions. They want to create an education system that serves current and emerging generations.”
“For example, young people who face economic insecurity have valuable skills and capabilities developed through those experiences that are commonly overlooked. What if we developed a system that recognised these skills so their trajectories can be transformed?”
“The recent controversy regarding the potential exam question leaks and mistakes in Victoria and Tasmania only highlights just how much emphasis is placed on a series of high-stakes exams at the end of a young person’s schooling, rather than the cumulation of skills they are learning over 12 years.”
Young Researcher Mietta Symmons-Joyce was part of the team that developed the report and says the approach is all about surfacing and understanding young people’s unique perspectives.
“Our work is centred on young people’s lived experiences of learning. From design to delivery, young people are the heart and driving force behind this project.” she said.
“By emphasising the importance of peer-to-peer connection in our research design we are uncovering honest and empowered stories of when, where, and how young people feel recognised for their knowledge and capabilities.”
“The Whole Learner report calls for meaningful change. By integrating their stories and lived experiences we can move closer to co-creating an education system that truly serves young people.”
Lee says the latest report is another reminder that Australia needs to move beyond the ATAR and listen and learn from young people so that the next chapter of Australia’s education story can be written together.
“The findings in this report once again make it clear that we are doing our young people a disservice with the overwhelming focus on the ATAR,” she said.
“It remains the dominant form of recognition in secondary schooling, narrowing the content taught in classrooms, yet more than 75% of young people do not utilise their rank to pursue post-school pathways.”
“To change the story, we need to work with the whole ecosystem, including young people, early-mover schools, academics and employers, to create an education system that leaves no young person behind.”
ENDS
This ‘young person’ cycle of the work was co-led by emerging researchers who have had recent experience in secondary education alongside the expertise of the University of Western Sydney Young & Resilient Research Centre and the Learning Creates Australia team.
Media contact – Maggie Hill (0404 196 452, maggie@hillplus.com.au).
