Parents have a massive effect on young people's aspirations for higher education, a University of Newcastle professor says.
"I think we underestimate that," Laureate Professor Jenny Gore said.
Such influence can apply to others such as teachers and extended family members.
"Those who ask the question, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?', have such an influence on young people's imaginations," Professor Gore said.
It may be comments such as "I don't think you'd be very good at that" or "You'd be awesome at that, why don't you consider exploring this area?".
"Those tiny conversations that people have can have a massive impact on young people's futures," she said.
Professor Gore and her team have conducted significant research into student aspirations.
The research followed federal government policy that highlighted the need to raise aspirations.
Universities have historically run outreach programs in schools to encourage young people to consider university, but they were not necessarily optimal.
"We were concerned that a lot of that activity was happening without any actual evidence of what young people's aspirations are," Professor Gore said.
"Our research has been trying to understand what student aspirations are, how they are formed, what factors influence them and what we can do about it."
The research found aspirations to attend university to be consistently high across various communities.
"We found that the aspirations of young people in poor communities are actually very similar, in broad terms, to those of people in wealthier communities," Professor Gore said.
"If you take out the kids who say they don't know what they want to do after school, about two-thirds say they want to go to university.
"A smaller proportion say they want to go to TAFE or some other vocational education."
A minority plan to finish their education at the end of - or during - high school.
"The vast majority aspire to be in professional careers and go to university," she said.
However, the researchers found socioeconomic status does have a significant bearing on aspirations to "high-status" careers.
Students in wealthier urban areas aspire to more prestigious occupations, on average, compared to regional and remote communities and those affected by disadvantage.
This is one reason why it's important to understand and nurture aspirations.
Ambition
Rather than focusing on raising aspirations, the researchers found it may be more productive to consider the ways in which ambition can be diminished.
They found the focus should also be on what can be done to better support student aspirations.
The researchers found that nurturing aspiration is critical in widening participation at university.
However, living in a particular community did not determine educational and career pathways.
A complex array of factors were involved in the pursuit of higher education.
The research found efforts should aim to raise student awareness and exposure to education and careers, while providing tools for them to realise their goals.
The Newcastle researchers have established nationwide professional development courses for teachers based on evidence.
Additionally, a four-week free online course, titled "When I Grow Up: Supporting Children's Aspirations", has been designed for public access.
"The courses are designed to help teachers, parents and community members understand how critical it can be to expose kids to a range of careers and possibilities.
"Some kids have limited models of what is possible."
Schools could play a greater role in helping kids see a broader range of possibilities.
This is particularly important for young people living in communities with a lack of resources.
Professor Gore said prior academic achievement was important in predicting aspiration.
Quality teaching, therefore, was essential.
She said the industry of teacher development was "thriving with an abundance of expensive courses, events and gurus offering advice or endorsing products, with little evidence that any of it improves teaching".
Her team's research shows that a low-cost approach in which teachers learn together at school can significantly improve the quality of teaching.
They have developed an approach called Quality Teaching Rounds.
This involves four or more teachers working together to observe and analyse each other's teaching in a non-confrontational way.
It helps them become more aware of their strengths and what they can improve to help their students learn.
This can lead to improved academic results and improved self esteem among young people.
"If kids see themselves as successful and capable, they believe they can be what they want to be," Professor Gore said.
Shaping Beliefs
The junior years of high school, in particular, begin to shape youngsters' beliefs about what they can be.
The places where youngsters live and the culture around them can have big effects.
On the north shore of Sydney, for example, family and community expectations mean university is practically compulsory.
Conversely, young people living in a community of intergenerational poverty in which few people work can narrow their imagination.
Youngsters who live in thriving farming communities, for example, may not aspire to university.
The Hunter also has its challenges in this respect.
"We have pockets of privilege and pockets of disadvantage and poor postcodes," Professor Gore said.
"We have communities stricken by drought and those in mining and farming."
But she said the Hunter was "relatively well off" compared to some areas.
Wherever young people live and whatever social class they're part of, desire does exist to exceed the norms of education and careers.
