While homeschooling in the past has been an issue of contention among educators and parents alike, the COVID-19 pandemic has seen more children home-schooled than ever before in Australian history.
The effectiveness of homeschooling has long been debated. However, the rise of the internet has turned the world of homeschooling on its head, with access to all human knowledge at our fingertips.
Online teaching is also becoming more the norm, with online video conferencing providers, like Zoom, able to facilitate large groups of students in an online classroom while simultaneously allowing teachers and students to get one-on-one time throughout the same session.
For some students, homeschooling has yielded better results, with more face-to-face interaction with the teacher, fewer distractions in the classroom, and fewer in-class timetable disruptions derailing momentum.
Because of the global pandemic lockdowns, there are now significantly more resources for homeschooling online, which also opens up the homeschooling conversation for a new tech-savvy generation of students in all year levels.
However, the big question resting on the heads of our more senior students is, will homeschooling affect a student’s chances of getting into a TAFE course or the university of their choice?
Read on to find out more about homeschooling and tertiary education applications.
Homeschooling and tertiary education
“Homeschooling reduces your kid’s chances of getting into uni!”. Are you used to this rhetoric? Unfortunately, it is a common misconception.
The scoring system most commonly used to determine a student’s acceptance into many tertiary education institutions is an ATAR, short for the Australian Tertiary Admission.
The ATAR is more like a rank than a mark and is ranked between 0.00 and 99.95, indicating a position relative to an individual’s age group. The average ATAR score is approximately 70.00. However, a common misconception is that this ATAR ranking is the only way to obtain tertiary acceptance, which is not the case.
For example, in 2016, only 26% of Australian students were accepted into their chosen university courses using an ATAR ranking, while the other 74% utilised alternative entry pathways.
There are many different alternative pathways to higher education, many just as effective at gaining access to tertiary education like TAFE and university.
Examples of alternative entry pathways could include, but are not limited to:
- Enabling courses
- Bridging courses
- Enabling outreach courses
- Special Tertiary Admissions Test
- Credit for recognised learning (CRL)
- Vocational education and training (VET) and TAFE pathways
- Portfolio entry and other successful models and methods
The truth is that many of these suggested alternative pathways to higher education, as outlined by Australian education authorities, can be a better option than a high ATAR ranking upon completion of Year 12.
Quite often, using these alternative methods is:
- Easier than obtaining a high ATAR ranking
- Faster than completing school in a traditional institution, and
- Able to offer more access to the job market than a high ATAR ranking
This is even more relevant as tertiary education has become more privatised and more expensive per degree, making many modern universities profitable businesses as much as they are educational institutions.
These alternative methods also open more doorways to people like mature aged and international students who don’t have an ATAR score, to begin with.
Gatekeepers to higher education
With so many alternative options to access higher education, you would think it would be common knowledge. However, universities and specific TAFE courses have a good reason to keep these pathways quiet, and it all comes down to the dollar.
The business of tertiary education is big money. If people are unaware of their alternative entry options, it gives tertiary institutions, like universities, the chance to make more from an under-informed student.
Some universities have entry courses, like a tertiary preparation diploma, which can add an extra year of study and up to $20,000 in fees before the student can even begin their course of interest.
These courses often do not even contribute to credit on their future degree, costing unnecessary stress, time and financial burdens for students and potentially their parents also.
University vs TAFE
Many students, especially those interested in a trade, will not be interested in university studies. Many professional trades now provide a higher income than many traditionally sought after university degrees.
As well as trade-school apprenticeships, TAFE is also a viable pathway to a well-paid, rewarding career path. TAFE offers certificates I, II, IV and diplomas in many professional fields.
In many Australian states, TAFE provides university pathway courses, with some diploma courses offering a full-year credit with TAFE partnered universities.
Open universities also provide alternative career pathways, providing opportunities to students as young as 15-years of age with no entry requirements at all.
There are many alternative ways to access higher education after homeschooling, more than you may think. Therefore, any concerns about a child reducing their chances of accessing tertiary education post homeschooling should be left where they belong; in the past.
Lions Education is dedicated to providing a new approach to education for everyone. For more information register your interest today https://www.lionseducation.com.au/reservation-to-enrol/