In 2019, I interviewed African youth and career advisors in nine government schools in Victoria. The aim was to understand what secondary schools were doing to prepare African students from refugee backgrounds for transitions to work, training, or higher education.
Findings of the research show that low academic outcomes of African students from refugee backgrounds are attributed to parental misconceptions, biased expectations, and academic disengagement. These are largely problems of perception, expectation, and motivation and can be addressed at least in part through engaging parents in career conversations.
Perception
According to the Career Industry Council of Australia (CICA), parents are the most important influencers of their children’s career decisions. But their views can be outdated or incomplete. For example, during the fieldwork, a career practitioner recounted an incident where an African parent told her that he did not come to Australia for his son to do a vocational qualification.
Schools need to address pervasive misconceptions about the values of non-university vocational qualifications. Career conservations offer an ideal forum to do that. Sustained career discussions can overcome parental misconceptions about qualifications and future job prospects.
Expectation
African youth complained that it is not uncommon for teachers to hold low expectations about what they can be and do. Conversely, career practitioners are worried that African parents hold ‘unrealistic’ expectations about the academic and career destinations of their children.
Both strands of expectations can cause unintended negative consequences. Low expectations can weaken self-efficacy and lead to anxiousness and withdrawal from academic work. Likewise, there is a downside of being headstrong about the career paths of children; what parents want and what students value can often misalign.
A mismatch between parental expectations and student aspirations can, in turn, lead to frustration at home and disengagement in school. As one career advisor put it: “If they’re having that expectation at home of you have to get a ninety-eight to become a doctor or lawyer and the kids know that they’re not getting there, they just start playing up, start being disengaged.”
Engagement in career conversations is valuable because informed parents are more likely to hold their children to high expectations while at the same time providing the necessary support that enables them to achieve what they have reason to value.
Motivation
Career advice enables parents and students to make informed decisions about study pathways and work options. This outcome is particularly critical now because the future of work is changing at a rapid pace. We are entering the age of Industry 4.0 in which economic productivity heavily relies on advanced levels of knowledge and skills.
It is well documented that parental involvement and clarity about career options are critical for student motivation and engagement. With timely and relevant career guidance, students would be motivated for learning; they would know what needs to be done to realise their aspirations.
Our children should be encouraged to take the future into their own hands. As parents, we need to be well-prepared to make that possible and provide them with the necessary career advice at home. School-based career activities and consultation can prepare us for that role. With the right level and form of support, our children can become adaptable and thoughtful risk-takers.
In closing
The career readiness of school leavers has become a serious challenge in Australia. A recent OECD report shows that, in the last two decades, Australia witnessed the highest increase in teenager career uncertainty.
As parents are the primary sources of career information for school leavers, engaging them in career conversations can help tackle students’ uncertainties about job options and pathways. In Victoria, schools are encouraged to engage parents in career conversations. But in practice, parental participation in career activities remains irregular and unequal.
Schools need to ensure that access to career services is equitable and that parents from culturally diverse disadvantaged communities are actively engaged with such services.
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*Tebeje Molla is a Discovery Early Researcher Award (DECRA) Fellow in the School of Education at Deakin University. His current project explores higher education participation among African Australian youth from refugee backgrounds.
