Higher Education Choice in Australia: Processes and Impediments

This article outlines and interprets the results of a pilot study designed to evaluate the impact of various social and personal factors on the decision process stages (DPS) through which years 7-12 high school students proceed in choosing to undertake study in the university sector of higher education in Australia. The article also examines the associated effects of background factors influencing participation in higher education generally. Complex patterns of predictive associations between the factors and seven DPS which appear to operate differently during the various years of high school are outlined. The differences are described in terms of six general categories of predictors. Comparative studies evaluating the effects of background factors on participation in higher education are examined to broaden the contextual base of the research findings and to identify the contribution of theories of social change, with particular emphasis on the meritocratic thesis. The interpretation of the research findings is assisted by relating them to Erik Erikson's developmental framework concerned with the growth of the conscious self or personal identity.