Remote Secondary Education Retention - What Helps First Nations Students Stay and Complete Year 12

Oct 15, 2026

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The research examines what enables First Nations students to remain in remote secondary schooling and ultimately complete Year 12. Conducted in the Northern Territory and Western Australia in 2023, it focuses on remote and very remote independent and Catholic schools. Findings highlight supportive family roles, teacher quality and teaching, targeted school programs, post-school pathways, and boarding-school options, with student aspirations and motivation also proving critical. Results inform school practice and state and federal policy and funding priorities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Policy and outcomes for Year 12 completion

Closing the Gap and attainment rates

Trends in very remote schools

Boarding schools and participation shifts

Evidence on Year 12 completers

Table 1 overview of very remote outcomes

Remote secondary education retention: What helps First Nations students stay until, and complete, year 12 John Guenther1, Robyn Ober1, Rhonda Oliver2 and Catherine Holmes1 1 Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, PO Box 2363, Parap NT 0804, [email: john.guenther@batchelor.edu.au](email: john.guenther@batchelor.edu.au) 2 School of Education, Curtin University, Perth WA 6102 Over recent years there has been a strong emphasis on year 12 completion as an indicator of success in remote First Nations education. The research reported in this article explores what students, school staff and community members say leads to secondary school retention and, ultimately, completion. The research was conducted in the Northern Territory and Western Australia during 2023 by a team of researchers from Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, Curtin University and University of Notre Dame. The research focused on remote and very remote independent and Catholic schools. The findings suggest several factors encourage retention, including the supportive role of families (although questions remain on how families might also be supported to encourage their children), the quality of teachers and their teaching, specific school programs and initiatives, post-school pathways, and boarding schools. Student aspirations and motivation are also critical for retention. The findings have implications for schools, school systems, state and federal policies, and associated funding priorities. Keywords: remote secondary education, First Nations students, secondary school completion, year 12 retention, family support, remote teachers and teaching Introduction According to the Australian Government Department of Education (2024), completing year 12 is considered an essential foundation for a young person’s future: “There’s a clear link between getting a year 12 certificate (or equivalent qualification) and improved social and economic outcomes for young people.” The economic benefit for individuals translates to between 10 % and 13% average earning gain compared to non-completers (Deloitte Access Economics, 2016) . The personal and social benefits of year 12 completion are also acknowledged in terms of health, wellbeing, housing and nutrition (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2023; Cameron & Biddle, 2012); it is also a “minimum prerequisite” for many jobs (Biddle, 2010, p. 5) . Closing the Gap Target 5 aims for 96 % of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (age 20–24) to attain year 12 or equivalent by 2031 (Productivity Commission, 2023) . In 2021, 68.1 % of 20-to 24-yearold First Nations people had attained year 12, with rates increasing by about 1% per year (Productivity Commission, 2023) . However, the proportion of completers varies considerably from state to state and by remoteness. For example, in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, completion rates were 40.2% and 61.1% respectively (Productivity Commission, 2023) . While the benefits of year 12 completion are not shared equally among First Nations and non-Indigenous people, the perceived value of doing so is high. Yet, the number of very remote school completers reported by My School has changed little over time, and the number of completers with a senior secondary certificate has trended down (see Figure 1) . Figure 1: Year 12 completions in very remote schools with >80% First Nations students Source: My School data, 2013–2022, [myschool.edu.au](myschool.edu.au) The decline for very remote school certificate completers is, in part, due to a concerted effort by federal, state and territory governments to encourage young people to attend boarding schools (see Study Away Review, Commonwealth of Australia, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2017) . However, the number of very remote students attending boarding schools in recent years has decreased, as indicated by the decline in ABSTUDY non-living allowance recip

FAQs

What question does the research address about remote secondary education?

It explores what students, school staff, and community members say leads to secondary school retention and, ultimately, Year 12 completion.

Which factors are suggested to encourage retention in remote schools?

Key factors include supportive families, teacher quality and teaching, school programs and initiatives, post-school pathways, and boarding schools; student aspirations and motivation are also critical.

How do outcomes in very remote areas relate to the Closing the Gap target?

The evidence presented indicates very low numbers of First Nations young people completing Year 12 in very remote communities, falling well short of the 96% target.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Kurz