Study finds increasing pressure on high school students to attend university, compounding mental ill-health

Young people are facing increasing pressure to attend university even if it is not required for their desired career, which can compound their mental ill-health, new research has found. Key points: The experience of 22 students from high school through to further education and work has been examined by researchers Researcher Kristina Sincock says while university is a "perfect option" it is "not for everybody" Dr Sincock says it would be beneficial for there to be a change to society seeing TAFE as a "second-tier option" Kristina Sincock from the University of Newcastle is the co-author of a new research article entitled Pressure To Attend University: Beyond Narrow Conceptions of Pathways to a "Good Life',' which has examined the transition of 22 young people from school into further education and employment. Dr Sincock said she acknowledged that university was a "perfect option" for many students and they were not suggesting that teachers or advisors should encourage students not to attend, but rather that it was "not for everybody, and don't feel bad if you don't get in". "There is a perception, and sometimes it's amongst parents and certain schools might certainly promote it, that the only pathway to success is higher education, and that's not the case," Ms Dawe said. "The issue we have in Australia is that we don't have a career education subject in our curriculum, which doesn't give a lot of space and time for that to occur," she said.