• Participation in early childhood education
• School leavers with higher qualifications
• Participation in tertiary education
• Educational attainment of the adult population

Participation in tertiary education

Relevance

The acquisition of a tertiary qualification provides individuals with additional skills and knowledge to participate in society and in the economy.

Current level and trends

During 2007, 13.3 percent of people aged 15 years and over (444,000 people) were enrolled in formal tertiary education, a slight decline from 13.6 percent (448,000 people) in 2006. This followed a slight fall in the previous year and may be partly attributable to changes in funding policies in 2005. These policy changes focused on reducing the number of low quality or low relevance qualifications being offered below degree level.

Most of the decline in tertiary education participation between 2005 and 2007 was due to a fall in the number of people taking Levels 1–3 certificate courses. The rate of participation in certificate level courses as a whole (ie Levels 1–4) grew strongly between 1999 and 2005 (from 3.9 percent to 8.6 percent), then fell to 7.7 percent in 2007. In total, 9.6 percent of people aged 15 years and over were enrolled in subdegree tertiary education courses in 2007, up from 5.6 percent in 1999. In comparison, the proportion enrolled in degree and post-graduate courses remained fairly steady at around 5 percent over the period 1999–2007.

Figure K3.1 Tertiary education participation rate, by qualification level, 1999–2007

Source: Ministry of Education

Age and sex differences

Tertiary education participation is highest among 18–19 year olds (46.0 percent in 2007), followed by 20–24 year olds (32.9 percent). The participation rate for 18–19 year olds increased slightly between 2005 and 2007, while the rate for 20–24 year olds remained steady. Participation rates declined for other age groups, particularly for under 18 year olds and people aged 25–39 years.

Since the mid-1990s, women have been more likely than men to participate in tertiary study at ages 18 years and over. However, as the fall in enrolments by females in certificate level qualifications accounted for most of the decline in enrolments between 2005 and 2007, the sex gap has narrowed. In 2007, there was no sex difference in the proportion enrolled in sub-degree courses (9.6 percent of males and females), but females were more likely than males to be enrolled in degree and post-graduate courses (5.7 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively).

Table K3.1 Tertiary participation rates (%), by age and sex, selected years, 1999–2007

Source: Ministry of Education, Table PPN.1

Ethnic differences

In 2007, the age-standardised tertiary education participation rate was highest for Māori at 18 percent, followed by the Asian ethnic group (14 percent), Europeans and Pacific peoples (both 12 percent). The increase in the age-standardised rate between 2001 and 2007 was higher than average for the Māori, Pacific and Asian ethnic groups. The slight fall in the age-standardised rate between 2006 and 2007 occurred across all ethnic groups except Pacific peoples.

In the peak tertiary education age group, 18–19 years, the Asian and European ethnic groups had considerably higher participation rates than Māori and Pacific peoples. However, in the 20–24 years age group the differences between the ethnic groups were much smaller.

At older ages, Māori had the highest tertiary participation rates in 2007, followed by the Asian, Pacific peoples and European ethnic groups.

Table K3.2 Tertiary participation rates (%), by age and ethnic group, 2007

Source: Ministry of Education, Table PPN.5

In 2007, Māori and Pacific students (each 3.1 percent) were less likely to be enrolled in degree-level courses than students from the Asian (5.6 percent) or European (3.7 percent) ethnic groups. However, Māori females (4.0 percent) and Pacific females (3.9 percent) were more likely than European males (2.8 percent) to be enrolled in bachelor’s degree courses.

Almost all of the decline in Māori enrolments between 2005 and 2007 was due to fewer Māori taking certificate-level courses.

International comparison

There are no robust measures of tertiary participation across OECD countries.

Some indication of New Zealand’s relative standing can be gained from the proportion of people enrolled in education at various ages. In 2005, 30 percent of 20–29 year olds (the age group that is usually only enrolled in tertiary education) were enrolled in education, placing New Zealand seventh out of 28 countries.

This was above the OECD median of 24 percent. The New Zealand rate was higher than those of the United Kingdom (29 percent) and the United States (23 percent) but below the rate for Australia (33 percent).⁵¹