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

Participation in tertiary education

Relevance

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

Current level and trends

In July 2005, 11 percent of the population aged 15 years and over (350,853 people) was enrolled in formal tertiary education, a decline from 12 percent (368,000 people) in July 2004. Most of this decline was due to a fall in the number of people taking certificate level courses. Long-term trend data is only available for public tertiary education institutions. In 1986, 4 percent of the population aged 15 years and over was enrolled in public tertiary education institutions, compared to 10 percent in July 2004 and 9 percent in July 2005.

Figure K3.1 Tertiary education participation rate, by qualification level, 1994–2005

Sources: Ministry of Education; Ministry of Social Development
Note: Includes students enrolled in private training establishments from 1999

Enrolments for courses that lead to qualifications below the level of a bachelor’s degree have risen faster than enrolments at degree level or above in recent years. In July 2005, 6 percent of the population aged 15 years and over was enrolled in sub-degree tertiary education courses, compared with 5 percent enrolled in degree and post-graduate courses.

Age and sex differences

Tertiary education participation is highest among 18–24 year olds (37 percent in 2005). This age group had the largest rise in participation rates between 1999 and 2004 (6 percentage points), but also the largest fall in participation between 2004 and 2005 (almost 2 percentage points).

Since the mid-1990s, women have been more likely than men to participate in tertiary study at ages 18 years and over. In July 2005, the tertiary participation rate for females aged 18–24 years was 7 percentage points higher than for males. There is little difference between males and females in their level of tertiary study. Of all tertiary students enrolled in mid-2005, 37 percent of females and 36 percent of males were enrolled in degree courses, while 8 percent of females and 7 percent of males were enrolled in post-graduate courses.

Table K3.1 Tertiary participation rates (%), by age and sex, selected years, 1996–2005

Sources: Ministry of Education; Ministry of Social Development
Note: From 1999 includes participation in both public and private tertiary education institutions

Ethnic differences

In July 2005, the age-standardised tertiary education participation rate for Māori was 15 percent, almost double the rate in 1999 (9 percent). In comparison, non-Māori participation increased from 9 percent in 1999 to 11 percent in 2005. The age-standardised rate has been higher for Māori than for non-Māori since 2001.⁴¹

Māori participation in tertiary education is higher than non-Māori participation among those aged under 18 years and over 25 years, but considerably lower than non-Māori participation at the core tertiary education ages of 18–24 years. However, Māori participation in this age group has grown since 1999. In 2005, 24 percent of Māori aged 18–24 years were enrolled in tertiary education, compared with 20 percent in 1999. The non-Māori participation rate for 18–24 year olds was 35 percent in 1999 and 39 percent in 2005. The fall in participation rates between 2004 and 2005 was greater for Māori than for non-Māori.

Table K3.2 Tertiary participation rates (%), by age and sex, Māori and non-Māori, 2005

Sources: Ministry of Education; Ministry of Social Development

Māori and Pacific students are less likely to be enrolled in degree-level courses than students from the European, Asian or Other ethnic groups.

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 the population enrolled in education at various ages. In 2003, 29 percent of 20–29 year olds (the age group more likely to be enrolled in tertiary than secondary education) were enrolled in education, placing New Zealand eighth 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 (26 percent) and the United States (22 percent) but below the rate for Australia (33 percent).⁴²