Ambitions revised: grade 12 learner destinations one year on

Abstract

This monograph is the sequel to Studying Ambitions: Pathways from grade 12 and the factors that shape them, which investigated the aspirations for future study and/or work of 20 659 grade 12 learners across South Africa in 2005. Ambitions Revised: Grade 12 learner destinations one year on tracks the same cohort of learners into their destinations one year later. Of particular interest to the research team was the sub-set of those who enrolled in teacher education programmes. The extremely low levels of interest in teaching first observed in a similar 2002 HSRC study are confirmed here, a finding which has implications for sustainable teacher supply and for the health of an education system upon which the future of the country depends.

The study is the first in South Africa to reveal the post-matric destinations, including the labour market outcomes, of a nationally representative cohort of learners. As such it will be of interest to policy-makers and planners in various fields across the public and private sectors.

Ambitions Revised: Grade 12 learner destinations one year on is part of the Teacher Education in South Africa series. The series documents a wide-ranging set of research projects on teacher education conducted by the Education, Science and Skills Development research programme within the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), as part of a consortium of research partners. A comprehensive investigation of the dynamics shaping the professional development of educators, the series provides important reading for educationists, academics and policy-makers.