By Adam Carey,Emily Kowal,Noel Towell
Copyright theage
The research also identifies the major career advantage that private school students gain compared to government and, to a lesser extent, Catholic school students, with analysis of 10 years of national census data revealing they are roughly twice as likely to be employed in the most highly skilled professions, such as medicine.
Defying the trend of private school advantage is NSW, where government schools produce more high-skilled employees, such as doctors, than other states.
According to the report’s author, Australian Population Research Centre researcher David McCloskey, NSW’s selective school system contributes to producing those high-skill employees. He has called for more selective schools across the country.
While the NSW Department of Education has no plans to expand selective schools, it says: “We are currently expanding the provision of high potential and gifted education across our schools to ensure every student is challenged to meet their full potential.” It did not respond to the Herald’s question about addressing the gender gap.