Fifth Australian Gallup Student Poll gets underway
Gallup senior scientists have studied educational best practice for decades, and have identified three non-cognitive factors that impact on students. The 2017 poll opened last week, and remains open until April 7.
- Hope: Ideas and energy we have for the future
- Engagement: Involvement in and enthusiasm for school
- Well-being: How we think about and experience our lives
These factors were chosen as they can be reliably measured, have a meaningful relationship with or effect on educational outcomes, are actionable at the local level (meaning we can pinpoint actions to take at a school level to improve each factor, and in doing so, improve student and school outcomes) and are not measured directly by another large-scale survey.
The GSP also measures student levels of entrepreneurial aspiration and the impact of involvement in philanthropic work. It offers an optional faith index asking questions like: “My school is committed to building the faith of each student”.
Some highlights from last year’s poll:
- Engagement Decreases significantly from Year 5 to Year 12
- Less than one in three Year 12 students feel they will find a good job when they leave school
- One in five Year 12 students strongly agree, “they can find lots of ways around any problem.”
- Only 30% of Year 12 students strongly agree “their school is committed to building the strengths of each student.”
An emerging body of research shows that a strengths-based approach is an effective intervention to decreasing engagement levels.
Gallup case studies outlining strengths interventions and resources