Empowering rural students during critical transition period

Researchers from Federation University's Future Regions Research Centre (FRRC) are part of a collaboration that aims to improve the transition experience for Year 12 students as they move from secondary education to further study, apprenticeships, or other work.

The initiative will see the researchers work with YouThrive Victoria, a charitable organisation that provides opportunities for young rural Victorians to build knowledge, skills, leadership capacity and aspirations.

YouThrive Victoria is the largest initiative and biggest financial commitment of the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, seeking to fulfil the trust's vision of a thriving, confident rural Victoria driven by inspiring leaders.

YouThrive Victoria's Branch Out Mentoring (BOM) program supports students in rural areas of the state by offering peer-led group mentoring to help build their confidence and ambition as they make important life decisions.

The project is co-funded, co-designed, and co-supervised and will include a master's program that focuses on understanding the barriers rural students encounter during their critical transition period.

FRRC Research Fellow Dr Cathy Tischler says the project will aim to build a solid foundation of evidence about the transition experiences of these students and empower them as they navigate their futures.

The project will be led by the FRRC's Horsham Research Hub, underscoring the importance of peer-led mentoring in addressing the unique challenges faced by rural students.

"The end of Year 12 is a pivotal moment for many students, with decisions about university, training, and employment, and the mentors meet with kids over lunch breaks and talk about getting ready for post-school planning things like starting further education or entering the workforce," Dr Tischler said.

"Potentially, they will be moving out of home, and rural students often face distinct challenges like limited access to resources, support networks, and opportunities compared to their urban counterparts. This research initiative is looking to fill existing gaps in knowledge and support systems."

Dr Tischler says the research will support the development of an evidence base around the experiences of rural students, the unique challenges of being rural in facing these transitions from school to work or study, and consider the value of the BOM program in supporting confidence, aspiration and opportunity for students navigating this change.

"This program has been running for a few years, and YouThrive Victoria is looking to expand it and to reach more schools and more students," Dr Tischler said.

"As part of that expansion, they are interested in researching the effectiveness of this program for the students that participated in it and how well the mentoring approach works."

YouThrive Victoria Chief Executive Officer Andrew McGuckian says the Branch Out Mentoring program was delivered in 36 schools through five regional hubs in 2024. With significant philanthropic funding, YouThrive is aiming to deliver the program to every rural school in Victoria from 15 hubs.

He says partnering with the FRRC team at Federation University will bring academic expertise that enables the team to apply a social impact research lens to the program, allowing challenges facing young rural people to be better understood and addressed by a range of stakeholders.

"What we've found through the previous four years of delivering this program is that Year 12 students have a high degree of apprehension and anxiety around what's next. Not just about career choices, but being prepared for moving away from home to study or for work," Mr McGuckian said.

"This program is peer-to-peer, so it's young people who have lived experience talking to other young people. The students choose whether to do the program, with modules including financial management, living in a shared house or the things they might need to know if they're going to have a gap year.

Mr McGuckian says the program does not offer study skills – it focuses on what students need to know as they make significant changes in their lives.

 "So that's why we want to work with Cathy and Professor Kier Reeves and the FRRC team to give a young person an opportunity through a master's program to take the work that we're doing and translate that into something that will help us to do better."

For more information, visit the Masters by Research scholarship information page.