WHAT IS LSAY?
The Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) track young people as they move from school into further study, work, and other destinations. LSAY provides a rich source of information about young people and their pathways, helping researchers and policymakers make educated decisions about youth policies. Survey participants enter the study when they are about 15 years old and are contacted once a year until they are 25. Information on a wide range of school and post-school topics is collected, including:
- student achievement and aspirations
- attitudes to school
- social background
- vocational and further education
- employment and job seeking
- satisfaction with various aspects of life
Groups of survey participants are collectively known as a 'cohort'. LSAY began in 1995 with the Y95 cohort, followed by additional cohorts in 1998 (Y98), 2003 (Y03), 2006 (Y06) and 2009 (Y09). The most recent cohort began in 2015 (Y15).
Nationally representative samples of over 10,000 young people start out in each cohort. Since 2003, participants have been recruited from Australian schools that take part in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
WHO’S WHO IN LSAY?
LSAY is managed and funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, with support from state and territory governments.
The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) provides analytical, reporting and publishing services for LSAY. Between 1995 and 2007, these services were provided by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER).
Wallis Social Research conducts the phone and online interviews for LSAY and provides the de-identified data to NCVER.
NCVER works closely with the Department of Education and Wallis to design the survey questions. For further information please contact us
LSAY RESOURCES
Resources are available to help you to understand and explore results from LSAY. This includes a range of publications for researchers and policymakers and users of the LSAY data. A number of data tools are also available on the Data page.
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