Review of 2021 Census Topics

Response 830339305

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Topic name
Council considers that there is:
A need to expand question options on current engagement in education to capture information on early childhood education.
Research links engagement in early childhood learning to a range of later life outcomes
The current Census provides an option for ‘preschool’ to be selected, and council would like to see an additional option for early childhood education, with complementary amendment of the explanatory text for the gateway question (currently 24) on engagement in school/other educational institution.
Council considers that there may be a case for future reconsideration of other education questions. The current Census collects the name of a person’s ‘highest’ qualification as a means to gauge the overall level of education of the population. However, increasing education can manifest in more not necessarily higher levels of education. While the ABS conducts a qualification and work study, there are few sources of this information currently available for local areas. We suggest that it may be worth exploring the possibility of amending the question on highest level of education to require people to list their completed levels of education.

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Assessment Criteria 1

1. This topic is of current national importance.

National Importance
Early childhood education data has national importance because of its potential role in supporting further education of the population. It would be useful for policy development and for research, potentially enabling exploration of the link between engagement in early childhood learning and future education and employment outcomes.

https://aifs.gov.au/publications/child-care-and-early-childhood-education-australia

Assessment Criteria 2

2. There is a need for data from a Census of the whole population.

For whole population
Early childhood education information would be utilised by Council as a local provider of early childhood services to track engagement and to deliver services around the needs and requirements of the population

Assessment Criteria 3

3. The topic can be accurately collected in a form which the household completes themselves.

Easy to answer
Council does not anticipate any difficulties collecting early childhood education information through the Census

Assessment Criteria 4

4. The topic would be acceptable to Census respondents.

Acceptable
As education is an accepted Census topic, extending collection to early childhood is anticipated to pose to acceptance concerns.

Assessment Criteria 5

5. The topic can be collected efficiently.

Collected efficiently
Council does not anticipate any difficulties in collecting this information

Assessment Criteria 6

6. There is likely to be a continuing need for data on this topic in the following Census.

Continuing need
Council considers that extended collection of information on education in early childhood is an important part of collecting information on education generally, of which there is an ongoing need for data collection.

Assessment Criteria 7

7. There are no other alternative data sources or solutions that could meet the topic need.

No alternatives
We are not aware of other alternative data sources