Today on Better Student Leaders, Josh Farr is joined by researchers Tomasz Zają̨c and Professor Garth Stahl to unpack one of Australia’s most important equity studies: a national analysis of 440,000 young people revealing the profound access gap facing first-in-family students. Their work shows that while 59% of students with university-educated parents enter higher education by age 19, only 36% of first-in-family students do, a 23-percentage-point difference that dwarfs many other recognised equity categories.

In this conversation, Tomasz and Garth break down what the data really shows, why first-in-family remains an unrecognised equity group, how class, aspiration and social capital shape university journeys, and what low-cost, high-impact strategies can help close the gap.

WHY LISTEN TODAY?

• Understand the real numbers behind Australia’s biggest university access gap and what they mean for equity and student leadership.
• Learn how class, social capital, aspiration and time poverty uniquely shape the experiences of first-in-family students.
• Discover practical, evidence-backed strategies that student leaders, schools and universities can use to support this enormous population.

KEY QUOTES:

• “Students who are first in family have around a 36% chance of entering higher education, compared to 59% for those with university-educated parents.”
• “Feeling like an outsider is a core part of the global literature… but first-in-family students also bring tremendous strength, resilience and purpose.”
• “This category isn’t recognised in policy, yet it represents the majority of young Australians.”