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Developing vocational competences during secondary school?
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Behle, Heike (2017) Developing vocational competences during secondary school? European Journal of Training and Development, 41 (1). pp. 39-49. doi:10.1108/EJTD-07-2016-0057 ISSN 2046-9012.
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-07-2016-0057
Abstract
Using the example of an amalgamated secondary school qualification (IBCP) in which both vocational education and training (VET) and academic subjects are taught, the paper discusses the use of skills and knowledge gained during the IBCP for post-secondary school activities. Vocational training can indicate ambivalent signals to potential employers or higher education admission officers. From a Human Capital perspective, young people could indicate that they gained additional skills and thus are more productive compared to others without vocational training. With regards to their social mobility, young people who obtained vocational training as a part of their secondary school can signal lower academic capability.
The paper uses mixed method data based on a survey of 57 IBCP graduates and qualitative interviews with twenty IBCP graduates. Findings relate to the role of the IBCP in the careers-decision making process, the skills and competences students gained during their IBCP and its transferability to their current activity.
After their IBCP, more than half of all observed students had entered higher education. Whilst a few students did not engage actively in the careers decision making process, some were pro-active and used different sources to gain information. However, a large group of students used their time during the IBCP to test various occupational ideas and thus used their VET to further the careers-decision making process. Most students reported that they could transfer the skills and competencies they had gained during their secondary school to their current activity.
Finally, the paper calls for a renunciation of the ambivalent signals an amalgamated secondary school degree can provide. IBCP students signal both an increased productivity due to an increased level of vocational skills and a lower level of academic achievement. These signals, however, allow students to enter a highly diverse higher education system, especially in vocational courses.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB1603 Secondary Education. High schools |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Institute for Employment Research | ||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Education, Secondary -- Evaluation, Vocational education, Youth -- Employment | ||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | European Journal of Training and Development | ||||||
| Publisher: | Emerald | ||||||
| ISSN: | 2046-9012 | ||||||
| Official Date: | 3 January 2017 | ||||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | 41 | ||||||
| Number: | 1 | ||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 39-49 | ||||||
| DOI: | 10.1108/EJTD-07-2016-0057 | ||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||
| Date of first compliant deposit: | 30 November 2016 | ||||||
| Date of first compliant Open Access: | 26 September 2017 | ||||||
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