Caught in a Downward Spiral? The Relative Attractiveness Deficit of Vocational Education and Training
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19216482 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Patrick Emmenegger (0000-0002-5231-6272, University of St.Gallen), Matthias Haslberger (0000-0003-3056-6630, University of St.Gallen, corresponding author), Anna Wilson (0000-0002-5563-2318, University of Lausanne) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-06 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociology of Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0038-0407 • E-ISSN: 1939-8573 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00380407261440275 |
| OpenAlex | W7160376488 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 73 |
Vocational education and training (VET) is hailed for easing skill shortages and fostering inclusion. However, little is known about the factors influencing the choice between VET and general education. We conducted a vignette experiment with more than 11,500 respondents in seven European countries, asking respondents to assign fictitious 15-year-olds either to VET or to general education based on achievement, motivation, and sociodemographic profiles. Respondents consistently channeled students with low grades and low motivation into VET. This bias weakened but persisted among respondents who view VET as offering favorable labor market prospects. Boys, working-class youth, and adolescents outside large cities were also steered toward VET, although achievement effects outweighed ascriptive ones. These patterns hold across countries and respondent subgroups, indicating that VET is widely perceived as the less desirable educational pathway. Our findings suggest that VET is caught in a downward spiral in which the relative unattractiveness of VET and academic drift reinforce each other
Attractiveness · Economic shortage · Educational attainment · Respondent · Vignette · Vocational education · Innovative Education and Learning Practices · Labor market dynamics and wage inequality · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics
A self-determination theory approach to predicting school achievement over time
Chapter Nine. Testing the Breen-Goldthorpe Model of Educational Decision Making
Educational Systems and the Trade-Off between Labor Market Allocation and Equality of Educational Opportunity
General Education, Vocational Education, and Labor-Market Outcomes over the Lifecycle
Conjoint Survey Experiments
On class differentials in educational attainment
Validating vignette and conjoint survey experiments against real-world behavior
The German skill formation model in transition
Skills and Politics
The social stratification of the German VET system
Varieties of Liberalization and the New Politics of Social Solidarity
The Development of Informal Competences Between the End of Compulsory School and Early Adulthood
Perspectives on enhancing the standing of vocational education and the occupations it serves
Labour Market Success of Initial Vocational Education and Training Graduates
“Against all odds” Does awareness of the risk of failure matter for educational choices
Factorial Survey Experiments
Teenage Aspirations for Future Careers and Occupational Outcomes
Subjective Technology Risk and Education Preferences
Three dimensions of institutional contention
Vocational Secondary Education
Bringing firms on board. Inclusiveness of the dual apprenticeship systems in Germany, Switzerland and Denmark
Investing in education in Europe
Social inclusion and collective skill formation systems
Investigating the image deficit of vocational education and training
Diversion or safety net?’ Institutions and public opinion on vocational education and training
Yesterday’s model for tomorrow’s economy? Dual VET and wage inequality in the knowledge economy
Signals and closure by degrees
Perceptions, prejudices and possibilities
The Missing Link
The standing of vocational education
Explaining Cross-national Variation in Youth Unemployment
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations
Does Conjoint Analysis Mitigate Social Desirability Bias
Rage against the machine? Generative AI exposure, subjective risk, and policy preferences
The limits of decentralized cooperation
Onward and upward? Occupational upgrading, social inclusion and collective skill formation in the transition to the knowledge economy
Center-Right Parties and Post-War Secondary Education
Ascription, Achievement, and Perceived Equity of Educational Regimes
Explaining Educational Differentials
Relative risk aversion models
Class Analysis and the Reorientation of Class Theory
The Growing Female Advantage in College Completion
Educational Expansion, Skills Diffusion, and the Economic Value of Credentials and Skills
Statistical Discrimination and the Rationalization of Stereotypes
The impact of economic coordination and educational institutions on individual-level preferences for academic and vocational education
Do adult foreign residents prefer academic to vocational education? Evidence from a survey of public opinion in Switzerland
Stratification, School-Work Linkages and Vocational Education
That's a Good Question!' Exploring Motivations for Law and Business School Choice
The Link between Educational Expectations and Effort in the College-for-all Era
Guidance Counseling Can Reduce Inequality in University Enrollment in Germany
Socio-emotional Skills and the Socioeconomic Achievement Gap
Career Funneling
Secondary Education Systems and the General Skills of Less- and Intermediate-educated Adults
Birds of a Feather
Labour Market Effects of General and Vocational Education over the Life-Cycle and across Time
Deciding under Doubt
Explaining Educational Decision and Effects of Families' Social Class Position
Vocational education, tertiary education, and skill use across career stages
Three Worlds of Vocational Education
Social Inequality in Higher Education. Is Vocational Training a Pathway Leading to or Away from University
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |