ERIC Number: EJ1129518
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1855-9719
EISSN: N/A
The (Un)Attractiveness of Vocational and Technical Education: Theoretical Background
Lovšin, Miha
Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, v4 n1 p101-120 2014
This paper considers the problem of the lack of attractiveness of vocational and technical education via a review of legislation on counselling practices, implementing documents, and the social factors by means of which the education system can influence the individual's decision. It is apparent that legislation regulating the organisation and content of career counselling services in educational sector is inadequate. The organisation of career counselling at the level of implementation is also inadequate. Counsellors advise individuals on the basis of their academic results and the results of aptitude tests. Counselling practices deriving from theories that place career planning and management skills in the foreground are more rarely represented. Theories that treat career decisions as a social process show that at the level of the student population the choice of the type of school is a rational decision based primarily on the economic position and level of education to which a specific educational pathway is generally supposed to lead. The lower attractiveness of vocational and technical education coincides with the fact that representatives of lower social classes have a weaker economic position and more frequently have vocational and technical education qualifications than representatives of higher social classes. Nevertheless, the trend of high unemployment among young people with academic qualifications, which opposite of the traditional situation, indicates that it will be necessary to include career planning and management skills in the educational contents of institutionalised and formal education as a whole.
Descriptors: Vocational Education, Technical Education, Educational Legislation, Career Counseling, Counseling Techniques, Decision Making, Career Planning, Reputation, Career Choice, Lifelong Learning, Theories, Educational Trends, Foreign Countries
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Education. University of Ljubljana Kardeljeva plošcad 16. Slovenia. Tel: +386-1-5892-344; e-mail: editors@cepsj.si; Web site: http://www.cepsj.si/doku.php?id=en:cepsj
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Slovenia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A