Vocational education and political engagement: The case of South Korea

Abstract

It has been argued that individuals educated in vocational tracks are less politically engaged citizens compared to their counterparts in academic tracks. However, the majority of such claims have been made based on studies conducted in Western, developed countries, leaving a gap in our understanding of the applicability of the findings to other societies. This study addresses this gap by analyzing data from 1,436 high school students who participated in the 2018 Korean Youth Competency Study (KYCS). The results reveal that, even after accounting for selection effects, Korean students attending vocational high schools are less inclined than their academic high school counterparts to become well-informed voters in the future. By contrast, there is little evidence to suggest that vocational high schools are less effective in fostering the likelihood that Korean students envision themselves as active participants in legal protests.