Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training最新文献

{"title":"Job mismatches and their implications for the career development of vocational graduates.","authors":"Laura Eberlein, Dimitris Pavlopoulos, Wendy Smits","doi":"10.1186/s40461-026-00207-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40461-026-00207-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The transition from vocational education into the labour market is a key indicator of how effectively VET systems prepare graduates for employment. A central concern for school-based and work-based programmes alike is whether education-job mismatches undermine vocational adjustment and early career development. This study examines how mismatch at labour-market entry is associated with graduates' subsequent five-year employment trajectories in the Netherlands. We combine the 2016 Dutch School Leaver Survey with monthly register data from 2015-2020 for 10,364 school leavers. Using a Mixture Hidden Markov Model (MHMM), we identify five early-career trajectories that capture variation in employment stability, contract quality and progression. The results show that education-job mismatches at the beginning of the career are associated with a higher probability of following the Volatility & Entrapment trajectory, which is characterised by temporary contracts, limited progression and high turnover. Dual mismatches (vertical and horizontal combined) are linked to a notably lower likelihood of upward mobility, suggesting persistent vocational disadvantages that extend beyond the point of entry. Importantly, the findings reveal differences in vocational resilience across programme types: The negative associations of mismatch are more pronounced for school-based graduates. While work-based graduates show greater resilience to single mismatches, any type of mismatch is associated with a lower probability of following a successful early career for school-based graduates.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40461-026-00207-w.</p>","PeriodicalId":38550,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training","volume":"18 1","pages":"5"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2026-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13102878/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147784155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lacking a vocational upper-secondary diploma: motivational and proximal contextual predictors in primary and lower-secondary education.","authors":"Jan Hofmann, Markus P Neuenschwander, Lukas Ramseier","doi":"10.1186/s40461-025-00177-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40461-025-00177-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":38550,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training","volume":"17 1","pages":"2"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11742862/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143013517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Adaptation and validation of the motivated strategies for learning questionnaire for Dutch pre-vocational students.","authors":"Bernard Brouwer, Matthijs J Warrens, Hanke Korpershoek","doi":"10.1186/s40461-025-00188-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s40461-025-00188-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To study self-regulated learning in pre-vocational education, researchers need instruments that have high reliability and validity. This study investigated, for the first time, the factorial validity and reliability of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) for students in pre-vocational education in the Netherlands. The MSLQ was administered to 594 Dutch pre-vocational students. Reliability analyses of the MSLQ sections and subscales were conducted. Furthermore, confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the factor structures of the MSLQ sections, scales and subscales. High reliability was found for both sections of the MSLQ, i.e., the sections Motivation and Learning Strategies, but varying levels of reliability were obtained for the fifteen MSLQ subscales. With regard to factorial validity, a moderate to good model fit for most subscales was found. For some subscales, certain modifications were required to obtain a good model fit. Each of the modifications made could be justified substantially. Furthermore, for two subscales the factor model was exactly identified and factor validity could not be studied. For most MSLQ subscales, evidence was found that the constructs measured with these subscales can be assessed quite well among Dutch pre-vocational students. However, scores based on the complete MSLQ or the two sections should not be used.</p><p><strong>Supplementary information: </strong>The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40461-025-00188-2.</p>","PeriodicalId":38550,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training","volume":"17 1","pages":"13"},"PeriodicalIF":1.6,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12226599/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144576585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Different dropout directions in vocational education and training: the role of the initiating party and trainees’ reasons for dropping out","authors":"Christian Michaelis, Stefanie Findeisen","doi":"10.1186/s40461-024-00169-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40461-024-00169-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The high rates of premature contract termination (PCT) in vocational education and training (VET) programs have led to an increasing number of studies examining the reasons why adolescents drop out. Since adolescents’ trajectories after a PCT are quite diverse, a thorough assessment of different <i>dropout directions</i> is called for. However, empirical studies that distinguish between dropout directions are still scarce. The same is true for studies that differentiate between PCTs initiated by the trainees themselves and those initiated by the training company. Based on data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) on trainees in German dual VET programs (<i>n</i> = 5823), this study identifies six different dropout directions: (1) downward PCT into unqualified employment or unemployment, (2) downward PCT into a prevocational program, (3) horizontal PCT that represents a change of training company or (4) a change of occupation, and (5) upward PCT into general education or (6) higher education. Using multinomial logistic regression models we examine the effect of (a) the initiating party and (b) self-reported PCT reasons of trainees on dropout directions. Regarding trainees’ reasons we include reasons related to different aspects of the training (personal reasons, not the desired training occupation, financial reasons, training quality, conflicts, excessive demand, and being offered a different training position). The results indicate that in cases where trainees are dismissed by the training company, a horizontal change to a different training company becomes more likely, while the probability of an upward dropout into higher education decreases. Regarding PCT decisions made by trainees themselves, a downward PCT into unqualified employment or unemployment is more likely if personal reasons were the cause of a PCT decision. Moreover, the probability of a change of training company (horizontal PCT) increases in cases of conflict and if there is a prospect of a different training position, and decreases if the training position is not the desired occupation. A change of occupation (horizontal PCT) is more likely when there is the opportunity for a different training position available. Furthermore, upward PCTs (both into further general education and higher education) are more likely in cases where the training was in a field that was not the desired occupation. The probability of upward PCT into higher education decreases when there are conflicts and excessive demands, while upward PCTs into general education are significantly less likely when a different training position is obtained. The differential effects that occur for different types of PCTs emphasize that adolescents dropping out of VET cannot be treated as a homogenous group. Consequently, the results underscore the importance of conducting a more thorough assessment of both dropout directions and the initiating party of a PCT in future research.</p>","PeriodicalId":38550,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141946523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Compromises in occupational choice and premature termination of vocational education and training: gender type, prestige, and occupational interests in focus","authors":"Melanie Fischer-Browne, Lea Ahrens, Corinna Kleinert, Brigitte Schels","doi":"10.1186/s40461-024-00168-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40461-024-00168-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study examines whether premature termination of vocational education and training (VET) is more likely when trainees have to make compromises between their realistic occupational aspirations and the occupation for which they are trained in terms of the occupational dimensions of gender type, prestige, and occupational interests. Specifically, it examines the relative importance of the three compromise dimensions on premature VET termination. The study is based on a sample of 3,241 VET entrants from a cohort of ninth graders in 2010 in the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS-SC4) in combination with aggregated data on occupational characteristics. Results from discrete hazard rate models indicate a higher risk of premature VET termination for trainees whose VET occupation differs from their realistic occupational aspiration from their school days. While compromises in prestige have no overall effect, both compromises in interests and gender type threaten the stability of VET. The results also indicate that compromises in interests have the strongest effect on the risk of premature VET termination and that the effects of compromises in gender type are partly mediated by the effects of compromises in interests. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis revealed that the main effects of compromises in gender type and prestige are gender specific.</p>","PeriodicalId":38550,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141866419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The discourse on technological literacy: exploring visual representations enabled by the visual cultures of four Swedish vocational education and training programmes","authors":"Andreas Larsson, Emelie Fälton, Karin Stolpe","doi":"10.1186/s40461-024-00167-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40461-024-00167-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In today’s rapidly changing world, technology has profoundly impacted our daily lives, making it increasingly difficult to predict what skills will be necessary for the future. To address this challenge, 21st-century skills have been proposed as a framework for shaping future education, in which one of the skills is technological literacy. How the latter is understood, positioned, and approached is influenced by discourses produced within and among various societal practices, such as the educational system. This article provides a glimpse of the discourse on technological literacy by exploring how “technological literacy” is portrayed within the visual cultures of four Swedish upper secondary VET programs. Our results indicate that the portrayals of becoming technologically literate for VET students vary among the programmes. However, they all emphasise practical and hands-on activities, where students can be seen engaging with various tools, equipment, and objects relevant to each programme’s field of study. Teamwork and peer-to-peer learning are also portrayed as central to these programmes, simultaneously as leadership roles and the distribution of responsibilities among students are commonly featured. While the programmes’ visual portrayals reflect diversity in ethnicity and gender, traditional gender roles are still (re)produced in the pictorials.</p>","PeriodicalId":38550,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training","volume":"81 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141738743","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Destinations after higher education non-completion: the role of social background and pre-tertiary vocational qualifications","authors":"Nicole Tieben","doi":"10.1186/s40461-024-00161-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40461-024-00161-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Prior research has shown that students from lower socio-economic backgrounds are less likely to graduate. We examine if this can be explained by background-specific pathways into higher education. Many students in Germany enter higher education with a vocational qualification and prior vocational qualifications occur more often among students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. We argue that vocational qualifications shift opportunity structures and opportunity costs of students who have to decide between continuing higher education and alternative options. We therefore examine if parental background and vocational qualifications are associated with the destinations after non-completion. We distinguish the destinations “re-entering higher education”, “vocational training” and “skilled employment”. Using the German Educational Panel Study (NEPS starting cohort 6), we apply competing risks models. Our results show that non-completers from higher socio-economic backgrounds are more likely to re-enter higher education than non-completers from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The higher rates of transfer to skilled employment among non-completers from lower backgrounds are mainly due to the fact that they more often hold a vocational qualification and have good chances to enter the skilled labour market without additional educational investments. Our results hence shed some new light on the question how vocational training “diverts” lower background students from higher education.</p>","PeriodicalId":38550,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training","volume":"2012 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141194885","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring the interplay between vocational competence and dropout intention: insights and perspectives","authors":"Beifang Ma, Maximilian Krötz, Viola Deutscher, Esther Winther","doi":"10.1186/s40461-024-00164-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40461-024-00164-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p>High drop-out rates from Vocational Education and Training (VET) remain a severe problem in VET systems globally. Despite decades of drop-out research revealing numerous influencing factors, the role of trainees’ vocational competence in their drop-out behavior has been neglected. This study aims to define the structure of vocational competence and analyze its effects on drop-out intention. Using longitudinal data from 458 commercial trainees in Germany, vocational competence is measured at three time points using a validated competence test, subdivided into domain-linked and domain-specific dimensions (Gelman and Greeno, 1989). Four different directions of drop-out intentions are considered, enabling a detailed effect inspection of the prevailing research gap. Additionally, factors identified in previous studies, such as educational level, age, language, and the degree of having chosen one’s desired occupation, are controlled for. We conducted 12 rounds of ordinal logistic regression to test three lagged temporal combinations of the effect relationship between vocational competence and dropout intention over different time spans (T0- &gt; T1, T1- &gt; T2, T0- &gt; T2). We find that lower domain-specific competence increases the intention to drop out from VET without qualification over different time spans. Initial lower domain-specific competence also affects trainees’ intention to change their occupation in the final year of training. Furthermore, higher levels of domain-linked competence at the beginning increase the intention to leave VET to pursue higher qualifications in the midterm of training.</p>","PeriodicalId":38550,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training","volume":"59 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141194883","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Professional learning activity in and of teacher teams: multilevel assessment of how transformational leadership, goal interdependence, and collective efficacy affect information sharing","authors":"Arnoud Oude Groote Beverborg","doi":"10.1186/s40461-024-00163-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40461-024-00163-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Engaging in learning with colleagues is paramount for teachers to enhance students’ learning. To be effective and sustainable, it requires engagement both by individual teachers as well as whole teams. Surprisingly however, research examining learning activity as a characteristic of individuals <i>in</i> teams and a property <i>of</i> teams, as well as their antecedents on both levels, is still scarce. This study examined how perceptions of transformational leadership, as mediated by goal interdependence and collective-efficacy, facilitate teachers’ engagement in information sharing, and whether effects are similar for individuals and teams. Questionnaire data were analyzed using multilevel structural equation modelling. Results showed that individual engagement in information sharing and individuals’ perceptions of goal interdependence were directly impacted by transformational leadership practices. Information sharing of teams, and collective efficacy, were impacted by consistent perceptions of goal interdependence. Teachers shape their learning amongst themselves in teams, with individual support from their leader.</p>","PeriodicalId":38550,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training","volume":"2015 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140934476","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparing labor market performance of vocational and general school graduates in Indonesia: insights from stable and crisis conditions","authors":"Kasmad Ariansyah, Yanuar Farida Wismayanti, Renny Savitri, Virgiawan Listanto, Azwar Aswin, Madya Putra Yaumil Ahad, Benedicta Retna Cahyarini","doi":"10.1186/s40461-024-00160-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s40461-024-00160-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study seeks to investigate the association between distinct tracks of secondary education—namely, vocational school (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan, SMK) and general school (Sekolah Menengah Atas, SMA)—and two key labor market outcomes: the duration required for graduates to attain their initial employment and their resilience in the face of pandemic, as measured by changes in average monthly income. While the former sheds light on the outcome under typical circumstances, the latter offers valuable insights into the outcome during periods of crisis. Focused on Indonesia, this research employs Heckman two-step model alongside ordinary least square (OLS) for the first outcome and ordered probit regression for the second. The research draws upon data extracted from the 2021 National Labor Force Survey (Survey Angkatan Kerja Nasional, SAKERNAS). Our results suggest that SMK provides an advantage in securing initial employment compared to SMA, with SMK graduates entering the workforce earlier than their counterparts. Moreover, in terms of resilience during the pandemic, as evidenced by changes in income, SMK graduates exhibit greater resilience, with a higher likelihood of maintaining or even increasing their income compared to SMA graduates. These findings offer valuable implications for both theoretical understanding and practical considerations.</p>","PeriodicalId":38550,"journal":{"name":"Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140627672","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}