General Education Versus Vocational Education: Vocational Education and Its Future

Abstract

This chapter examines vocational and general education comparatively, both types of education have been addressed in terms of schooling rate, employment status of graduates, cost, etc. aspects. In general, up-to-date data provided by the European Centre for Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP), European Training Foundation (ETF), Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD), and the European Statistical Institute (Eurostat) are used in the comparison. Data shows the share of vocational education in all secondary education is smaller than that of general education. However, vocational education gains the advantage in post-graduation employment rates. Educational costs for students are higher in vocational education. The costs vary depending on the features of the provided programs. Sectors that are the driving force of their economies play a decisive role in determining countries’ vocational education programs. Three systems of organization are found in vocational education: school-based, work-based, and dual system. In the future, vocational and technical education institutions should be transformed into life-long learning centers instead of institutions that provide training to individuals of a certain age group at a certain time period. Vocational education should be structured in a way that will allow it to adapt to the structure of the rapidly changing labor market. Content should be presented in a modular structure and include more social skills.KeywordsVocational and technical educationVocational education and general educationSchooling in vocational educationCost of vocational and general educationFuture of vocational education