Surveys of Students, Parents and Teachers (Phase 2)

Abstract

The low standing of vocational education and training (VET) generates reluctance amongst young people and their parents to consider VET as a viable post-school option. A survey was developed and administered to verify and elaborate the findings from an earlier round of interviews. In all, 168 school-aged students, 148 schoolteachers, 296 vocational educators and 230 parents completed the online survey. They ranked (i) important factors in decision-making about post-school pathways; (ii) the influence of familiars on school students’ decision-making about study pathways and preferred occupations; (iii) important messages to promote the standing of vocational education; and (iv) effective presentations of informed and positive messages. The findings indicate differences in perspectives between the school-aged students and their adult counterparts (i.e., parents, teachers or other familiars). These findings highlighted information about utility, authenticity and status of VET as being effective when communicating about VET to make informed decisions. They also draw attention to the importance of providing accurate details and model examples about VET and the occupations it serves. More tailored strategies to reach individual goals were sought by students and parents (see Billett et al., Chap. 18).KeywordsVocational education and trainingPost schoolDecision makingSurveyInfluencersCareer choiceStudent preferencesParentsTeachersAustralia