The Role of the Significant others in the Transition of Czech Pupils between the Lower and Upper Secondary Education

Abstract

The paper deals with the evaluation of the role of the significant others in the transition of Czech pupils between the lower secondary education (ISCED 2A) and the upper secondary education (ISCED 3). In the theoretical introduction, attention is paid to the importance of choosing a further course of education in human life, the specifics of the decision in the context of the Czech educational system and the maturity of adolescents for independent decision-making. The core lies in an empirical investigation designed by the National Institute of Education, School Counselling Centre and Centre for Further Education of Teachers carried out in 2011 at forty Czech primary schools. The instrument of data collection was paired questionnaires for pupils of the 9th grade of lower secondary school and their parents (N = 779). Presented here are the views of pupils and parents as to who the expert in choosing a secondary school is, i.e. who in the family should decide in the choice of a secondary school, whether pupils or their parents. Furthermore, social influences reflected in the student's decision-making (parents, siblings, peers, friends from social networks, teachers, educational consultant, school psychologist and other counselling staff) and the most frequently used information sources are specified, and their significance is evaluated from the perspective of students as well as their parents.