Postsecondary Vocational Education Research Articles

More skilled, better paid: labour-market returns to postsecondary vocational education

Outside the USA, relatively little is known about the labour-market returns to postsecondary vocational (or polytechnic) education. Yet, polytechnics in Europe are distinct from US community colleges. This paper focuses on the labour-market returns to polytechnic attendance in Finland, where polytechnics are representative of many European countries. Using matching methods and longitudinal administrative data, we find that, compared to individuals with no postsecondary education, students who attend polytechnics have higher annual earnings of €3,300 to €3,700 and employment gains of 2.5 to 6.6 percentage points 10 years after the entry decision. However, the returns vary by personal characteristics and field of study.

Orientamento educativo e disuguaglianze di fronte all’istruzione universitaria in Italia: risultati da un esperimento randomizzato

The participation in tertiary education in Italy is characterised by sharp vertical and horizontal inequalities, linked to social origins, and by a marked mismatch between the demand for skilled jobs and the distribution of graduates across fields of study. These two problems may derive from the lack of information about the profitability of the investment in tertiary education among students and families. We explored this issue by designing a counselling intervention to provide high school seniors with up-dated and high-quality information about costs of university and post-secondary vocational courses attendance, occupational returns guaranteed by the various fields of study and the chances of successfully completing them. We tested the effect of our initiative on high school senior students’ decisions to enrol either at university or post-secondary vocational courses through a randomized controlled trial. It started in October 2013 and involved about 9,000 students from 62 schools in the provinces of Milan, Vicenza, Bologna and Salerno. We found that treated students did not increase their participation in tertiary education compared to that of control students. However, they were induced to change their initial choice of the field of study moving away from those poorly rewarding towards either highly rewarding ones (students from advantaged families) or post-secondary vocational education (students from disadvantaged families). We explained these effects resorting the rational action theory models.

The Relative Returns to Education, Experience, and Attractiveness for Young Workers

Understanding employer preferences for characteristics of young workers is crucial to designing effective policies to reduce youth unemployment in developing countries. We conduct a randomized resume audit study, simultaneously examining the returns to education, experience, and physical attractiveness among young workers applying for entry-level jobs in a developing country context. Employers do not value college experience without a degree. Postsecondary vocational training increases the likelihood of a callback, but only for blue-collar occupations typically offered only to male workers. Work experience is valued across most occupations; however, among service-sector jobs with in-person customer interactions, attractive applicants receive 23 percent more callbacks, swamping the returns to experience. Our results can guide policymakers in the design of labor market programs to reduce youth unemployment as well as help young workers make optimal choices to ease their school-to-work transition.

Vocational Education and Training: A Pathway to the Straight and Narrow

Education is often claimed to reduce social exclusion and crime, yet there is little empirical evidence beyond that for increased schooling. In this study, [the authors] estimate the crime-reducing effects of participating in post-secondary vocational education and training (VET) between ages 16 and 44, exploiting a natural experiment in Australia that increased VET participation in the state of Victoria, but not in the neighbouring state of New South Wales. Using postcode (zipcode) level administrative data and difference-in-differences estimation, [the authors] find that increased VET participation is associated with reduced person, drug and property crime. [The authors] find much larger effects for mature-age people (26-44) than for young people (16-25), possibly because crime at this age is more closely linked to legitimate labor market opportunities. These results provide plausibly causal evidence that extending opportunities for later-life education and training can have substantial public benefits.

Enhancing content and language integrated learning in post-secondary vocational education

Enhancing content and language integrated learning in post-secondary vocational education

Dual Certification Program and Course Development in Two-Year Postsecondary Vocational Education Institutions in China

A model describing the development of curriculum and coursework for dual certification programs in two-year postsecondary vocational education institutions throughout China is described. Dual certification programs allow students to obtain an academic diploma and a national vocational qualification certificate concurrently. Chinese educators and political leaders have engaged critical stakeholders in a three-stage process to develop relevant curriculum and coursework in areas of demonstrated need within local or regional business and industry. The workflow for course development contains multiple quality control aspects designed to ensure that courses address programs goals and, ultimately, prepare participants to meet emerging workplace needs, both academic and vocational.

Design, implementation, and evaluation of an ePortfolio approach to support faculty development in vocational education

This article provides an account of the design, implementation, and evaluation of an ePortfolio approach to faculty development and performance evaluation at a Canadian post-secondary vocational education institute. The approach was piloted in two phases in 13 departments. Survey and interview data were collected and analyzed to determine adoption, reception by faculty, and impact of the approach on faculty development. While adoption of the approach in the pilots was limited, participants who adopted the approach reported collecting more and different feedback, developing increased awareness of areas for improvement, and planning their professional learning more explicitly. Further studies are needed to determine what design elements of the portfolio optimally support professional development and performance evaluation.

Effectiveness of Vocational High Schools in Students’ Access to and Persistence in Postsecondary Vocational Education

Vocational education is increasingly seen as a viable path to higher education and not simply a direct route to the labor market. This paper studies the relationship between the secondary school track attended by Chilean students (vocational or academic) and their subsequent outcomes in access to and persistence in postsecondary vocational programs. Although it is expected that vocational students will display lower access to higher education programs, due to their less intense curriculum and the generally non-academic environment of their schools, their performance in post-secondary vocational programs is unclear. Field-specific knowledge and vocational maturity could improve the performance of students from secondary vocational education backgrounds. Our analysis uses propensity score matching to reduce selection bias and determine causal relationships. It also utilizes sensitivity analysis to check for the robustness of results. The findings reveal that, indeed, vocational students have lower rates of access and persistence than academic ones. Students who change fields between secondary and postsecondary education have the lowest persistence levels. We also found that vocational students have lower probabilities of access to higher education funding, and higher probabilities of enrolling in evening classes. Thus, when controlling for these two characteristics, we found that students who continue in the same vocational field between secondary and postsecondary levels had a better performance than students with an academic background. These findings may suggest that vocational students require greater support in order to increase their probabilities of success in higher education.

Good intentions: teaching and specialist support staff perspectives of student disclosure of mental health issues in post-secondary education

This article reports findings from a qualitative case study, as part of which staff perspectives of student disclosure of mental health issues in an Australian post-secondary vocational education setting were explored. Twenty teaching and specialist support staff from four vocational education and training institutions participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Institutional policies and practices related to the management of disability at each site provided contextual information relevant to the staff experience. All data were analysed thematically. Staff participants strongly supported student disclosure of mental health issues. Staff linked the likelihood of course success for students experiencing mental illness with disclosure and the implementation of educational supports. Findings draw attention to subtle differences in constructions of student disclosure reported by the specialist support staff and the teachers: differences in perspective which were consistent across locations. This study highlights the influence of personal experience of mental illness and institutional processes for educational adjustment on staff perspectives of student disclosure. Implications of the current practices in post-secondary education student support services are discussed. Further research on disclosure beliefs among teachers and specialist support staff, in a wider range of educational settings, would allow for a deeper exploration of issues raised by this study.

WIEDZA DOTYCZĄCA ASEPTYKI I ANTYSEPTYKI ORAZ PRZESTRZEGANIE ICH ZASAD JAKO ELEMENTY PROFILAKTYKI ZAKAŻEŃ W PRACY RATOWNIKA MEDYCZNEGO

Tlhe health-care professionals, particularly paramedics are exposed to bloodborne infections during medical rescue operations. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge of bloodborne infections, their prevention and interrupted routes of infection transmission among paramedics. The study comprised 220 paramedics employed in emergency departments and ambulance services. Material was collected using an anonymus questionnaire, developed for the purpose of this study. As many as 80% of the surveyed people reported frequent contact with patients' blood; 65% of the paramedics before establishing the intravenous access palpates the conduct of the vein; 81% introduce peripheral venous catheter directly after disinfection of the skin; and 98% apply personal protection measures. The analysis of knowledge of asepsis and antisepsis of bloodborne infections among paramedics points to a series of shortcomings in their adequate preparation to reduce the effects of exposure to infectious material. However, it should be emphasized that people with higher education presented a higher level of knowledge than those with postsecondary vocational education. In the opinion of the study group mandatory training in the discussed area would prove to be the most effective method for reducing the number of bloodborne infections.

Testing the role of screening with vocational skills: the case of post-secondary initial vocational training institutes in Greece

The paper examines whether post secondary initial vocational training acts as a filter in the private sector segment of the Greek labour market, using a sample consisting of post secondary initial vocational training graduates and secondary education graduates (control group). The results suggest that no screening is evident in the case of male employees, whereas the hypothesis of «weak» screening cannot be rejected in the case of female employees.

Staying on track: behavioral engagement of at-risk and non-at-risk students in post-secondary vocational education

Behavioral disengagement from school is a proximal predictor of dropout. Therefore, the enhancement of behavioral engagement is a useful point of entry for dropout prevention. In this study, we examine the behavioral engagement of at-risk and non-at-risk students in Dutch senior vocational education (SVE), a sector confronted with high dropout rates. Using multilevel regression analyses, we assess the role of students’ background characteristics and perceived fit with the school environment in their behavioral engagement. Findings indicate that students in highly urbanized areas are significantly less engaged in school. The perceived proportion of autonomous work is most prominently correlated to students’ behavioral engagement. Whereas in general SVE students are more engaged if their program requires little autonomous work from students, engineering students appear to favor autonomous work forms.

Great expectations: students’ educational attitudes upon the transition to post-secondary vocational education

In this study, we examine students’ educational attitudes upon the transition to Dutch senior vocational education (SVE), a transition associated with high dropout rates in the first year. Prior studies have identified differences in educational attitudes between sociodemographic groups. However, the mechanisms underlying those differences remain topic of debate: some studies point at differences in the school orientation and support in students’ social communities outside school, others focus on differences in educational experiences between sociodemographic groups. Multilevel sequential regression analyses on a diverse sample of 1438 students in urban SVE schools reveal that students have very positive educational attitudes upon their transition to SVE. Ethnic minority students express particularly positive attitudes. School-related encouragement and support at home plays an important role in students’ attitudes, but the attitudes of students from lower educated or ethnic minority communities are less related to this support. Prior school experiences play an essential, but occasionally counterproductive, role in students’ attitudes upon transition, depicting the transition as a fresh new start for some, and an unwelcome threshold for others.

One foot out the school door? Interpreting the risk for dropout upon the transition to post-secondary vocational education

Many students drop out in the first year after a school transition. Most commonly used indicators of an increased risk for dropout reveal little of the mechanisms that push or pull students out of school. In this study, we look at the association of a set of common risk indicators with students’ supportive resources and school experiences upon the transition to post-secondary vocational education in the Netherlands. Multilevel regression analyses on a diverse sample of 1438 students indicate that most sociodemographic risk indicators relate to less access to supportive resources for school, whereas personal circumstances outside school that are associated with an increased risk for dropout correlate with negative school experiences. Students from lower educated or poor families and students who use drugs, have debts, or are delinquent score negative in both domains, suggesting that those students make the transition with one foot out the school door.

Making the connection: The role of social and academic school experiences in students' emotional engagement with school in post-secondary vocational education

This study examines the emotional engagement with school of a diverse sample of 909 students in post-secondary vocational education in the Netherlands. Using multilevel regression analysis, we assess the role of students' background characteristics and school experiences, and their interaction, in students' emotional engagement with school. At-risk students do not report lower levels of emotional engagement, except for students using (soft)drugs. While Dutch dropout prevention focuses on fostering a sense of belonging through enhancing teacher–student relationships, we do not find a significant role of perceived support from school staff in students' sense of belonging. A good relationship with classmates is more important to engage students in post-secondary vocational education. Perceiving an academic fit is most prominently related to the emotional engagement of vocational students, indicating that a sense of belonging should not only be defined in social, but also in academic terms.

The Role of Postsecondary Education in the Path From High School to Work for Youth With Disabilities

Youth with disabilities lag behind their peers in participating in postsecondary education, which adversely affects employment options and career earnings. Yet little is known about factors affecting participation. Particularly problematic is the relative importance of disability-related factors—the primary focus of special education and services—and traditional predictors of college going, such as parental education, economic resources, and academic achievement in high school. This study found that for youth with disabilities, the traditional predictors of college going are more important than disability-related factors for enrolling in universities; disability-related factors are slightly more important for enrolling in postsecondary vocational education. A discussion of implications for service planning and implementation is presented.

Transition planning and evidence-based research

While high school special education teachers have always helped prepare their students for life after school, it was not until the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990 (PL 101–476) that student individualized education programs (IEPs) were mandated to include transition services. Transition services were to be designed to help facilitate a student’s movement from “school to postschool activities including post-secondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation” (20 U.S.C. §[602][34]). Although the 1997 and 2004 IDEA amendments include various transition-related revisions, the two most important changes might have been the required starting age and Indicator 13 for accountability. First, while IDEA 1990 mandated IEP transition planning beginning at 16, IDEA 1997 changed the age to 14 since it was important to start transition planning before, or as, students entered high school. While IDEA

Learning Styles of Post-Secondary Vocational Education Students and Hotel Managers in The Bahamas

This study sought to determine the learning styles of full-time post-secondary vocational educational students and general managers in the Bahamas. Data were as drawn from two groups: 94 full-time students at Bahamas Hotel Training College (BHTC) and 24 hotel general managers, using the Marshall and Merritt (1984) Learning Style Instrument with a Semantic Differential (LSI-SD), which is based on Kolb's Learning Style Model. Results of the study indicated that the majority of the students (n=44, 50.7%) and managers (n=21, 87.5%) had a diverger learning style. In other words, there is evidence that all full-time post-secondary students and hotel managers in this study had a predominant learning style that was measurable.

Transitioning Children, Youths, and Young Adults with Disabilities

JOPERD • Volume 78 No. 3 • March 2007 T he process of transitioning children and youths with disabilities, as well as those without disabilities, occurs many times throughout their educational lives. The process begins at home, continues through early childhood education, middle or junior high school, and senior high school education, and culminates in postsecondary education or training. Each time the student moves to a new level or school, transition services should be addressed so he or she can successfully progress from one level to the next in his or her educational journey. Transition services make it easier to travel from one level to another in as smooth a manner as possible. A progression of this nature is needed in order for as many students as possible with and without disabilities to become productive, independent citizens. Although the amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA, 2004) also include transition-service guidelines for infants and toddlers, this article focuses primarily on community participation transition services for youths and young adults. The amendments to IDEA (2004) and special education state plans mandate that transition services be provided for students with disabilities who are 16 years and older. First and foremost, these mandates are person-centered. The transition services should be “a results-oriented process, that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the child with a disability to facilitate the child’s movement” (“Proposed Rules,” 2005, p. 35841) from the traditional pre-kindergarten to grade-12 school setting, to post-school activities. Components of transition services include “postsecondary education, vocational education, integrated employment (including supported employment), continuing and adult education, adult services, independent living, or community participation...” (“Proposed Rules,” p. 35841), which includes recreation and leisure activities. However, the current emphasis in this process tends to focus primarily on vocational opportunities. Regardless of abilities or disabilities, a healthy body allows one to function better in all aspects of life, and it is that concept that suggests that the adapted physical education (APE) specialist can contribute to all components of transition services, and not just to the recreation and leisure component of community participation. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to offer guidance in understanding, planning, and implementing transition services in physical education and recreation settings, especially in community recreation and leisure activities for students with disabilities. These should begin “not later than the fi rst IEP to be in effect when the child turns 16, or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP Team...” (“Proposed Rules,” 2005, p. 35865). Some states begin their services when the child is in the ninth grade or is 14 years of age. This article is divided into the following topics: (1) the transition process, (2) who implements transition services, (3) how to plan and Transitioning Children, Youths, and Young Adults with Disabilities

Policy issues for Australia's education systems: Evidence from international and Australian research

Our purpose here is to discuss education policy issues in the context of empirical evidence. We note that many commonly held beliefs about Australian education such as, the relative performance and participation levels of Australian students; the importance of socioeconomic background on educational outcomes both relative to other countries and changes over-time; gender differences in mathematics and science; and the labour market situation of early school leavers; are not supported by empirical research. Such findings have implications for government policies. We also question current policy directions toward increasing Year 12 participation, expanding both secondary and post-secondary vocational education and reducing class sizes. It is hoped that the discussion will provide stimulus to evidence-based debates about Australian education.