Secondary Vocational Education and the Transition from School to Work

General Education, Vocational Education, and Labor-Market Outcomes over the Lifecycle

“…2 As 1 Another larger literature focuses on the firm side of the market and their incentives to invest in general or specific education; see the initial work by Becker (1964) and more recent analysis by Pischke (1998, 1999). 2 For examples, see Arum and Shavit (1995); Malamud and Pop-Eleches (2010); and the reviews in Ryan (2001) and Wolter and Ryan (2011). Oosterbeek and Webbink (2007) and Fersterer, Pischke, and Winter-Ebmer (2008) are recent examples studying the labor-market outcomes of vocational education.…”

Vocational Schools and Labour Market: Insights from Indonesia

“…The educators' and sociologists' arguments are well summarized by Arum and Shavit (1995). They argue that vocational education "inhibits the future socioeconomic attainment of students and reduces students' chances of attending college and of subsequently gaining entry to the professions and other high-prestige occupations."…”

“…Using data from the American 'The High School and Beyond', Arum and Shavit (1995) find that although vocational education inhibits students' likelihood of attending college and subsequently of finding employment in the professions and managerial occupations, it reduces the overall risk of unemployment. They conclude that for students who are unlikely to continue on to college, vocational education is a safety net that reduces the risk of failing to achieve employability.…”

Education and the Reproduction of Inequalities

“…Empirical research reveals that both opinions are partially right. As a rule, vocational education does lower the odds of proceeding to tertiary-level education but, at the same time, it decreases the risk of unemployment and increases the chances of obtaining a qualified manual job (Arum & Shavit, 1995) 17 .…”