scholarly journals How schools contribute to keeping students on track: Narratives from vulnerable students in vocational education and training

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 47-65
Author(s):  
Evi Schmid ◽  
Beate Jørstad ◽  
Gøril Stokke Nordlie

This article examines characteristics, practices and conditions within schools that enable vulnerable students to succeed in school. Research suggests that factors related to structure, educational organisation or the climate within schools may play a part in either pushing out or holding on to students whose personal characteristics may put them at risk of dropping out. The study is based on 25 qualitative interviews with students in the second year of vocational education and training. All the students had a low grade point average from lower secondary school, and the majority had an immigrant background from Africa or Asia. The analysis shows that practice-oriented learning from authentic work tasks provided meaningful connections between schoolwork and students’ career choices and opportunities to experience success and mastery. Furthermore, positive expectations and the active support of teachers as well as mutual motivation and support among classmates contributed to students’ sense of belonging at school. The study discusses the importance of schools supporting less school-oriented young people in connecting and identifying with school, both with the social environment and with the educational content and learning methods.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janina Beckmann ◽  
Alexandra Wicht ◽  
Matthias Siembab

This study investigates the relevance of career compromises (i.e. the discrepancy between expected and attained training position) for dropping out from vocational education and training (VET), focusing on compromises in terms of field of work, social status and gender type. Moreover, it examines whether apprentices’ enjoyment of training ex-plains this association. Using longitudinal data on 5,600 apprentices from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS, Starting Cohort 4), the results of discrete event history models show that all types of compromises are crucial for VET dropout, but especially compromises regarding field of work and downward discrepancies in gen-der type. Furthermore, the link between compromises and VET dropout is partly mediated by apprentices’ enjoyment of training, which itself is highly correlated with dropping out. These findings draw attention to the role of pre-entry VET policies, such as career counselling, in minimising the incidence of career compromises.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (02) ◽  
pp. 2328-2334
Author(s):  
John Nehemiah Marwa ◽  
Hanifah Jambari ◽  
Ishak Taman ◽  
Nur Hazirah Noh@Seth ◽  
Mohd Zolkifli Abdul Hamid ◽  
...  

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