Vocational and Academic Education and Political Engagement: The Importance of the Educational Institutional Structure

Abstract

It is hardly disputed that educational institutions carry responsibility for the education of democratic citizens through the enhancement of civic and political engagement. Despite the wealth of studies on civic and citizenship education, scholars have not yet examined the relevance of national educational institutional factors. This study examines to what extent elements of national educational systems, in particular early tracking and a vocational orientation, are related to political engagement of young adult citizens. Using pooled European Social Survey data collected between 2002 and 2012 from 24 European countries, and examining electoral participation, political interest, and political activism, it is shown that people educated in vocational programs had lower levels of political engagement than people educated in general/academic education. Moreover, these differences were greater in strongly tracked educational systems relative to comprehensive/untracked systems. These results suggest that educational institutions that differentiate students early and rigidly may form a threat to democratic equality.

Educational influences on young people's support for fundamental British values

“…However, the fact that the coefficient of educational trajectory remained significant after adding controls for relevant selection characteristics suggests that the influence of educational trajectory is genuine. What is more, other recently published studies focusing on civic and political engagement have argued similarly that educational track exerts a real effect on these outcomes (Janmaat et al ., ; Hoskins & Janmaat, ; van de Werfhorst, ).…”

“…As family SES is also closely related to political engagement (Verba et al ., ; Achen, ), the preponderance of disadvantaged children in vocational tracks gives rise to a peer group culture marked by alternative status symbols, a rejection of the world of politics and a contempt for the educational process (Willis, ; Ichilov, ; van de Werfhorst, ). Third, as being allocated to a vocational track is associated with failure, students in the vocational track lack self‐confidence , especially concerning educational aspirations (van Houtte and Stevens, ), and this can have knock‐on effects on engagement with society more generally (van de Werfhorst, ).…”

Type of education and civic and political attitudes

“…Across countries, the degree of tracking differs in terms of the age of first selection, the number of school types available and the duration of the tracked curriculum. Using an index that measures these three characteristics, van de Werfhorst () shows that the differences in political engagement between people who took a vocational and general education are more pronounced in countries with a strongly tracked education system. Similarly, Janmaat and Mons () find that the differences in the civic values of ethnic tolerance and patriotism between ethnic and socioeconomic groups are smaller amongst 14‐year‐olds in countries with comprehensive schooling compared with early tracking education systems (see also Kavadias et al ., ).…”

“…Hanushek & Wössmann, ; Korthals, ). In addition to increasing cognitive skills and preparing people for the labour market, one of the core tasks of education is to prepare citizens for participation in society (van de Werfhorst, ). Schools are considered important agents of ‘political socialisation’ (Niemi & Sobieszek, ; Campbell, ).…”

The Innovation of Hybrid Learning through Live 24-Hour Streaming Personal in the Learning Process in Higher Education of Vocational in the Era of Industrial Revolution 4.0

“…The material is material with an understanding of the calculation of the mixture of fuel and air. Increasing the power of the brain analysis can be increased one of them by training the brain to often solve problems by leveling conceptualized [17], [18].…”