Vocational Education and Training, Vocational Baccalaureate or Academic High School? An Empirical Analysis of Social Selective Transitions to Upper Secondary Education in the German-Speaking Part of Switzerland

Abstract

We analyze the educational decision at the end of compulsory schooling in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. In order to reveal the social selectivity of this decision we adapted the theory of subjectively expected utility to the Swiss context. We apply and test an innovative model with panel data. The variation of achievement and educational decision across social classes largely explains the selectivity of this transition.