Vocational School Students’ Aspirations for Higher Education and Selected Social Background Characteristics

Abstract

This study examines the association between vocational school students’ aspirations for higher education and different factors that may be related to their social background. Using cultural reproduction and relative risk aversion (RRA) theories, the study draws on data from 7060 students of four-year vocational upper secondary school programmes in Croatia. A multinomial logistic model with a random intercept was applied, in which students’ aspirations for pursuing higher education served as the outcome variable. Apart from indicators of socio-economic status (SES), vocational school students’ characteristics related to cultural habits and behaviours, as well as their concerns with downward mobility, were used as regressor variables in the analysis. All three constructs showed independent effects on aspirations for higher education, controlling for vocational sector, gender, school achievement, and school year. Further, a moderation effect was identified, indicating that the association between cultural capital and aspirations for higher education was stronger among students with more educated parents. In contrast to previous studies, the findings point to the potential complementarity of cultural capital and RRA concerning educational aspirations. We discuss the implications of the study and directions for future research.