Transitions to post-compulsory education in Madrid: The weight of political and institutional factors

Abstract

This paper examines the factors that influence access and choice in post-compulsory education in Madrid (baccalaureate and intermediate vocational training), drawing on an analysis of qualitative interviews with political, educational and corporate agents, as well as education regulations and secondary data. First, the paper describes post-compulsory education in Madrid focusing on the local context and educational policies implemented in the region. Second, the specific weight of political and institutional factors in post-compulsory transitions is addressed. The paper shows how the design of educational provision and admissions in both branches is differentiated and influenced by different factors: vocational training is affected by the tension, absent in the academic track, between market needs and young people’s interests. Finally, the paper analyses the factors influencing post-compulsory education choices. The paper concludes that both tracks cannot be understood separately: vocational training is far more present in the public debate than the baccalaureate, which remains hegemonic and almost unquestioned. Differences in the prestige of both tracks also persist, which affect the various levels, families and degrees of vocational training differently. The configuration of educational supply and the institutional design of both tracks, in interaction with other factors (social, subjective, territorial, cultural), conditions choices and transitions, leading to educational inequalities.