Vocational Secondary Education, Tracking, and Social Stratification

Abstract

The authors present a comparative analysis of tracking (ie, vocationaleducation) in secondary school systems worldwide. They find considerablevariation in matters of social stratification; curricular standardization;generality or specificity of training programs; occupational prestige;{&} school-employer linkages. The degree to which vocational educationis a safety net seems to correspond with its reinforcement of occupationalstratification, yet where vocational schooling is more generalized(hence, in closer conformity with academic curricula), it is alsoless socially exclusive. Further research on vocational educationneeds to address the trajectory of its labor-market effects, therole of specialized programs, {&} problems of defining what vocationaleducation is. 2 Tables, 51 References. K. Coddon.