Development of professional knowledge during VET: the role of trainees’ learning prerequisites and in-company learning conditions

Abstract

One of the major challenges of the German vocational education and training (VET) system is the integration of adolescents with unfavorable learning prerequisites, i.e., individuals with no or lower school-leaving certificates or low levels of basic competencies (e.g., reading and mathematics). This paper examines the extent to which trainees’ learning prerequisites affect the development of professional knowledge during VET. In addition, the analysis focuses on the role of learning conditions during VET in reducing inequalities that stem from differences in trainees’ learning prerequisites. This paper implements a longitudinal design to examine within-person effects regarding the professional knowledge of N = 401 prospective chefs in a German dual VET program over the first two years of VET. Based on a domain-specific knowledge test, weighted likelihood estimates (WLE) are calculated as person parameter estimates for trainees’ professional knowledge at the beginning (t1) and the second year of VET (t3). Following the idea of value-added modeling, professional knowledge at t3 serves as the dependent variable in a structural equation model. Trainees’ professional knowledge level at t3 is modeled as a function of the initial professional knowledge level (t1) and trainees’ learning prerequisites when entering the VET program (educational background and basic competencies) as well as learning conditions (work assignments, social interactions, and feedback) during the first year of VET (t2). Moderation effects additionally examine whether trainees with less favorable learning prerequisites benefit more from high-quality learning conditions. The study yields two primary findings. First, the association between trainees’ learning prerequisites and their professional knowledge decreases over the course of VET. Controlling for initial levels of professional knowledge, only trainees’ reading skills are found to be significantly directly associated with professional knowledge at t3, i.e. the second year of VET (β = 0.209, p