Educational aspirations of students in vocational upper secondary schools in Germany

Abstract In the wake of educational reforms starting in the 1970s, a variety of alternative pathways to higher education was institutionalised in Germany. Research usually finds that students from vocational pathways are less inclined to enter higher education, but largely ignores the diversity of vocational upper secondary schools and the variety of options after graduation. This study examines students’ educational aspirations across different vocational upper secondary school types and asks how differences in aspirations can be explained. We extend prior research by considering the institutional heterogeneity of the German upper secondary and tertiary system and the role of institutional restrictions. Using data from the DZHW Panel Study of School Leavers 2015, the results show that the aspirations differ by the type of upper secondary school but that a considerable share of these differences to students of the traditional Gymnasium can be explained by institutional restrictions imposed by the type of higher education entrance certificates. Moreover, prior vocational qualifications and performance seem to play a role for some school types, whereas socio-economic background does not explain much of the association. Controlling for these factors, the aspirations of students in Berufsoberschule and Fachoberschule do not differ substantially from those in the traditional Gymnasium , suggesting that especially Berufsoberschule works as a “highway to higher education”. In contrast, a substantial share of students in Berufliches Gymnasium and Berufsfachschule are much less interested in university studies and instead use their certificates for better access to vocational education and training. Notably, across all school types, we observe a high proportion of students with no clear preference shortly before graduating from upper secondary education.