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| “Preferring General High Schools over Vocational Schools”： Who are Not Willing to Go to Vocational Schools—A Survey of 21,531 Ninth-Grade Students in Junior High Schools in the “Three Prefectures” Region |
| Shen Youlu |
| (Faculty of Education， Hainan Normal University， Haikou 571158) |
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Abstract At present， the phenomenon of the ninth-grade students in junior high schools preferring general high schools over vocational schools is quite common. Through a survey of 21,531 ninth-grade students in junior high schools in the “Three Prefectures” region about their will for future education， we find that there are 54.82 percent of students who “resolutely choose general senior high schools”， while 29.93 percent are forced to take secondary vocational schools as an alternative， because they cannot be admitted to senior high schools. Only 3.33 percent take “technical secondary schools/ vocational high schools/ technical schools as their first choice”. The phenomenon of “preferring general high schools over vocational schools” is significantly different among students of different genders， family locations， fathers' occupations， mothers' education levels， family annual income levels， and class rankings according to their regular test scores. The most important reasons for students not willing to go to secondary vocational schools are the fear for uncertain employment， the consideration of education expenses， the poor practical training conditions and poor education quality of secondary vocational schools， the loose school management， and low wages and other benefits for secondary vocational graduates. Adopting targeted incentive policies can change students' reluctance to go to secondary vocational schools into willingness. After attending secondary vocational schools， students can obtain broader channels for higher education and opportunities to go to college through the “Vocational Education College Entrance Examination”. Schools， governments at all levels， and the media should actively and positively publicize this information and timely eliminate information asymmetry. In addition， governors at all levels and principals and teachers of primary and secondary schools should establish the concept of “equality between general and vocational education” and timely carry out vocational enlightenment education， and publicize vocational education in an active and positive manner， so as to create a good development atmosphere for and enhance the attractiveness of vocational education.
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Received: 30 May 2025
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2025, Vol. 64 
