Educational paths in Romania: choosing general or vocational education

Abstract

Education is a key factor that can contribute to the economic growth, supporting the social mobility and the living standard improvement. Both from the scientific point of view, as well as from the policy making process point of view, it is essential to know how individuals choose their educational path, in order to understand what is and can be the role of different educational routes in ensuring social mobility and improving standard of living. In this article we explore the factors that explain attitudes and decisions of individuals for vocational vs. general education in Romania. Our analysis is based on data from a national survey among adult Romanian population. Attitudes regarding the choice of vocational vs. general education are analysed by employing decision trees method in order to assess the extent to which vocational education is considered a valuable education path or an educational alternative for those with lower socio-economic background.

Keywords

• vocational education
• general education
• inequalities
• stratification
• decision trees
• i24
• i26