In France, although vocational high schools account for nearly 40% of students graduating from the first cycle of secondary education, they have long been overlooked by educational research (Verdier & Doray, 2022). Occupying a relatively marginalized position, this segment of the education system has often been regarded as the antithesis of academic selection (Jellab, 2017). This trend is partly related to the fact that the “academic convention” largely structures the French education system, including within vocational high schools (Troger et al., 2015). VET path is often perceived as a non-choice path in the French education system, closing off the range of possibilities for young people. However, the various reforms implemented in recent years (the three-year professional baccalaureate reform and quotas for vocational baccalaureate holders in higher education for instance) may suggest a broader range of possibilities, allowing for more personalized guidance and greater reversibility in educational trajectories, potentially opening up ‘new opportunities’ for students (Troger et al., 2015). The aim is to make vocational high schools more attractive and reconsider the paradigm of non-chosen guidance. Among these, the reform of the three-year baccalaureate is a significant one, aiming for symbolic equality with general and technological baccalaureate. These ‘new opportunities’ for students should help alleviate the reluctance of families to choose the vocational track.

On the other hand, these reforms pave the way for even greater relegation and disqualification for students entering Certificate of Vocational Competence (CVC). This second vocational high school diploma is a diploma leading directly to the labor market, although pursuing higher education is theoretically possible, through two years of transition in the vocational baccalaureate. With the baccalaureate becoming the standard for vocational high schools, the CVC students are, in a sense, rendered ‘invisible’ within the system. One might fear a more pronounced social and educational dualization within vocational high schools (Verdier et al., 2016). Indeed, the increase in the social and academic level of students entering vocational baccalaureate programs since the implementation of the 2009 reform, through a compensatory effect, has reinforced the process of admitting more students with limited readiness for further study into CVS programs. In terms of educational choices and, more specifically, aspirations, it seems that vocational baccalaureate students are more likely to aspire to higher education degrees (Bernard & Troger, 2012). However, within the vocational baccalaureate student population, there are inequalities in the 'capabilities to aspire' (Appadurai, 2004), inequalities linked to family background (Lahire, 2005) and parents' relationship with the school (Olympio, 2020). For the most vulnerable, particularly CVC students, it is to be feared a lack of aspiration and a reinforcement of ‘adaptive preferences’ in educational choice (Sen, 1992; Picard et al., 2015).

How are students' aspirations shaped following the reforms in the vocational track? Are students experiencing more self-directed educational guidance? Do students in vocational baccalaureate programs have different aspirations than CVC students? Do they all aspire more to higher education?

We address these questions based on a sample of 539 students from twenty vocational high schools in a region in the south of France. The students were surveyed on their educational background, academic choices, the development of their aspirations, their family backgrounds, as well as their relationship to school, guidance, and the labor market.

Our preliminary data suggest a more pronounced dualization within vocational high schools in France between CVC and vocational baccalaureate students, who stand out as two distinct populations, not only in terms of educational and social status but also concerning their aspirations, their relationship to school, and their views on the labor market.

In recent years, political attempts to boost vocational education and training (VET) have proliferated (Bonoli and Emmenegger, 2022). These reform activities are due to VET systems' recognized strengths such as low youth unemployment and their potential for social inclusion (e.g., Breen, 2005; Thelen, 2014; Bonoli and Emmenegger, 2021). At the same time, education systems are major determinants of social stratification, with important implications for social inequalities (Kerckhoff, 2001; Tåhlin, 2023). In particular the stratifying effects of the choice between VET and more general (non-vocational) forms of education have been the focus of a rich body of research (e.g., Shavit and Müller,1998; Ainsworth and Rosgicno, 2005; Protsch and Solga, 2016).

We evaluate the attractiveness of VET relative to its main alternative, general education (GE), because “where VET is taken to be an element of upper secondary schooling, comparisons with general or academic education within schooling are inevitable'' (Billett, 2020, p. 162). We fielded a factorial survey experiment in Denmark, England, France, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland with approx. 1'600 respondents per country in the spring of 2024. In the experiment, we showed respondents four fictitious profiles of 15-year-olds. We asked respondents whether they would recommend that this young person pursues VET or GE. We focus on the choice between VET and GE at the upper-secondary level because most countries sort young people into tracks at this stage (Contini and Cugnata, 2020).

We are particularly interested in the role of perceived educational hierarchies and social biases in determining whether a 15-year-old is viewed as more suited for VET or GE. In each fictitious profile, three dimensions reflect the individuals' academic performance (in math, reading, and computer skills), whereas another two dimensions capture the individuals' motivation (ambitiousness and interest in learning). We expect respondents who perceive GE to be superior to VET to assign strong performers and motivated individuals to GE. The final three dimensions measure social biases (socio-economic status, migrant origin, and regional background). We expect respondents who are biased against VET to be more likely to assign individuals of low socio-economic status, migrant origin, or with rural backgrounds to VET.

The experimental approach offers two distinct advantages. First, individuals' attributes are often clustered (e.g., grades and motivation), which makes it difficult to identify their independent effect. By combining individuals' features in different combinations (assigned randomly), our approach captures the importance of these features in relation to other features (Combet, 2024). Second, factorial survey experiments limit social desirability biases (Horiuchi, 2021; Bansak et al., 2021), which is crucial for examining the attractiveness of VET.

The empirical analysis of the relative attractiveness of VET reveals an astonishingly clear pattern. Respondents systematically assign academically strong, ambitious and motivated individuals to GE. In addition, respondents display social biases against VET, recommending GE to individuals from big cities and VET to individuals of low social class. We find little evidence of institutional differences; across all seven countries, we observe the same patterns. We interpret these findings as a relative attractiveness deficit of VET. While respondents have a positive view of VET in absolute terms, they generally see GE as the superior option, regardless of the quality of the VET system and without much variation across subgroups. Our findings suggest that efforts to promote VET might be less effective as long as VET is not seen as attractive relative to GE. We argue that the only remedy is to make all educational pathways as open as possible, that is, VET graduates need to be able to access all tertiary level programs on similar terms with GE graduates.

Introduction : choisir une carrière professionnelle, c'est décider d'un chemin en fonction de ses intérêts personnels, de son histoire familiale ou de l'influence de ses amis. Lorsque nous analysons les trajectoires de professionnels de différents domaines qui entrent dans le domaine de la santé, plus spécifiquement de la Médecine et de la Santé Intégratives : infirmières, médecins, psychologues, architectes, journalistes et thérapeutes, nous identifions une transgression de leur façon d'opérer dans le monde, un désir intrinsèque de reconnaissance et de nouveaux défis, malgré l'insécurité que cette décision peut engendrer. Objectif : À travers des entretiens semi-structurés, l'article aborde ce processus de transition, très transformateur dans la vie des individus. Cette étude présente un modèle de rupture avec les modes de performance professionnelle à travers les témoignages d'étudiants de troisième cycle d'un établissement de santé de São Paulo, au Brésil, qui ont décidé de changer de carrière entre 2020 et 2024. Développement : rompre avec les schémas de leur première profession et élargir leurs connaissances à de nouveaux comportements est le thème le plus souvent évoqué lors de la formation des professionnels de santé en médecine intégrative. La décision n’est pas très facile car le domaine apporte des complexités et des contextualisations sensibles au monde des thérapies, des hôpitaux ou des cliniques, et qui favorisent des analyses holistiques sur le concept de soins aux personnes. En accompagnant l’étudiant dans une approche interdisciplinaire, nous constatons qu’il existe un lien direct entre le rêve et le changement. Conclusion : tout changement requiert des attitudes d’audace, d’humilité, de cohérence et de respect de l’histoire de vie de l’étudiant, qui doivent s’accompagner de responsabilité et d’un accompagnement individualisé, continu et transparent.