As a matter of fact, however, students enrolled in secondary vocational schools are likewise often students not performing up to high school requirements. Given that usually only the worst-performing students are forced to enter secondary vocational schools, 9 most junior high school students regard attending such schools as a “helpless”, “forced” and “last” option. 9 There are two levels of VTE: secondary VTE and higher VTE, 10 of which secondary vocational schools are open to junior high school graduates, while students in such schools with lower academic levels would fall under a particularly severe stigma. 8 It is a barrier to the advancement of VTE as the public’s recognition of vocational education tends to be affected by stigma. 7 As it is prevalent in various fields, anyone is likely to be the target of stigma. Stigma, negative labeling of derogatory or insulting nature by the public for specific populations or a certain group, can result in status loss, discrimination and unfair treatment of the labeled individuals. 3 Although a total of 8,812 vocational colleges have been established in China with an enrollment of 29,148,400 students as of 2021, 4 VTE is still considered by most to be “the bottom education” and “the inferior education”, while students in such schools also suffer from serious stigma. 2 Currently, the largest vocational education system in the world has been built in China. To this end, VTE is being vigorously developed by the Chinese government to fulfill the goal of employment enhancement and industrial advancement. 1 Considered as an essential way for the cultivation of great national craftsmen and skilled craftsmen, VTE plays a positive role in promoting the economic development of a country. With the continuous acceleration of industrial upgrading and economic restructuring, the demand for skilled talents and high-quality workers in China has become increasingly prominent. Keywords: junior high school students, secondary vocational students, stigma, reliability, validity Cronbach’s α coefficient of the SVSSS and each dimension ranged from 0.815 to 0.963, with split-half reliability from 0.777 to 0.969.Ĭonclusion: Featuring favorable reliability and validity, the SVSSS was found to be an effective tool for the measurement of the secondary vocational education stigma among junior high school students, with its measurement invariance across genders. The aggregate scores of the SVSSS, exhibiting cross-gender invariance, were significantly negatively associated with willingness to choose secondary vocational education and positively correlated with academic performance. Results: It was revealed in the EFA that the SVSSS consists of 20 items in total, including three dimensions, namely negative labeling, social isolation, and devaluation and discrimination. And a total of 416 junior high school students (sample 2) were administered with the data applied for validity, reliability, and cross-group invariance test. A total of 316 junior high school students (sample 1) were administered with the resulting data subjected to item analysis and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Methods: The initial questionnaire was formed following an open-ended questionnaire and expert review based on the conceptual model of stigma as a theoretical framework. This study aims to develop the junior high school students to Secondary Vocational Students Stigma Scale (SVSSS) and to test its reliability and validity. The severe stigma that secondary vocational students suffer from may negatively affect junior high school students’ choice to attend secondary vocational schools and become such students. School of Education, Jilin International Studies University, Changchun, People’s Republic of ChinaĬorrespondence: Zhiguang Fan, School of Education, Jilin International Studies University, Jingyue Street 3658, Changchun, Jilin, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 159, Fax +86 431-84924101, Email īackground and Aim: It is particularly obvious that vocational and technical education (VTE) has been stigmatized for a long time in the field of secondary vocational education.
Xuzichun Wang, Jiaqi Leng, Xiangxin Cong, Zhiguang Fan
0 kommentar(er)
