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This study aims to examine variables and factors in vocational awareness and attitudes that affect the vocational aspiration of seafaring course students who are potential future seafaring employees.

A literature review was conducted to identify factors that prompt students in seafaring courses to pursue seafaring careers, followed by a design of preliminary questionnaire questions to survey students’ perception on the conditions of seafaring careers (i.e. vocational awareness) and their intention to pursue a seafaring career (i.e., vocational aspiration). A total of 744 seafaring course students in four Taiwanese universities completed a questionnaire developed according to the previous studies. A structured equation modelling was conducted in this research including model validity, goodness of fit, model correction and mediation effects.

With a model consisting of four factors for vocational awareness, three factors for overall attitudes and vocational aspiration as a dependent variable, the results showed that factors of vocational awareness and students’ overall attitudes were significantly correlated, and the factors of overall attitudes exhibit strong mediation effects on vocational aspiration from vocational awareness. The results confirmed that the factors are important determinants for the vocational aspiration of students.

The findings of this study provide a comprehensive approach to understand students’ seafaring aspiration for the universities, governments and shipping companies. Seafaring policies and management are discussed from the research findings.

In Germany, various approaches have been taken to tackle the current teacher shortage in technical and vocational education and training (TVET). One attempt to remedy the shortage in Bavaria has been the introduction of an engineering education study programme at universities of applied sciences. Ideal candidates for this programme should have an interest in both engineering and social interaction. For effective recruitment, therefore, it is necessary to know applicants’ characteristics such as their vocational interests. In this study, the vocational interest profiles of students in TVET teacher training programmes were identified and their interest profiles and further characteristics were compared with those of other VET students at universities and universities of applied sciences.

An online questionnaire based on Holland’s interest theory and adapted from the Allgemeiner-Interessen-Struktur-Test-3 (interest structure test) was administered to 85 students in TVET teacher training programmes at universities and universities of applied sciences in Bavaria. Items regarding reasons for choosing a particular study programme, university location and other personal details were added.

The vocational interest profiles of students at universities and universities of applied sciences can be described as similar but weakly differentiated. Insights are provided by the characteristics of students such as the majority being first-time academics in the family. The reasons for choosing the degree programme and university location highlight the fact that a large proportion of students in engineering education would not have chosen a teaching-related degree programme if it had not been offered at the respective university of applied sciences.

Although the sample in this study was small and, therefore, limiting, it represented a high proportion of TVET teacher training students in Bavaria and a substantial proportion of first-year students in TVET teacher training programmes at universities and universities of applied sciences in Bavaria (section 2.2 and 3.1). Thus, the findings provide valuable insights into commonalities in interest profiles between engineering education students at universities of applied sciences and other TVET students at universities. With respect to the domain of the chosen vocational specialisation, differentiated profiles emerged that, for example, showed a stronger artistic orientation among students in construction technology/wood. For further analysis, the previous variable-centred orientation of the analysis can be supplemented by person-centred analyses (e.g. cluster analysis and latent variable mixture modelling, LVMM) (cf. Leon et al., 2021).

The findings in this study reveal the potential for attracting candidates to universities of applied sciences if they prefer to study in rather rural areas close to their hometowns. With the aim to educate prospective teachers for future work not only in metropolitan regions but in rural areas too, offering bachelor degree programmes in rural areas would seem promising. A regional option can boost the recruitment of new students and attract candidates that otherwise would be unable to pursue studies or a career as a teacher in vocational education. The results of this study and those of previous studies suggest that universities of applied sciences can cooperate with universities to help solve the teacher shortage problem.

Overall, it is apparent that the students' interests reached comparatively high values in all interest orientations and thus are only weakly differentiated. If undifferentiated profiles indicate low levels of career readiness, this significantly affects the recruitment of young people for the teaching profession. Assessing career orientation and promoting vocational interests should be prioritised during secondary school education. Vocational orientation measures are essential and should provide insight into typical activities of daily work life in different professions and thus pique and foster interests.

This study provides insight into how to respond to the teacher shortage in VET by identifying important characteristics of engineering education students using vocational interest profiling.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the status, values, and attributes of dual education. It investigates key elements of the dual education system in four selected countries while examining and recommending dynamics and roles for governmental policy, technical and vocational institutes, and employers in developing a dual education system in Thailand to generate a competitive workforce. The tripartite system of technical and vocational institutes, employers, and government in Thailand’s dual education is central to this study.

This study employs a documentary study, a survey, in-depth interviews, and responses from a focus group from technical and vocational institutes, employers, and the government.

This study found growing interest among technical and vocational institutes, employers, parents, and students in dual education. Within the tripartite system framework, the nine essential factors to improve the capacity of Thailand’s dual education system are: the technical and vocational institutes, curriculum, in-school teachers, accredited qualification, students, employers, in-company trainers, government policy, and government and related agencies. The government, companies, and technical and vocational institutes must collaborate for mutual trust and benefit while ensuring the quality of dual education programs.

This study is the first to examine the status and development of dual education in Thailand through the collaboration of key players. This study reflects the challenges of a major developing country in developing a dual education system, which other countries might face.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relative academic effectiveness of vocational education in three countries with early tracking systems: Austria, Croatia, and Hungary.

The authors use an instrumental variables approach to estimate vocational education’s relative academic effectiveness in terms of achievement on an international test, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Program of International Student Assessment (PISA), and two possible indicators of non-cognitive outcomes – self-efficacy in mathematics and intrinsic motivation in mathematics, both also available from the PISA student survey.

The results show few, if any, differences in student gains from attending the vocational track in secondary school as opposed to the academic track. Specifically, the results show that attending the vocational or academic track results in similar achievement gains in the tenth grade and generally similar gains in self-efficacy and motivation in mathematics.

The study is unique because in the three countries, the authors can use a fuzzy regression discontinuity approach based on school systems’ age entrance date rules to estimate the gain in test scores over an academic year and to compare the gain for students in the vocational and academic tracks. The results contradict almost all other studies by showing that in these countries student academic gains in vocational education are about the same as in the academic track.

The purpose of this paper is to identify, prioritise, and contrast the needs in terms of the development of vocational skills in final year undergraduate accounting students from two distinct countries. The study aims to survey and analyse the views of Malaysian and UK students.

A questionnaire was used to gather the data. Quantitative analysis was then used as the basis of a comparative study. The data for this study were collected via questionnaires completed by Malaysian exchange students on their arrival at UK university and the students of that UK university.

The results indicate that both sets of students accept the need to develop vocational skills in order to perform competently as an accountant. There is however clear differences in the views of the Malaysian and UK students concerning the specific skills that they perceive as being priorities to be developed. The students also hold differing views of the major barriers to the development of vocational skills in higher education.

Previous studies have established the need to prioritise vocational skills development. Studies have also established the views of employers and students. This study contrasts the views of students from two contrasting contexts. The study establishes that students from differing countries perceive differing priorities in terms of vocational skills not only between students but also between students and the currently stated views of employers and professional bodies internationally.

Reports on the evaluation of a programme which was designed to enable students to complete a traineeship or apprenticeship, and their senior certificate in accordance with a variety of combined school and work programmes, including the New Apprenticeship Scheme. A multimethod approach was adopted which includes interviews with students, vocational educators and employers regarding their perceptions of: competencies, learning outcomes and training acquired during the programme. The results of the interviews with the students illustrated some similar and different perceptions between teachers and students, and showed that students’ main reason for undertaking the vocational education programme were the opportunity to gain “hands on” experience, and a “headstart” to employment. Implications for further research included: an investigation into the perceived status barrier between vocational and general education, the development of work attitudes; and the implementation of a strategic business and marketing plan.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the prevalence and factors associated with safe sex behavior among vocational students in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand, and to determine the modifying factors listed as socio-demographic characteristic, the level of HIV and sexually transmitted infections’ knowledge, attitude toward reproductive health, and safe sex behavior among vocational students in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand.

A cross-sectional descriptive research was conducted from August to October 2018. The multistage stratified sampling, combined with purpose and random sampling, was used to select the participants. One vocational college with the highest number from urban, suburban and rural areas was purposely selected. The sample calculation by using Cochran’s formula, a random sampling by drawing from each college with male and female, was made to obtain the sample size of 355 students. Inclusion criteria included: vocational students, both male and female, aged between 15 and 19 years, resided in the study area, and volunteered to participate. Ethical consent including waiver of the parent’s consent for the participant aged under 18 years for this study was approved by the Institution Review Board for Human Research Ethics, Chulalongkorn University (Certification number JV 823/2561) A self-administered questionnaire was adapted by the principle researcher from the illustrative questionnaire for interview survey with young people (14), and The study of Prevalence of HIV, STD, Drug Use and Risk Behaviors in Adolescents and Young Adults, in Chaing Rai, Thailand (PRAYA) tool (15). All statistical analyses were performed by SPSS version 22.

The finding revealed that 332 participants were male (57.8 percent) and female (42.2 percent) with an average age of 16.8 years (±1.7). Approximately 60 percent of males and 50 percent of females had experience of sexual intercourse, with their first experience of sexual intercourse at the average age of 15. Most respondents 63.1 percent used a condom and 63.6 percent used contraception in their latest sexual intercourse. About 41.9 percent consumed alcohol and 15 percent reported substance abused. Sexual intercourse among adolescents vocational students were significantly associated with high knowledge of contraception (OR=0.30, 95%CI=0.10–0.82). Positive attitude toward reproductive health had a significant association with sexual intercourse (OR=0.17, 95%CI=0.05–0.58). Sexual intercourse among vocational students were also significant associated with low risk behavior (OR=0.45, 95%CI=0.22–0.91) and high risk behaviors (OR=0.24, 95% CI=0.10–0.59). Contraceptive used in the latest sexual intercourse had a significant association with cues to action (OR=0.43, 95% CI=0.22–0.86).

This study used a self-reported questionnaire to collect information from participants about safe sex behaviors, which might contain bias data and socially desirable answers. The time for collecting data did not match vocational students’ schedule as they were about to have their final exams. An error in this questionnaire was the absence of condom use as one of the contraception methods.

The study showed that both male and female vocational students in Nakhon Ratchasima have a low level of knowledge of HIV, STIs and contraception. This study revealed that females have higher knowledge of all the factors more than males. Males usually received more harassment from peers for being sexually active than females do. Condoms and contraceptive used are inconsistent in all research conducted and have no common ground. Communication related to sex for those who have no partner was poor compared to students who have a partner. The four factors associated with safe sex behaviors should always be considered and surveyed among vocational students, as the study showed that all results vary for a future adolescence study.

This research aims at government authorities. The policy makers should include reproductive health and rights in the curriculum. The Ministry of Public health and The Ministry of Education should provide training for the trainer program for teachers concerning safe sex behaviors. For future research, in-depth interview and qualitative study should be used to increase the reliability of the result of the inconsistency of using a condom and contraception. The researcher should do further studies into vocational college semester schedules before collecting data and should spend more time in the college, so the students become more acquainted to the researcher and give a more truthful answer. Moreover, condom use should be added as one of the contraception methods.

This is the first study among vocational students in Nakhon Ratchasima Province which emphasizes specifically on safe sex behaviors and factors related to it. Regarding the population of vocational students, this study covers almost 80 percent of the population. Sensitive questions for sexual activity status and sexually history were answered by a self-administered questionnaire in order to increase sincere answers on their experiences because participants were not shy to disclose their sexual experiences.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate vocational teaching behaviours in facilitating pedagogical practice concerning students' classroom engagement.

A mixed-method approach with quantitative classroom observations and qualitative field notes was conducted at two higher vocational institutions in Guangdong province, south of China. Sixty lesson observations were rated combining with supplementary field notes from 20 teacher participants analysed through a comparative coding process.

Means of dimensions of teaching behaviours and student engagement were calculated based on taking the averages of the means of items theoretically associated with each dimension. Through thematic analysis of observational notes, vocational instructions and students' engagement in vocational learning environment were more diversified in terms of vocational teaching practice, which manifested that vocational teaching behaviours focused more on adjusting students' practical learning.

The limitation is shown that the quantitative sample is small, yet affords greater depth of data for further discussion.

This study develops its setting and orientation by applying the classroom observation instrument into the Chinese high vocational context and offers more in-depth insights and exploration of the characteristics of teaching practice in vocational classrooms.

The field of teaching technologies is in constant interplay between educational and industrial advances. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, digitalization and automatization have become increasingly important. In industrial and social life, we see similar fast-moving developments. These factors challenge education, specifically vocational education, greatly, and raise two very different, yet very much connected questions: how to prepare students for their vocational lives and how to prepare teachers to communicate the necessary competencies to their students? This chapter provides an overview of advances, challenges, and possible solutions, focusing on the three key fields of vocational education in Germany: Industry 4.0, Education 4.0, and innovative teacher education. Most importantly, however, the text examines the continuous interplay between and among these fields. The beginning of the chapter is dedicated to vocational teacher education, in accordance with industrial and educational advances. Specifying this, characteristics of Industry 4.0, as well as students' and teachers' perceptions of Industry 4.0, are discussed. This is followed by an introduction to the concept of so-called learning factories as a possible way of integrating aspects of Industry 4.0 in German vocational schools. The end of the chapter is dedicated to the required changes in educational settings today and in the future. Though Industry 4.0, Education 4.0, and innovative teacher education are each widely discussed in the current literature, the interplay of all three fields reveals a research gap. This chapter tries to close this gap and provide an important contribution to the research field.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how vocational education and training (VET) in Ukraine has changed since the Soviet era; and to determine its structure, successes, and challenges.

The author conducted interviews and tours at 15 vocational schools in seven cities in Ukraine.

Ukraine is struggling to establish itself as an independent, modern country; education includes elements from the Soviet era and contemporary European practices; the VET system is taking on the state-regulated bureaucratic model; it has mixed success mainly due to economic development; social support for secondary students is very strong.

Since Ukraine will eventually be a key player in international relations, it is important for scholars to understand how the VET system is developing.

This study provides an in-depth view of VET in this once closed country which is now susceptible to influence from Russia and Europe.