IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cog/socinc/v13y2025a8771.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Overcoming Obstacles? Institutional Support for the Pathways to Higher Education at German Vocational Schools

Author

Listed:
  • Nadine Dörffer

    (Institute of Educational Sciences, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany / Leibniz Center for Science and Society, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany)

  • Nadine Bernhard

    (Institute of Educational Sciences, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany)

Abstract

The institutionalization of new types of vocational schools in the 1960s and 1970s aimed to open up the German education system and create new pathways for accessing higher education, particularly for socially disadvantaged students. Today, one‐third of German students with a higher education entrance certificate graduate from vocational schools. However, these graduates are less likely to pursue or succeed in higher education. This raises the question: How do vocational schools support their heterogeneous student body in transitioning to higher education, and to what extent do differences exist between school types? Sociological research has shown that institutional support for and during transitions is crucial for expanding access to education. In particular, organizational structures and practices play a role in the (re)production of social inequality. To analyze these, we apply the concept of institutional permeability, focusing on information and counseling, financial support, learning organization and pedagogy, and school culture. The study draws on problem‐centered interviews with staff from different types of vocational schools in one German federal state, analyzed through qualitative content analysis. The results reveal significant variations in how schools aim to prepare students for higher education. Specifically, students of Fachoberschule face a double disadvantage due to their social background and institutional structures, which hinder their higher education pathways. The lack of personalized support at vocational schools complicates students’ orientation process, placing much of the responsibility on students and a few dedicated teachers.

Suggested Citation

  • Nadine Dörffer & Nadine Bernhard, 2025. "Overcoming Obstacles? Institutional Support for the Pathways to Higher Education at German Vocational Schools," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 13.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:8771
    DOI: 10.17645/si.8771
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/article/view/8771
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17645/si.8771?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ehlert, Martin & Finger, Claudia & Rusconi, Alessandra & Solga, Heike, 2017. "Applying to college: Do information deficits lower the likelihood of college-eligible students from less-privileged families to pursue their college intentions?: Evidence from a field experiment," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 67, pages 193-212.
    2. Graf, Lukas, 2013. "The Hybridization of Vocational Training and Higher Education in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland," EconStor Books, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 251577.
    3. Solga, Heike, 2005. "Meritokratie - die moderne Legitimation ungleicher Bildungschancen," EconStor Open Access Book Chapters, in: Institutionalisierte Ungleichheiten. Wie das Bildungswesen Chancen blockiert, pages 19-38, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    4. Laura Behrmann, 2021. "“You Can Make a Difference”: Teachers’ Agency in Addressing Social Differences in the Student Body," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 372-382.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Erdmann, Melinda & Helbig, Marcel & Jacob, Marita & Pietrzyk, Irena & Schneider, Juliana & Allmendinger, Jutta, 2022. "Soziale Ungleichheit beim Hochschulzugang verringern: Intensive Beratung fördert die Passung zwischen Potenzialen und Bildungsentscheidungen," WZBrief Bildung 45, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    2. Peter, Frauke H. & Zambre, Vaishali, 2017. "Intended college enrollment and educational inequality: Do students lack information?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 125-141.
    3. Lukas Graf & Alexandra Strebel & Patrick Emmenegger, 2023. "State‐led bricolage and the extension of collective governance: Hybridity in the Swiss skill formation system," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(1), pages 103-120, January.
    4. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/527ht1a96e837pq2dubgo2953q is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Ostermann, Kerstin & Patzina, Alexander, 2019. "Aktuelle Studienformen im Vergleich: Ein duales Studium begünstigt den Berufseinstieg," IAB-Kurzbericht 201925, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    6. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/527ht1a96e837pq2dubgo2953q is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Erdmann, Melinda & Pietrzyk, Irena Magdalena & Schneider, Juliana & Helbig, Marcel & Jacob, Marita & Allmendinger, Jutta, 2022. "Bildungsungleichheit nach der Hochschulreife - das lässt sich ändern: Eine Untersuchung der Wirksamkeit eines intensiven Beratungsprogramms 1,5 Jahre nach dem Abitur," Discussion Papers, Presidential Department P 2022-002, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    8. Fortwengel, Johann & Jackson, Gregory, 2016. "Legitimizing the apprenticeship practice in a distant environment: Institutional entrepreneurship through inter-organizational networks," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(6), pages 895-909.
    9. Landoni, Matteo & ogilvie, dt, 2019. "Convergence of innovation policies in the European aerospace industry (1960–2000)," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 174-184.
    10. Pazit Levi-Sudai & Gabriela Neagu, 2022. "The Attitudes of Teachers towards Disadvantaged Young Students: Israel–Romania Comparative Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-19, September.
    11. Niccolo Durazzi, 2023. "Engineering the expansion of higher education: High skills, advanced manufacturing, and the knowledge economy," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(1), pages 121-141, January.
    12. Estelle Herbaut & Koen Geven, 2019. "What Works to Reduce Inequalities in Higher Education? A Systematic Review of the (Quasi-)Experimental Literature on Outreach and Financial Aid," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03456943, HAL.
    13. Bertoni, Marco & Corazzini, Luca & Robone, Silvana, 2019. "Promoting Breast Cancer Screening Take-Ups with Zero Cost: Evidence from an Experiment on Formatting Invitation Letters in Italy," IZA Discussion Papers 12193, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Estelle Herbaut & Koen Geven, 2019. "What Works to Reduce Inequalities in Higher Education? A Systematic Review of the (Quasi-)Experimental Literature on Outreach and Financial Aid," Working Papers hal-03456943, HAL.
    15. Allmendinger, Jutta & von den Driesch, Ellen, 2014. "Social inequalities in Europe: Facing the challenge," Discussion Papers, Presidential Department P 2014-005, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    16. Erdmann, Melinda & Helbig, Marcel & Stuth, Stefan, 2021. "Lehrende als Gatekeeper für externe Förderprogramme im Bildungssystem: Eine Analyse von Fremdselektionsprozessen bei der Schülerauswahl anhand einer Bildungsintervention [Teachers as gatekeepers of," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 72(3), pages 255-282.
    17. Pietrzyk, Irena & Erdmann, Melinda, 2020. "Investigating the impact of interventions on educational disparities: Estimating average treatment effects (ATEs) is not sufficient," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 65, pages 1-1.
    18. Fitzenberger Bernd & Hillerich-Sigg Annette & Sprietsma Maresa, 2020. "Different counselors, many options: Career guidance and career plans in secondary schools," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 21(1), pages 65-106, April.
    19. Wilson, Anna & Bajka, Scherwin M., 2024. "Skill provision concerns in the knowledge economy: training firms’ perspective," OSF Preprints qjpz5_v1, Center for Open Science.
    20. Simone R Haasler, 2020. "The German system of vocational education and training: challenges of gender, academisation and the integration of low-achieving youth," Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, , vol. 26(1), pages 57-71, February.
    21. Blanck, Jonna M. & Edelstein, Benjamin & Powell, Justin J.W., 2013. "Von der schulischen Segregation zur inklusiven Bildung? Die Wirkung der UN-Konvention über die Rechte von Menschen mit Behinderungen auf Bildungsreformen in Bayern und Schleswig-Holstein," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Skill Formation and Labor Markets SP I 2013-504, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    22. Langthaler, Margarita & Wolf, Stefan & Schnitzler, Tobias, 2022. "The political economy of skill formation in a rentier state: The case of Oman," International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET), European Research Network in Vocational Education and Training (VETNET), European Educational Research Association, vol. 9(1), pages 23-43.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cog:socinc:v13:y:2025:a:8771. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: António Vieira or IT Department (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cogitatiopress.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.