Chapter 15 discusses the theories and empirical evidence behind the choices that societies make regarding the kind of knowledge schools should produce at the secondary level for different groups of students; namely, academic skills that prepare them to learn higher-order productive skills, or vocational skills that prepare them for productive employment. The chapter reviews the production of vocational education and training (VET) and its relation to labor markets in different national contexts, focusing on the German dual system versus the US VET model and discusses the results of studies in various countries that estimate the effectiveness of vocational versus academic education in different national political contexts. The analysis in the chapter includes assessing whether VET systems reduce or promote improved labor market outcomes and social mobility for lower social class students.
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