Title: Impact of socio-demographics on decision making for participation in vocational education and training

Authors: Garimidi Siva Sree; P. Ramlal

Addresses: School of Management, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, Telangana, India ' School of Management, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, Telangana, India

Abstract: The burgeoning industrialisation has been the cornerstone of the increasing relevance of Vocational Education and Training (VET) systems. VET has many societal and economic implications by boosting the employability and self-reliance among young individuals. Despite its salience, VET is plagued by increasing dropouts and shrinking enrolments. Guided by a conceptual framework, the current study investigates the role of demographics, socioeconomic status and their interactions in the motivational orientations involved in VET decision making. Data was collected from 408 first-year students enrolled in VET. The hypotheses are tested using hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The vital findings of the study focus on a novel model on decision making for VET, which offers empirical support for the relationships between demographic variables, socioeconomic status and motivation orientations. Implications for skill development and vocational education-based literature are provided. Future research can consider parents' autonomy-supportive behaviour as a mediator to socio-demographics and study choice motivation for a more comprehensive understanding.

Keywords: vocational education and training; socio-demographics; autonomous motivation; controlled motivation; skill development; interactions; socio-economic status; late adolescents; emerging adults.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2021.117590

International Journal of Management in Education, 2021 Vol.15 No.5, pp.477 - 506

Received: 12 Aug 2020
Accepted: 26 Nov 2020
Published online: 14 Sep 2021 *

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