Study title

Perceptions of Vocational Education: Adult Students in Vocational Education 2018

Dataset ID Number

FSD3337

Persistent identifiers

https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3337
https://doi.org/10.60686/t-fsd3337

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• IROResearch

Abstract

The survey charted the perceptions and opinions of adult students in vocational upper secondary education regarding vocational education and training in Finland. Main themes included, among others, reasons behind the respondents' choice of vocational education or training, perceptions of how general and vocational upper secondary education are appreciated, and opinions on studying. The study was commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Culture and Skills Finland. Data collection was conducted by IROResearch.

First, opinions on studying were examined with various statements concerning, for example, whether the respondents thought that studying was interesting, working was more interesting than studying, and their employer was interested in how they succeeded in their studies. Factors affecting the respondents' choice of vocational education or training (e.g. wanting to have a job with good pay, needing additional education in order to stay in the workforce, location of the school/education facility, uncertain financial circumstances) were also surveyed.

The respondents were asked how interesting different educational paths had been for them personally when they applied to vocational education or training (e.g. preparatory education for upper secondary vocational education and training (VALMA), competence-based qualification). The respondents' primary field of education (e.g. humanities and arts, natural sciences, information and communication technologies) was surveyed. Finally, the perceived usefulness of the respondents' studies in their future as well as their satisfaction in their education were examined with some attitudinal statements (e.g. whether they thought their upper secondary education would be useful in their future work and whether they would choose a different path of education if they could reapply).

Background variables included the language used to conduct the interview, the respondent's gender, age, region of residence (NUTS3), municipality of residence, highest level of education, occupation group, whether they had ever been unemployed and whether they had received any special support in their studies during the past two years.

Keywords

adult education; education; educational choice; educational opportunities; educational provision; upper secondary education; upper secondary schools; vocational education

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Vocational education and training (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Life-long/continuing education (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• IROResearch

Data Producers

• Ministry of Education and Culture

Time Period Covered

2018

Collection Dates

2018-10-10 – 2018-11-14

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Adult students in vocational education and training in Finland

Time Method

Longitudinal: Cohort/Event-based

Sampling Procedure

Probability: Simple random

In total, 300 adult students in vocational education and training were interviewed by phone.

Collection Mode

Telephone interview: Computer-assisted (CATI)

Research Instrument

Semi-structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

1.0

Related Datasets

FSD3333 Perceptions of Vocational Education: Ninth-Graders 2018

FSD3334 Perceptions of Vocational Education: Parents of Ninth-Graders 2018

FSD3335 Perceptions of Vocational Education: Lower Secondary School Guidance Counsellors 2018

FSD3336 Perceptions of Vocational Education: Second-year Students in Vocational or General Upper Secondary Education 2018

FSD3338 Perceptions of Vocational Education: Human Resources Administration in Companies 2018

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Variables K25 denoting the respondent's municipality of residence, K26 denoting the respondent's level of education and K31 denoting the kind of special support the respondent had received in their studies include more specific information in the data than in the questionnaire.

To prevent identification of participants, responses to variable K23 denoting the age of the respondent were categorised into five-year age groups at FSD.

The data do not contain open-ended variables or open-ended responses to response option "Other, please specify".

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

IROResearch: Perceptions of Vocational Education: Adult Students in Vocational Education 2018 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2020-06-16). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3337

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Other Material

See downloadable files at the top of the page.

Open-ended responses to the surveys are available as attached files in the PDF reports (in Finnish).

Related Materials

Ammatillisen koulutuksen mielikuvatutkimus 2018: Kvantitatiivinen osa: peruskoulun 9.-luokkalaiset, ammatillisessa koulutuksessa tai lukiossa toista vuotta opiskelevat, ammatillisessa koulutuksessa opiskelevat aikuiset sekä peruskoulun 9.-luokkalaisten vanhemmat (2018) IROResearch & Skills Finland & Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö.

Related Publications

Ammatillisen koulutuksen mielikuvatutkimus 2018: Keskeiset tulokset (2018) IROResearch & Skills Finland & Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö.

Ammatillisen koulutuksen mielikuvatutkimus 2018: Kvantitatiivinen osa: peruskoulun 9.-luokkalaiset, ammatillisessa koulutuksessa tai lukiossa toista vuotta opiskelevat, ammatillisessa koulutuksessa opiskelevat aikuiset sekä peruskoulun 9.-luokkalaisten vanhemmat (2018) IROResearch & Skills Finland & Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö.