The perception survey commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Culture and Skills Finland examines the views, experiences, and perceptions of ninth-graders and their parents, general upper secondary students, vocational upper secondary students (both youth and adults), guidance counsellors, and company HR representatives regarding general and vocational upper secondary education. Data is collected every 2-3 years, mainly through telephone interviews. The first datasets archived at FSD are vocational education perception surveys from 2018. In the 2022 survey, the share of general upper secondary education has been reinforced.
The survey charted the perceptions, experiences and opinions of second-year students in vocational or general upper secondary education regarding upper secondary education in Finland. Main themes included, among others, reasons behind the respondents' choice of upper secondary education, 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.
First, students were asked how different factors affected their choice of upper secondary education (e.g. wanting to have a job with good pay, location of the school/education facility, parents' opinions). They were also asked what field they were studying, how interesting different educational paths had been for them personally when they had applied to upper secondary education (e.g. general or vocational upper secondary education, tenth grade) and how satisfied they were with their choice of education. Next, the respondents' plans after completing upper secondary education were examined (e.g. whether they planned to work straight away or study more). Finally, the respondents were presented with some attitudinal statements relating to, for example, 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 respondent's gender, response language, whether they studied in vocational or general upper secondary school, municipality of residence, region of residence (NUTS3), parents' highest level of education and occupation group.
The sample was randomly selected nationwide. In total, 726 second-year students in vocational or general upper secondary education were interviewed, 345 in vocational education and 381 in general upper secondary education. 318 students responded by telephone and 408 by online survey.