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Closing the Gap between Vocational and General Education? Evidence from University Technical Colleges in England

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  • Machin, Stephen

    (London School of Economics)

  • McNally, Sandra

    (University of Surrey)

  • Terrier, Camille

    (Queen Mary University of London)

  • Ventura, Guglielmo

    (London School of Economics)

Abstract

Some countries, notably those which have long had a weak history of vocational education like the UK and the US, have recently seen a rapid expansion of hybrid schools which provide both general and vocational education. England introduced 'University Technical Colleges' (UTCs) in 2010 for students aged 14 to 18. 49 UTCs have been created since then. We use a spatial instrumental variable approach based on geographical availability to evaluate the causal effect of attending a UTC on student academic and vocational achievement and on their labour market outcomes. For those pupils who enter the UTC at a non-standard transition age of 14, UTCs dramatically reduce their academic achievement on national exams at age 16. However, for students who enter at a more conventional transition age of 16, UTCs boost vocational achievement without harming academic achievement. They also improve achievement in STEM qualifications, and enrolment in apprenticeships. By age 19, UTC students are less likely to be unemployed and more likely to study STEM at university.

Suggested Citation

  • Machin, Stephen & McNally, Sandra & Terrier, Camille & Ventura, Guglielmo, 2020. "Closing the Gap between Vocational and General Education? Evidence from University Technical Colleges in England," IZA Discussion Papers 13837, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13837
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    Cited by:

    1. Marco Bertoni & Gabriel Heller-Sahlgren & Olmo Silva, 2023. "Free to improve? The impact of free school attendance in England," CEP Discussion Papers dp1946, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    2. McNally, Sandra & Schmidt, Luis & Valero, Anna, 2022. "Do Management Practices Matter in Further Education?," IZA Discussion Papers 15213, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Bertoni, Marco & Heller-Sahlgren, Gabriel & Silva, Olmo, 2023. "Free to improve? The impact of free school attendance in England," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121281, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Bertoni, Marco & Heller-Sahlgren, Gabriel & Silva, Olma, 2023. "Free to Improve? The Impact of Free School Attendance in England," Working Paper Series 1476, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    5. Sandra McNally & Luis Schmidt & Anna Valero, 2022. "Do management practices matter in further education?," POID Working Papers 026, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.

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    Keywords

    tracking; technical education; school value-added;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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