WiSel III (Wave 6): Educational pathways from primary school to employment: individual, family, school and company determinants

The project WiSel III continues the two projects "Institutional Determinants of Tracking during the Transition in Lower Secondary Education" (Effects of Tracking WiSel, No. 11063) and "Individual and Contextual Determinants of Vocational Choice and Entrance into Vocational Education and Training" (WiSel II; No. 12206). Data sets can be linked using the variable "abc_id": WiSel: https://www.swissubase.ch/en/catalogue/studies/11063/latestand WiSel II: https://www.swissubase.ch/en/catalogue/studies/12206/latest. In Switzerland, about two thirds of adolescents move on from compulsory schooling to vocational education and training (VET). Little is known from research on how primary school, the career decision process and family support at lower secondary level predict success in VET and the transition to subsequent employment (employment, further education, unemployment, interim solution) in Switzerland. Longitudinal studies from various countries on educational pathways and the transition from school to work are available. However, they do not analyse the specific situation of VET in Switzerland. The longitudinal project "Effects of tracking (German acronym: WiSel)", launched in 2011, is the first school-based intercantonal Swiss study in which adolescents are monitored longitudinally from the fifth grade to upper secondary and tertiary education. The study design thus differs decisively from other Swiss longitudinal studies in the subject area. The project addresses the following two key questions: (1) How do personal characteristics of adolescents and the beliefs and behaviours of teachers and parents in primary and lower secondary education influence adolescents’ completion of VET, the subjective assessment of the employment situation, and career plans after completion of VET? (2) How do career decision processes and experiences in the company during VET explain the importance of personal characteristics of the adolescent and of beliefs and behaviours of teachers and parents in primary and lower secondary education with regard to the completion of VET, the subjective assessment of the employment situation and career plans after completion of VET? The project is based on the expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation of Eccles and Wigfield (2002) in conjunction with the social cognitive career theory of Lent, Brown and Hackett (1994). Those 2376 adolescents who were surveyed in the ninth grade were asked to fill out a new survey five years after leaving compulsory school (Wave 6). In total, 743 adolescents participated in the Wave 6 survey between August 2021 and February 2022. Large scale standardized surveys were conducted using online questionnaires and CATI (Computer-assisted telephone interviewing). On a theoretical level, the project enables the development of models on transition from (vocational) education and training to employment. In practical terms, the results of the project provide research-based knowledge to manage VET for vocational guidance, vocational schools, professional organisations, cantonal administrations and, last but not least, for the SERI. It contains the potential to consider, in particular, new and previously unavailable findings on the conditions of career choice and training success in VET from a long-term career perspective. In addition to the national impact, the project is expected to have an impact on international career research due to its new findings. Websites: www.fhnw.ch/ph/wisel and www.wisel-studie.ch