_Policy, Planning, and Research Working Paper_ **_Series_** 12 Students in industrial schools spend three days a week in the plant where the school is located and three days in the school. The program is less demanding and more practical than the vocational school curriculum. No tuition is charged and trainees are paid for their work.

The one-year full-time training courses for 16 and 17-year-olds, many of whom are drop-outs, concentrate on practical training. Those who complete the course get additional training in the army during their compulsory three-year service.

Of the four types of training in Israel - vocational secondary schools, apprenticeship courses, industrial schools, and full-time training courses - vocational school is by far the most expensive. In 1977Michael Borusfoundthatthe costof apprenticeship courses was one-seventh that of vocational schools; industrial schools and training courses cost only a third to a quarter as much. This 7-year longitudinal study confirms Borus' earlier tentative findings, concluding that since post-training earnings were roughly the same for all four programs, the apprenticeship system was the most cost-effective.

These findings echo those of case studies in other countries. But, to conclude that vocational training schools are not cost-effective on the basis of eventual earnings alone is to ignore part of the picture. The goals of the vocational secondary school in Israel extend beyond those of providing usable labor market skills. These wider social and educational goals are largely absent from the narrower and more work-oriented types of training. In any cost-benefit evaluation of vocational schooling, these goals would have to be given more weight.

This paper is a product of the Education and Employment Division, Population and Human Resources Department. Please contact Workie Ketema, room S- 6228, extension 33651.

# 26. Changing Patterns In Vocational Education

## John Middleton

_Investment in secondary vocational schools has declined infavorofnonformal teaching systems, which take a long time and multiple investments to establish. The shift leaves secondary education in need of new direction._ One of the long-standing issues in education development has been productive job training in rapidly changing economies. The argument has been made that vocational secondary schools are not well- equipped for this task that they often become second-best educational alternatives for young people rejected by the academic mainstream. Although vocational and academic schooling often result in similar levels of education and employment, the higher costs of the vocational schooling make it a less attractive alternative.

tions that were created could respond easily to changing economic circumstances.

Although investment has been shifting into nonformal training, secondary education is in need of new directions. Diversified secondary schools have not provided that direction, leaving questions about how secondary schools might meet social objectives cost-effectively.

This paper is a product of the Education and Employment Division, Population and Human Resources Department. Please contact Workie Ketema, room S6228, extension 33651.

In the past 23 years of Bank lending 228, extension 33651. for vocational education and training (VET), there has been a clear shift away 27. Family **Background and** from vocational secondary schools toward **Student Achievement** various forms of training, outside the formal educational system. Marlaine E. Lockheed, Bruce Fuller, and Marlaine E. Lockheed, Bruce Fuller, and Ronald Nyimngo Some of the nonformal training programs have been quite successful. Nine characteristics have contributed to the success of three such programs in Korea, Jordan, and Brazil: _Prior research has underestimated the influence offamily background on student achievement in developing countries._

1. Long perspective with multiple investments: It took 15 years and more to establish each of the three programs and as many as five project investments.

Past research in developing countries has shown that school-related influences have a greater effect on student achievement than does family background, a finding that contrasts sharply with research in industrialized countries. This has led to the conclusion that schools in developing countries are more effective than schools in industrialized countries.

2. Expanding industrial employment: Industries in all three countries had a strong demand for skilled workers.

3. Small formal beginnings and incremental expansion: The first projects were relatively small and simple. In the middle and later stages the three countries were able to build and expand on their own experience.

But the earlier work suffersfrom conceptual flaws. Ithas defined family background in material terms and failed to consider other motivational factors. Earlierresearch has also used measurements (such as level of parental education and occupational status) more appropriate to the industrialized world than to the class structure of the country being studied.

4. Responsive planning: The training systems were planned in response to, not anticipation of, employment demand.

5. Early and sustained involvement of enterprises: Sustained efforts were made to link training with employment by involving employers.

Two studies of student motivational behaviorin Thailandand Malawi address these shortcomings. In the Thailand study, conventional measures of family background (parental education and occupation) were kept constant. Student achievement in both urban and rural settings was related to such motivational variables as educational expectations, attitudes and effort.

6. Evolution of policy and management capacity to match system complexity: As the training systems grew, quasiautonomous national agencies were created to manage job training.

7. Increasing attention to alternative financing sources: Efforts were made to find financing other than government appropriations from general tax revenues.

The Malawi study employed definitions of family background more relevant to a developing country: labor demands placed on children, basic attributes of houses, and mother tongue. These variables were more consistently related to pupil achievement than were the conven8. Investment in quality: The qualityandrelevanceofteachingandlearning was improved.

9. Flexibility of curriculum and institutional design: The training institu-