Student Transition to Vocational Education from Middle Secondary School in Australia and Lebanon: An Exploratory Study

This paper arises from an exploratory comparative study of student transition to vocational education (voced) from middle secondary school in Australia and Lebanon. Following an elucidation of the educational contexts in which this transfer may occur, data arising from surveys of first-year voced students who made this transition are presented and discussed. Converging themes were the link between vocational education and the acquisition of employment-related skills, and the perceived inadequacy of mainstream secondary schooling to meet these students' needs. Issues which brought about a divergence between the two groups highlight major differences between the two education systems. The paper ends with a series of recommendations for the beleaguered Lebanese voced system.