Meritocracy as a catalyst for the devaluation of vocational education and training

Abstract

The paper presents a research project that investigated the relationship between meritocracy and vocational education and training. In many countries, it can be observed that vocational education and training is not held in high social esteem and that a vast majority of young people prefers to go on to higher education. What is conspicuous here is a pronounced orientation towards the meritocratic principle. In the study, an ideal type of the relationship between meritocracy and vocational education and training was created, based on a synthesis of theoretical elaborations on performance/achievement, the merit principle, values and structures. According to the results, a meritocratic orientation acts as a catalyst for developments that contribute to the devaluation of vocational education and training. This leads, among other things, to vocational education and training only insufficiently fulfilling its qualification function and the employment market complaining of a shortage of skilled workers with a simultaneous surplus of academics.