Do Adult Immigrants Prefer Academic to Vocational Education? Evidence from a Survey of Public Opinion in Switzerland

In this paper, we are interested in determining the association between immigrant status and individual adult preferences for academic vs. vocational education. Preferences expressed by individuals that are neither directly nor indirectly in contact with the education system have been largely neglected, although their influence on policy-making through public opinion might be significant. This is an important research question because immigrants, despite having no voice in the host country as they are refused the right to vote, might still exercise their right of exit by expressing their discontent with the actual state of education, for instance through an increased demand for private education. Using a unique and original dataset in Switzerland, we explore differences between Swiss natives and immigrants regarding individual preferences for academic vs. vocational education. More particularly, we test the hypotheses that immigrants exhibit stronger preferences for academic education and that, within the group of immigrants, differences related to immigrant generation and the social distance to the host country exist. We find that first-generation and naturalized immigrants exhibit stronger preferences for academic education, whereas the preferences of second-generation immigrants do not significantly differ from those of Swiss natives. Further, variation across subgroups of immigrants based on their nationality indicates that cultural aspects matter to a certain extent, as the social distance to the culture of the host country (Switzerland) is associated with stronger differences in preferences and the labour market value and social status assigned to academic vs. vocational education. Interestingly, the presence of a well-established VET system in the country of origin does, however, not appear to strengthen preferences for vocational education in Switzerland. This might be related to less positive labour market outcomes for VET graduates in migrants’ countries of origin.