Conference Agenda

Singapore has been recognised as a high performing education system that other countries are very keen to learn from. However, scholars have noted how meritocracy measured by academic achievement has become the main key to (material) success in the Singaporean society which has traditionally valued efficiency, quantifiable performance (appraisals) and productivity (e.g. Chong 2014). This leaves a narrow space for individuals to negotiate their individual sense of becoming successful adults.

There are attempts to broaden the conceptions of success. In August 2021, Singapore’s Education Minister Chan Chun Sing exhorted Singapore educators and parents to broaden their definition of success beyond academic goals (Low, 2021; Wong, 2021). He also commented on the need to take care of segments of the population that may not be involved in high-growth sectors. Earlier in May 2021, now Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat noted that the traditional 5Cs of the Singapore dream - cash, car, credit card, condominium, and country club membership - no longer resonate with the youth of today, suggesting a shift in cultural values and aspirations (Lai, 2021) Yet, the education pathways are to a good extent still determined by educational success and exam results as early as after primary school with the Primary School Leaving Examination results (PSLE). The academic/vocational divide in Singapore also remains with the strong hierarchy of knowledge and skills unchallenged.

In this paper, we will examine the nuances of the education agenda for vocational youths as they transited from school to work and into adulthood. These youths were graduates of the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), the post-secondary vocational institution in Singapore, that is often not seen as a school of choice given its relative positioning in the Singapore education system. With most of them in their mid careers, investigating the narratives of their life trajectory, looking at their sense-making over their aspirations, choices and challenges, would shed light on the meanings they accord to success as they navigate the educational system, work and stigma.

Drawing on the constructivist paradigm, this study aims to respond to the following guiding questions: What are their subjective experiences of education, work and transitioning into adulthood? What life lessons do they hold dear and meaningful navigating their subjectivity? Class, status and politics of recognition assign privilege or injury depending on the economic structure and the cultural status order prevailing in society (see Fraser, 2007). In Singapore, academic knowledge has power, yet, as this study showcases, knowledge of power becomes visible for those with less status but who might build wisdom through experiences and struggles.

The data was collected through a modified Biographical Narrative Interpretive Method (BNIM). Focusing on those who have graduated between 1993 to 2005, we further explored the meaning of knowledge and wisdom as constructed through their experiences of navigating choices and expectations. This study has implications for redefining the purpose of education, and rethinking the role of vocational pathways and education success in Singapore.

Reflection plays a crucial role in career planning by helping to integrate and change different perspectives. We refer to the theory of transformative learning (TL) (Mezirow, 2009). TL aims to develop alternative realities based on an individual examination of the social environment. This allows people to design their career perspective (Savickas et al., 2009). Whether we can support reflection and TL in career planning with digital tools on the lower secondary level in a school context is an open question we address in our project www.digibe.ch.

For years, we have found that the choices of young people in the transition from school to work are rather predictable. Girls with good grades have a higher chance to go to general education, boys to a demanding technical apprenticeship. For girls, jobs in the health sector are seemingly more attractive than for boys, whereas boys are more inclined towards skilled trades.

So, we need to discuss the role of teachers in career education and the motivation and engagement of students in relation to their career planning. It is also the question whether career guidance at the lower secondary level should aim at solving the problem to find a follow-up solution (counselling) or to induce reflection and critical thinking (career education) (Guichard, 2022). In the Swiss context, the momentum is more on counselling than education.

Adolescence is a period in which students can make decisions about their career paths that may have a long-term impact on their futures (Mann et al, 2020). Students’ expectations of their intended career can have an influence on both the subjects’ they choose to study, and how they view their progression in education (Givord et al, 2020). Parental influences have long been acknowledged as being instrumental in shaping adolescents’ view of themselves, and what they wish to do for a future career (Oliveira et al, 2020). Therefore, examining the impact of parental factors is of key importance for informing career development programmes within education systems. International large-scale assessments such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study, enable researchers to examine both the career expectations of students in Ireland, and the potential effects that parental factors on these expectations at a national level. This is of particular importance considering the Covid-19 pandemic. Students were not only exposed to remote/at home learning (with their parent’s support) for a large duration of their schooling, but they were also able to see the strains that the pandemic had on several career sectors e.g. in the health sector and in education.

Due to the cyclical nature of the PISA assessments, which are administered every three years (2015, 2018 and 2022), the most recent cycles provide a key opportunity to examine how the career expectations of 15- and 16-year-olds in Ireland have changed in recent years. This research will also examine if students intended career level matches that of their parents or potentially exceeds it, and whether parents own education, and occupations, have any effect on how pupils envision their own careers. Finally, the analysis will examine the level of support provided at home by parents, by career choice, and note if the level of support differs by students’ career choice.