EDUCATION INDICATORS: An International Perspective

Indicator 3: Secondary Education Enrollment

The structure of upper secondary education

In the United States, a student's involvement in upper secondary education typically ends with graduation from high school at or around age 18. In other countries, however, because upper secondary education is structured differently, it is harder to pinpoint an age or an accomplishment that marks the end of involvement in secondary education. Thus, as the data from Indicator 3 show, upper secondary enrollment rates among people over the age of 19 remain relatively high for some countries (e.g., Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Switzerland), and tend to decrease after age 15_16 for others (e.g., the United Kingdom, Hungary, and the Czech Republic).

Upper secondary school in the United States typically consists of 3 or 4 years of high school. High schools are usually comprehensive, meaning that they do not specialize in one type of program, such as vocational or college preparatory. Students may take some courses in a particular vocational area, although upper secondary school is not generally the time students receive essential training or credentials in vocational areas. On average, 1992 high school graduates earned about 4 credits in vocational courses compared with 17 credits in academic courses.1 For both college-bound and non-college-bound students, a high school diploma signifies successful completion of upper secondary education. Students then may continue on to postsecondary education or enter the workforce. Beyond the age of 18, few people are enrolled in upper secondary education.

In other countries, upper secondary education can be structured quite differently from the comprehensive, general credential-granting high schools of the United States. In Germany, for instance, the secondary education system is differentiated according to students' postsecondary plans (i.e., university, technical school, or employment), beginning with lower secondary school; and students may earn credentials in a variety of fields. When students enter upper secondary school, they enroll in one of three types. Students who plan to attend a universityapproximately 25 percent of youth in a given age cohort2are usually already enrolled in Gymnasien, general academic high schools that prepare students to take the rigorous university entrance examination, the Abitur. Students not attending Gymnasien may enroll in full-time vocational schools, but the vast majority of students enroll in part-time vocational schools to participate in the dual system.

The dual system is Germany's system of apprenticeship.3 It combines part-time study with part-time work in a specific occupational field. The dual system is the sole means of entry into over 400 occupations, ranging from highly technical fields such as electronics, to white-collar fields such as sales and administration, to traditionally blue-collar occupations such as mechanic, machinist, and craftsman.4

Because the certification offered by the dual system is a prerequisite for so many fields, not only do large numbers of students enter it directly after completing lower secondary school (i.e., approximately two-thirds of lower secondary school completers), but significant numbers of students enter it even after having earned secondary certification, either in another type of schooling or in a different occupational field within the dual system. Approximately 90 percent of lower secondary completers participate in the dual system at some point, although not all earn certification.5 Thus, unlike in the United States, upper secondary education in Germany offers a variety of credentials necessary for employment in certain occupations. In order to earn those credentials, people outside the typical age range will enroll or re-enroll in upper secondary school.

As in many states in the United States, school attendance in the United Kingdom is compulsory until the age of 16. However, school attendance in the United States remains fairly high at age 16, whereas in the United Kingdom attendance drops substantially. One explanation for this difference may be found in the certification process. In the United States, the first opportunity for students to receive secondary certification is upon completing high school, usually at age 18. At age 16 in the United Kingdom, students take an examination for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). After receiving this certification, students may continue in the same school, usually for 2 more years (1 year in Scotland), ultimately earning the General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced (A') level after passing the examination for that level. This is the standard for entrance to higher education and many types of professional training. Other options for those completing the GCSE include entering the workforce or transferring to either a college of further education providing technical training or a technical college, both of which offer a wide range of vocational and academic courses, both full- and part-time.6

Footnotes

1/ U.S. Department of Education, ,The Condition of Education, 1994.

2/ Federal Ministry of Education and Science, Basic and Structural Data: 1992-93 (Bonn: 1992).

3/ The states of the former Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) have retained the dual system described here; the newly formed states of the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) have begun to adopt this system. such as sales and administration, to traditionally blue-collar occupations such as mechanic, machinist, and craftsman.4

4/ Federal Ministry of Education and Science, Report on Vocational Education (Bonn: 1991).

5/ Ibid.

6/ Neville T. Postlethwaite, ed., The Encyclopedia of Comparative Education and National Systems of Education (New York: Pergamon Press, 1988).

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