Technological and Vocational Education Student’s Freedom to Change Majors: A Macro-Analysis of Major Shifting Author: Da-Sen Liu(Department of Sociology, Fo Guang University)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 52, No. 1
Date：April 2007
Pages：111-132
DOI：10.3966/2073753X2007045201006

Abstract：

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the pattern of students’ voluntary change in major when they continue their education from degrees of senior vocational high schools to 4-year technology institutes or to 2-year junior colleges for technological and vocational education (TVE). Most previous studies have focused on how social and psychological factors influence students’ choice of major, but very few have studied the pattern of moving from one stage to another, including “major shift,” in terms of a macro-perspective. This research project adopted a quantitative method to analyze the empirical data by employing the database “Taiwan Higher Educational Data System.” Empirical analysis of the results shows that: (1) the structure arrangement of major subjects in senior vocational schools is quite different from the arrangement in 4-year technology institutes and 2-year junior colleges; (2) the decision on the part of TVE students to change their major is partly a reflection of sexual segregation; (3) male students’ rate of “major shifting” is higher than that for female students, while the rate of “structural mobility” (changing easily from one form of structure to another) is higher for female than for male students. The author believes that the findings of this paper can not only serve as a basis for further research on the linkage between TVE and the labor markets, but also can contribute to TVE policy making.

Keywords：major, technological and vocational education(TVE), major mobility, major shift

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