此为英文文档 Adolescent education,learning and skills development - technical paper

CRSHELARE/S

TECHNICALPAPER

AdolescentEducation,LearningandSkillsDevelopment

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IrisCaluag

InternationalConsultant

iriscaluag@

1ThistechnicalpaperispartofaseriespreparedfortheSecondAsia-PacificRegionalEducationMinisters’Conference

(APREMC-II)

.Thefindingsofthispaperwereusedtoinformthethematicdiscussionduringtheconferenceandweresummarizedinapolicybriefsharedwithallparticipantsaheadoftheconference.AllAPREMC-IItechnicalpapersandpolicybriefcanbeaccessedusingthislink:

bit.ly/APREMC2022PolicyBriefs

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TABLEOFCONTENTS

Introduction 3

KeyIssuesandChallenges 5

SecondaryEducation 5

SkillsDevelopmentandSecondaryandPost-SecondaryTVET 11

AlternativeLearningPathways 14

KeyPriorityAreasforAdolescentEducation,LearningandSkillsDevelopment 15

KeyPrioritiesforLearningRecovery 15

KeyPrioritiesforTransformingEducationandLearningforAdolescentsandYouth 16

Quality,relevantandinclusivesecondaryeducation 16

Post-secondaryTVETpromotingskillsforworkandemployability 17

Recognizedalternativelearningpathwaysaspartofalifelonglearningapproach 18

PolicyPointers 19

Policypointersforlearningrecovery 19

FormalSecondaryEducation 19

SkillsDevelopmentandTVET 20

PolicyPointersforTransformingEducationSystems 20

FormalSecondaryEducation 20

AlternativeLearning 22

SkillsDevelopmentandTVET 22

Bibliography 24

AppendixA:RelevantSustainableDevelopmentGoals,Targets,andDefinitions 30

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Introduction

Adolescence,thetransitionaryperiodbetweenchildhoodandadulthood,marksacriticalperiodofgrowthanddevelopment.Substantialphysical,socialandcognitivechangesoccurand‘interactwitheachotherandwiththeenvironmenttoshapepathwaystoadulthood’(NationalAcademiesofSciences,Engineering,andMedicine(NASEM),2019,p.37).These,inturn,enableadolescentstoengageincomplexcognitiveexercises,suchasabstractreasoning,futurethinkingandsocialcognition;helpexploreand

formidentities;andadopt,transform,andinternalizenorms(UNICEF,2019;NASEM,2019;Alliancefor

ExcellentEducation,2019).

Emergingevidencesuggeststhatchangesoccurringduringadolescenceshapeandaresimultaneouslyshapedbylearning,skillsacquisitionandeducationalexperiences,ultimatelyaffectinghowadolescentsfeel,think,decideandinteractwithothers(UNICEF,2013).Asignificantbodyofliterature,forexample:Jodletal.(2001),Seiffge-Krenkeetal.(2010),Oysermanetal.(2006),Savitz-RomerjandBouffard(2012),findthattheenhancedcognitivecapacitiesofadolescentsatthisstageencourageadolescentstoidentifyandintegratelong-termgoalsintotheiridentitiesandclaimgreaterownershipandresponsibilityforschoolworkandgoal-achievement(NASEM,2019).Somestudies,suchasSchurer(2017),alsofindlinkagesbetweeneducationexperiencesandimprovementinadolescents’lifeskills,withoneextrayearofeducationimprovingindividuals’emotionalstability,futureorientation,risktoleranceandopennesstoexperience,amongothers.

Giventheimportanceoflearningandeducationenvironmentstoadolescentdevelopment,‘how’‘what’and‘whether’thenear-halfbillionadolescentsandyouthintheAsia-Pacificregionlearndeterminestheirabilitytolearnfurther,enterthelabourmarketandparticipateinsociety.Secondaryeducationshouldprepareadolescentsandyoungpeopleforfurtherlearning,eventualentryintothelabourmarketandparticipationinsociety.Indoingso,adolescentsandyouthwouldbeabletobuildonlearningacquiredfromprimaryeducationandpreparethemforpost-secondarynon-tertiaryeducationandtertiaryeducation.Thiswillalsofacilitatetheirworkplacetransitionand,accordingtosomestudies,supportbroaderempowerment,aswellasmeaningfulengagementindecision-making.

Howdoadolescentslearnintheregion?

IntheAsia-Pacificregion,adolescentsandyoungpeoplelearninvariousways–throughformalsecondaryeducation,formalpost-secondaryeducationandalternativenon-formalprogrammes.

Figure1:Educationprogrammesforadolescentsintheregion

Source:author’svisualisation.

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Formalsecondaryeducationistheconventionalage-appropriatepathwayforadolescentswhostartedschoolingontimeandwhoprogressedthroughformaleducationwithminimaldisruptions.Secondaryeducationbuildsuponfoundationallearningfromprimaryeducationanditwidensanddeepenslearning(UNESCOInstituteofStatistics(UIS),2022a).Itcoverslowersecondaryeducation,whichiscompulsoryandfreeinmostAsia-Pacificcountries,aswellasuppersecondaryeducation,whichincludesmultiplepathways(generalandvocational).Uppersecondaryeducationisnon-compulsoryformostcountriesintheregionandinsomecountriesitisnotfree(UIS,2022a).

Formalpost-secondaryeducationisapossiblepathwayafteruppersecondaryeducationforskillsforemployment.

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Focusingonschool-to-worktransition,TechnicalVocationalEducationandTraining(TVET)programmesparticularlyprovide‘learningexperiencesthatarerelevanttotheworldofwork…preparingyoungpeoplefortheworldofworkandprovidethemwiththeskillsnecessarytofinddecentemployment’(UNESCO-UNEVOCInternationalCentreforTechnicalandVocationalEducationandTraining,2013,p.3).TVETincludeswork-basedlearningandcontinualtrainingandprofessionaldevelopmentanditpromoteslifelonglearning(UNESCOGeneralConference,2015).

Alternativenon-formalprogrammes,suchasacceleratededucationprogrammes,catch-uporremediation,andbridgeprogrammes,areofferedtoadolescentsandyouthwhoareoutofschool(OOSCY)tore-engagethemineducation,continuelearningandactasabridgetoformaleducationandthelabourmarket(UNESCO,2011;UNICEF,2019).DifferentprogrammesshouldbeusedtotargetdifferentOOSCYsandadolescentsandyouthnotineducation,employment,ortraining(NEETs).

Whilenotdiscussedinthispaper,informaleducation–wherelearningisintentionalbutnotinstitutional–alsobroadlycaptureslearningexperiencesoutsideoftheseothereducationforms.Atwo-yearstudyin2000foundthatmosthumanlearninghappensinformally,somuchsothateveryhourofformallearningprecipitatesfourhoursofinformallearning(CoferinLatchem,2014).

Willtheregiondelivereducationtargetsby2030?

WhilethereisrecognitionofmassiveimprovementsfromAsia-Pacificcountriesintermsofpromotingadolescenteducation,learningandskillsdevelopment,recenttrendsindicatethattheregionisnotontracktoachievethedesirededucationandlearningoutcomesforadolescentsandyouth–especiallyforthefollowingSustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs)andtargets

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:

.Goal4(QualityEducation):Completionofafree,equitableandqualitysecondaryeducationandeffectivelearningoutcomes(target4.1.);Equalaccesstoaffordabletechnical,vocational,andhighereducation(target4.3.);Increasethenumberofpeoplewithrelevantskillsforfinancialsuccess(target4.4.);Eliminatealldiscriminationineducation(target4.5.);andUniversalliteracyandnumeracy(target4.6.).

.Goal8(DecentWorkandEconomicGrowth):Promoteyouthemployment,education,andtraining(target8.6);andEndmodernslavery,trafficking,andchildlabour(target8.7).

TheEconomicandSocialCommissionforAsiaandthePacific’s(ESCAP)2022assessmentfindslittle,tonoprogressinachievingseveralSDGs,includingGoal4andGoal8,fromacrossallsub-regions.DatafromAsia-Pacificcountriesshowthateducationoutcomeshavedeterioratedandinequalitieshavewidened,

2Thispaperfocusesonpost-secondarynon-tertiaryTVETprogrammes.Tertiaryeducationisaddressedinadifferentpaper.3AppendixAincludesatabledefiningeachrelevantSDGtarget.

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especiallyintheaftermathoftheCOVID-19pandemic,aswellasthe‘continuedunsustainabledevelopment…[and]increasedfrequencyandintensityofthehuman-madecrisisandnaturaldisasters’(p.2).ESCAP(2022)furtherrecommendssignificantinvestmentstoaccelerateprogressforSDGtargets4.3,4.4.,4.6.,and8.6,andreversetrendsrelatedtoSDGtarget4.5(seeFigure2).

Thechallenge,therefore,foreducationandtrainingsystemstakeholdersanddecision-makersishowtoensurealladolescentsandyoungpeopleintheAsia-Pacificreceivequalityeducation,learningandskillsdevelopmentopportunitiesthatwouldfacilitatetheirtransitionintotheworldofadulthoodandworld

ofwork–evenamidstsignificantshockssuchastheaftermathoftheCOVIDtheFourthIndustrialRevolution(4IR)andperiodsofconflictandfragility.

pandemic,climatechange,

KeyIssuesandchallenges

Variousexperts,includingUNESCO(2018),theWorldBank

(2019),andtheWorldBank,UNESCOandUNICEFcollectively(2021),warnofalearningandskillingcrisisaffecting

adolescentsandyouthintheAsia-Pacific.Thishasworsenedthroughout4IRandtheCOVID-19pandemic.Majorissues

remaininrelationtothefollowing:

.Students’access,retentionandcompletionofuppersecondaryeducation;

.Qualitylearningamongstudents;

.Transitiontohigherlevelsofeducationandemployment,particularlyforyoungwomen;

.TVETofferingsanddemandinAsia-Pacificcountries;

.TVETsystemcapacitytomeetfutureskillsdemands;

.Recognitionofalternativelearningpathways.

Secondaryeducation

Students’access,retentionandcompletionofsecondaryeducationareissues,particularlyforuppersecondaryeducation.PriortotheCOVID-19crisis,manypartsoftheAsia-Pacificregionwitnessedimprovementsintheshareofadolescentsandyouthcompletingsecondaryeducation.

Enrolmentratesintheregionrosebytwentypercentagepointsfrom2000to2018(UIS,2021a).Sub-regionally,SouthAsiaratesincreasedtoseventypercentfromforty-threepercentfrom2000to2016,whilstinthePacific,thisincreasedfromsixty-threepercentin2000toseventy-fourpercentin2013.

Despitethesepositivetrends,manyadolescentsandyouth,

Figure1:RegionalProgressforGoals4andGoal8

Source:ESCAP,2022.

mainlyamongthelowestsocioeconomicquintilesandamongvulnerableandmarginalizedgroupsinlow-andmiddle-comecountrieswereoutofschool(ILOandADB,2020;UIS,2021a;UIS,2021b).

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Forexample,inEastAsiaandthePacificregions,9.45millionadolescentsoflowersecondaryanduppersecondaryageswerenotinschoolbeforetheCOVID-19crisis(UNICEF,n.d.).

Genderandsocioeconomicstatuscontinuetobeamongthefactorsforexclusionfromsecondaryeducation.Studentsfrompoorerhouseholdsaremorevulnerabletoeconomicshocks,resultinginahigherprobabilityofdropouts.Thehighdirect–andindirect–costofuppersecondaryeducationandlackofaccesstofreeeducationandsocialservicesimpedethisgroupfrominvestinginuppersecondaryeducation,astheywouldhavetobearthecoststhemselves.

Furthermore,insomecountries,thiscanbeexacerbatedbygenderasadolescentboysareexpectedtosupplementtheirfamilies’incomebyengaginginchildlabourandthiscandisrupttheirabilitytolearnandcontinuestudying(Chavezetal.,n.d.).Ontheotherhand,theriskofearlymarriageandadolescentpregnanciesaffectmanygirlsandyoungwomenandthisiscoupledwithadisproportionateshareofhouseholdresponsibilitiesandexpectationstofulfilcaredutiesathome(UNICEF,2021;Chavezetal.,n.d.).

TheCOVID-19crisishaslikelyledtomoreadolescentsandyouthdroppingoutofformalsecondaryeducation.Whilespecificdataontheadolescentandyouthgroupisnotreadilyavailable,itisestimatedthatoverall,twelvemillionchildrenandadolescentsdroppedoutduetotheCOVID-19pandemicinSouthandWestAsia(UNICEFandUNESCO,2021).

Povertycanalsoplayasignificantroleinaccessingdistancelearningalternatives,suchasthoseofferedduringCOVID-19schoolclosures,especiallywhentheseoptionsrelyonInternetconnectivity.Globally,studentsfromthepoorerwealthquantileshavetheleastaccesstotheInternetcomparedtothewealthiesttwentypercent.Still,thediscrepancyishighestamongthoselivinginlow-andlower-middle-incomecountries(Figure3)(ADB,2022).InNepal,onlineclasseshavebeenofferedtomitigatethepandemic’simpactonlearning,butonlyfifty-sixpercentofhouseholdsacrossthecountryhaveInternetaccessandmostofthesearefamiliesbasedinurbancentres(Dawadi,Giri,Simkhada,2021).

Figure2:Internetaccessofstudentsbasedonwealthquintile

Source:ADB,2022.

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LearningoutcomesremainlowinmanyAsia-Pacificcountries

Qualitylearningisessentialforstudentstoprogresstowardhighereducationlevels,promoteintergenerationalmobilityinsocietyandcontributetotheempowermentofadolescentsandyouth,especiallygirlsandyoungwomen(Herbertetal.,2021;WorldBank,2018).Whilesomehigh-incomecountriesintheAsia-Pacifichavehighlevelsoflearningperformanceatthesecondarylevel,manystudentsintheregiondonotreachminimumproficiencyinnumeracyandliteracy–norhavelearnedtransferable,digitalandjob-specificskills(Seebox1).

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Box1:Thedifferenttypesofskills

IntheGlobalFrameworkonTransferableSkills,UNICEFidentifiesfourcategoriesofskillsthatenableadolescentsandyoungpeopletosucceedinschool,lifeandwork.Theseare:

1.Foundationalskills(forexample,literacyandnumeracy):Theseareskillsconsideredessentialforfurtherlearning,productiveemploymentandcivicengagement.

2.Transferableskills(alsoknownaslifeskills,21stcenturyskills,softskills,orsocio-

emotionalskills):Theseareskillsthatenableyoungpeopletobecomeagile,adaptive

learnersandcitizenswhocannavigatepersonal,academic,socialandeconomic

challenges.Examplesincludeproblem-solving,negotiation,managingemotions,empathyandcommunicationskills.

3.Digitalskills:alongwithdigitalknowledge.Suchskillspromotedigitalliteracy,enablingadolescentsandyouthtouseandunderstandtechnology,searchforandmanage

information,communicate,collaborate,createandsharecontent,buildknowledgeandsolveproblemssafely,criticallyandethically.

4.Job-specificskills(alsoknownastechnicalandvocationalskills):Theseareskillsassociatedwithoneormoreoccupations(forexample,carpentry,accounting,

engineering)andtheysupporttransitiontotheworkforce.

Formoreinformationabouttheseskills,seeUNICEF,2019.Access:

GlobalFrameworkon

TransferableSkills.

Aslearninggapscompoundovertime,studentswhodonotreachminimumproficienciestendtostruggletocatchupandtheydropoutaltogether,leaveschoolwithpoorerlearningoutcomesandendupindisadvantagedearningpositionsasworkers(Hanushek,andWoessmann,2020).

Becauseadolescentsandyoungpeoplearelearningmuchlessthantheyshould,theyarealsoacquiringfeweressentialskillsthatwouldhelpthemsucceedinthe21stcentury–especiallyathighereducationlevels.Thisimpairstheirpotentialtopursuedecentjobsandparticipatemoreactivelyinsociety.Thisisconfirmedbyemployers,whosehiringexperiencesrevealchallengesinfindingqualifiedandskilledcandidatesamongyoungjob-seekers.

4Foradefinitionoftheskills,see:UNICEF,2019

,GlobalFrameworkonTransferableSkills.

P.1.

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Nearlyfouroutoftenemployers(thirty-ninepercent)fromninelow-tohigh-incomecountriesindicatedthatyoungjob-seekersdidnotpossesstherightskillsforentry-levelpositions,withafurtherthirty-sixpercentstatingthatalackofskillsamongprospects‘causedsignificantproblemsintermsofcost,quality

andtime’(McKinseyCentreforGovernment,2013).

Skillsshortages,eveninknowledge-basedeconomieslikeSingaporeandrapidlygrowingsectors(includingICT),havealsobeenobserved,withseventy-percentofSouth-EastAsiahiringmanagerstaking,onaverage,threemonthstofindtherighttalent(DeloitteGlobal,andGlobalBusinessCoalitionfor

Education,2018).Significantareaswhereskillsdeficitshavebeenfoundarefoundational,digitalandtransferableskills.

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Box2:TheimpactofCOVID-19onadolescentandyouthlearningintheAsia-Pacific

WhiledataontheCOVID-19impactonlearningoutcomesinsecondaryeducationremainssparse,manystudiesprojectawideningoflearninggapsatthesecondarylevel.WorldBanksimulationsattheendof2020showthatseven-monthclosurescouldtranslatetolostlifetimeearningsofUS$17trillionandagloballossof0.9learning-adjustedyearsofschooling(UNESCO,UNICEFandWorldBank,2021).Intheregion,learninglossesrangefromeightpercentinthePacific;twenty-fourpercentinCentralAsia;thirty-fivepercentinSouth-EastAsia;tofifty-fivepercentinSouthAsia,translatingtoaroundUS$1.25trillioninearninglosses–or5.4percentofAsia’sgrossdomesticproduct(GDP)in2020(Figure4)(ADB,2021).

Limiteddatamakesitdifficulttogaugetheactualextentoflearninglossintheregion,particularlyforadolescentsandyoungpeopleinsecondaryandpost-secondaryeducation,becauseofprolongedschoolandtrainingcentreclosures.Insomescenarios,schoolsimplementedareducednumberoflearninghourswithdistanceeducation,whichlimitedtheopportunityforstudentstoacquirenewinformationanddevelopvitalskillssuchascognitive,socialandemotionalskillsforpersonalgrowth.Evenknowledgegainedduringclassroomdiscussionsisatriskofbeingforgottenduringthepandemic-enforcedschoolclosures(ADB,2022).

Figure3:LearninglossperregionduringCOVID-19

Source:ADB,2022.

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a.Foundationalskills

Ascriticallearningblocks,foundationalskills,forexample,readingandnumeracy,enablelearnerstobuildsolidfoundationsforfurtherlearning,includingothercompetenciesandprogressthrougheducation,sotheyhavetheabilitytomakeacontributiontoacountry’seconomyandsociety(Herbert

etal.,2021;WorldBank,2018).Withoutfoundationalskills,studentsencounterasteeplearningcurveandthisimpedestheirabilitytocatchupastheymovethroughtheeducationlevels(UNICEF,2022).

LearningoutcomesinfoundationalskillsvarywidelybetweenAsia-Pacificcountriesandwithincountries.Mostfifteen-year-oldsandGradeNinestudentsinhigh-incomecountriessuchasJapan,KoreaandSingaporehavereachedatleastaminimumproficiencyinnumeracyandliteracy,asshownbytheProgrammeforInternationalStudentAssessment(PISA)andTrendsinInternationalMathematicsandScienceStudy(TIMSS)(IEA,2018;OECD,2019).However,overathirdofstudentsinlow-andmiddle-incomecountrieswithavailabledataintheAsia-Pacificdonotreachminimumproficiencyinliteracyandnumeracyattheageoffifteen,orGradeNine(seeFigure5).

4:studentsatleastaminimumlevelattheendlowereducation

FigureProportionofachievingproficiencyofsecondary

Source:UISDatabase(PISA2018andTIMSS2018).AccessedMarch2020.

Disparitiesinlearningoutcomeswithincountriesarealsosubstantial.Studentsfromsocio-economicallydisadvantagedbackgroundsarelesslikelytoreachminimumproficiencyinliteracyandnumeracythantheirpeersfrommoreadvantagedbackgrounds.

InSouthandSouth-EastAsiancountriesparticipatinginPISA2018,seventypercentofstudentsfromthebottomtwentypercentofthesocio-economicdistributiondidnotreachminimumproficiencyinnumeracy,comparedtolessthanthirtypercentamongstudentsfromthetoptwentypercent.Moreover,acrossEastAsia,South-EastAsiaandthePacific,socioeconomicallyadvantagedstudentsscored75pointshigherinthePISA2018readingtestthanthosefromthebottomtwentypercent.Thisisequivalenttoabouttwoyearsofschooling(WorldBank,2019).

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b.Digitalandtransferableskills

Thedemandfortransferableanddigitalskillshasincreasedsignificantlyamidst4IRandmorerecently,labourmarketchangesresultingfromtheCOVID-19pandemic.Skillssuchasself-management,interpersonalskillsandstresstolerancedifferentiatehumanworkersfrommachinesandhelpmitigatejoblossesfromautomation(UNICEF,2021).Othertransferableskillsindemandincludeproblem-solving,criticalandcreativethinking,collaboration,andcommunication,inadditiontodigitalskillsandknowledge(OECD,2021;ForbesHumanResourcesCouncil,2021;WorldEconomicForum,2020;Coberly-Holt,Elufiede,n.d.).

Despitetheirprovenimportance,digitalandtransferableskillshavenoteffectivelybeenintegratedintosecondaryeducationteachingandlearning.Constraintssuchaslackofteachers’readinesstoteachtheseskills,lackofalignmentoftextbooksandassessmenttools,aswellasparentsandsociety’spressureforanarrowerfocusoncorecompetenciesandsubjectsarelimitingthedevelopmentoftheseskillsatthesecondarylevel(OECD,2020)

Skillsdevelopmentandsecondaryandpost-secondaryTVET

Anincreasingshareofadolescentsandyoutharefindingitchallengingtotransitionintohigherlevelsofeducationandemployment,particularlyyoungwomen.Asanessentialyouth-relatedtargetfortheSDGs,therateofNEETyouthissuggestiveofthe‘untappedpotentialofyouth’,specificallythosewho

areexcludedfromthelabourmarketandsocialexclusion(ILO,n.d).AsNEETs,adolescentsandyouth

cannotgainknowledgeandskillsthatwouldmakethemmoreemployable,norcouldtheyparticipateintheworldofwork.(ILO,n.d.;ILO,2021).

Socialandculturalnormssignificantlyaffectyoungwomen’slackofaccesstoeducation,training,and

employment,causinggendergaps(ILO,2020).ThisisevidentinthehighNEETratesamongyoung

womeninSouthAsia,EastAsiaandSouth-EastAsia(Figure6).From2018to2020,NEETratesforyoungwomeninSouthAsiawerebetween48.5percentagepointsand48.3percentagepoints.InEastAsia,

thegapbetweenNEETratesforyoungwomenandyoungmenrangedfrom9.5percentagepointsin2018to8.6percentagepointsin2020.

Figure5:YouthNEETratespersub-region

0

60

50

40

30

20

10

48.5

47.4

48.3

23.8

23.3

24.8

12.9

12.6

14.7

35.8

35.2

35.9

16.8

16.6

17.6

12.3

12.1

13.6

21.8

21.7

22.2

17.2

16.8

17.6

12.3

12.2

13.8

22.2

21.6

21.6

16.1

15.8

16.9

15.2

15.2

16.8

17.1

16.6

17

30.1

29.3

31.1

13.5

12.9

15.6

totalmalefemaletotalmalefemaletotalmalefemaletotalmalefemaletotalmalefemaleAsia-PacificEastAsiaSouthEastAsiaPacificIslandsSouthAsia

201820192020

Source:ILOstat.Access:

ILOstat

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Furthermore,whileyouthemployabilityandemploymenttrendsalreadypresentedchallengesbeforethepandemic,theseworsenedattheonsetofCOVID.Limitedjobvacanciesinthemarketandschool-to-worktransitionshavebeenprolonged.Theriskofbeinglaidoff,orworkinginprecarioustemporaryjobsthatshutdownduetoCOVID-19ishigherforyouthagedeighteentotwenty-fouryearsthanforotheragegroups.

Technicalandvocationaltraininghelpimproveemploymentoutcomesforyouthbutdemandandsupplyremainlimited.Technicalandvocationaltrainingisoftenofferedasatrackinformalupper

secondaryeducationandasapost-secondaryoptionforyoungpeople.TVETprogrammesinbothsecondaryandpost-secondaryprovideyoungpeoplewithanexcellentopportunitytoacquiretherelevantskillsandimprovetheiremploymentprospectsandincome.

DespitethepotentialforTVETprogrammestoimproveemploymentandearningprospectsforyoungpeople,enrolmentratesintheseprogrammesvaryacrossAsiaandthePacificsub-regions.EnrolmentinTVETremainslowerthaningeneralprogrammes,especiallyinSouthandSouth-EastAsia(UNESCOandUNICEF,2021).

Insomecases,thestigmaaroundTVETplaysarole.Forexample,inChina,India,IndonesiaandtheRepublicofKorea,parentsandyoungpeopleseeTVETasasecond-choiceeducationalcareeranditisperceivedtobeintendedforthelesswell-offandthemarginalized(Schrõderetal.,2013).ThiscanpartiallyexplainwhyenrolmentinTVETremainslowinsomelow-andmiddle-incomecountries,forexample,only0.5percentinLaoPDR,1.9percentinBangladesh,5.6percentinThailandand9.8perce