BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.12, No.1, 2022 1601 

 

 

 

 

An “Assurance of Security” or “Agent of Tracking”? 

An Empirical Study of the Impact of Vocational Edu-

cation on Social Mobility 

By Wang, Y. J. & Hu, H. Q. 
Correspondence to: Yijun Wang, Institute of Vocational Education, Tongji Uni-

versity, China. E-mail: wyjxgh@tongji.edu.cn 

UBLISHED in the Journal of East China Normal University (Educa-

tional Sciences), this study drew on data from the China Family Panel 

Survey (CFPS) by the Institute of Social Science Survey at Peking Universi-

ty as the research sample to examine the impact of education on social mo-

bility as well as the influences of the registered residence, administrative re-

gion and other factors on social mobility of populations with different educa-

tional levels. The descriptive analysis and linear regression methods were 

adopted in the research. The results of the study are as follows: 

 A longitudinal comparison of the social status between popula-

tions of various educational backgrounds revealed that generally, 

those that have received higher education had higher socio-

economic status; compared with the junior secondary education 

group, the vocational education cohort enjoyed higher incomes 

and social status. To be more specific, people with vocational ed-

ucation background usually have relatively more stable incomes 

and could avoid the risk of falling into the bottom end of the labor 

market, which is a security particularly to socio-economically 

disadvantaged individuals. With the increase of age, their income 

levels tend to improve, further promoting the advancement of 

their social status. Therefore, vocational education can provide an 

“assurance of security for individuals involved and their families. 

 According to the descriptive analysis of the intergenerational so-

cial mobility of the vocational education group, children’s the ed-

ucation levels exceeded those of parents to a large extent, voca-

tional education can enable children to obtain more incomes than 

their parents, giving families (especially rural families) strong 

economic support, and there are more possibilities of occupation-

al advancement among the younger generation. However, the so-

cial status of the younger generation tends to fluctuate around the 

P 

mailto:wyjxgh@tongji.edu.cn


 

Vol.12, No.1, 2022 1602 

level of that of their parents, and the upward margin of social mo-

bility is constrained. 

 The regression analysis results indicated that vocational education 

could more significantly promote social mobility for rural fami-

lies and families in relatively backward western regions than for 

urban families and those in developed eastern regions. 

It can be concluded from research findings that it is difficult for voca-

tional education group to obtain a substantial raise in social status due to 

their limited family economic, social, and cultural capital, the “utilitarian” 

nature of vocational education itself, and the labor market structure, yet they 

can still achieve a socio-economic status above the social average, which has 

the tendency to improve over time. However, from an individual or family 

perspective, vocational education can provide an “assurance of security” and 

to a certain extent promote positive social mobility. In general, the security 

function of vocational education is more significant, though its function of 

tracking is still strong, and the gap in socio-economic status between the vo-

cational education and higher education cohorts will gradually expand over 

time. 

In light of that, the study suggests that vocational education should 

strive to offer students high-quality educational resources, increase employ-

ment opportunities, and improve social mobility, thus enhancing its function 

of assuring security. Especially, the government should increase subsidies for 

vocational education in the western region and guide rural families to take on 

vocational education through corresponding support policies. At the same 

time, we should encourage junior secondary graduates to receive vocational 

education and give full play to the positive role of vocational education in the 

context of industrial transformation and upgrading. 

 

Source: Journal of East China Normal University (Educational Scienc-

es),2022;2022(07):69-84.