Social Investment in Croatian Secondary Vocational Education System: Not (just) about the Money

Abstract

The key proposition explored in this paper is that secondary vocational education represents a field of social investment with a significant unfulfilled potential in the Croatian context; or more specifically, that it can yield more favorable social and economic “return”. This proposition is backed by three sets of arguments. Firstly, author outlines the structure of largely obsolete system of secondary (vocational) education which is in place from the Croatian independence onwards, despite yielding sub-standard social and economic outcomes. Secondly, analysis of interactions between key actors in the field of Croatian secondary vocational education is outlined, indicating that it commonly results in the “change that changes nothing”. Thirdly, analysis of developmental investments from regional (county) and European Social Fund sources points towards high degrees of discontinuity and territorial disparity. Based on these arguments author argues that social investment in Croatian secondary education currently fails to achieve either of its three basic functions: i) raising the “stock” of human capital; ii) easing the “flow” from education to labor market and full democratic citizenship; iii) decreasing levels of social deprivation among vulnerable groups included into secondary vocational education (“buffer”). In conclusion author deliberates on preconditions that need to be met in order to enhance quality of social investment in Croatian secondary vocational education system.