This study examines the lived experiences of vocational education students through 30 semi-structured in-depth interviews with students from vocational schools in Israel. Vocational schools in Israel tend to be populated by students of lower socioeconomic status (SES) and stigmatized ethnic groups who have failed academically in academic education frameworks (Eini, et al., 2022).

Despite the pedagogical diversity in vocational education, many countries share common characteristics. Firstly, most students come from a low-SES background, their parents are not highly educated, and they are members of minority groups (Chong, 2014; Ling, 2015; on the link between ethnicity and vocational school education, see Avis et al., 2017.) Second, vocational education graduates are characterized by low social status and low pay, which, in turn, produces an inferior public image of them (Down et al., 2019). A comprehensive European survey showed that the public views vocational education as mostly offering non-prestigious professions (Spruyt et al., 2015). Another comprehensive study conducted in Europe and Israel found that the learning environment in vocational education is typified by outdated learning methods, both in content and in teaching methods (Bartlett et al., 2014).

Some studies described that the social image of vocational education students is of academically failing students and "at-risk youth" (Ling, 2015). The existing stigma views vocational education as failure spaces, last chance, schools designated for disadvantaged groups in society. Similar findings have been described in various countries such as China (Ling, 2015), Denmark (Juul & Byskov, 2020),  England (Avis et al., 2017), Cambodia (Miller, 2020), Singapore (Chong, 2014), and Israel (Eini et al., 2022). Congruently, the OECD published a report in 2018 called Apprenticeship and Vocational Education and Training in Israel. It found vocational training in Israel to be at an inferior level. The offered vocational fields are characterized by low salaries and status, and vocational education graduates do not see their vocational certificates benefiting them in the job market. This report also revealed no advantage to vocational education graduates over those with similar characteristics who did not possess a vocational certificate.

In light of the noted characterizations and perceptions regarding vocational education students, it becomes crucial to ascertain their life experiences in their own words. However, only few studies have examined this among student samples. These studies have focused mostly on life experiences relating to the school-to-work transition (Pantea, 2020). Among these findings are those that have shown that students relate to their life experiences in terms of a "jungle" where they are required to navigate independently and seek vocational training through personal relationships (Tanggaard, 2013).

Youths in Swedish vocational education schools reported a sense of exclusion in training, manifested in a lack of interaction with the employees at the training facility and a lack of space for their opinions to be heard. At the same time, the students felt that the training helped them feel confident in their ability to perform tasks (Rönnlund & Rosvall, 2021). Similarly, in a Chinese study, the interviewed youths reported feeling exploited when placed in jobs that addressed the needs of the workplace rather than in tasks related to their studies (Pun & Koo 2019).

A Cambodian study found that youth who think and view the world independently are inclined to consider vocational education studies as an empowering force that enables freedom and facilitates their realizing individualistic values ​​like achieving economic independence (Miller, 2020).  The ability to work is a key motivating force to persevere in fulfilling these two values––financial independence and providing for the family––despite the tension between them (Pantea, 2020).

This qualitative study is based on in-depth interviews with 30 adolescents (16 boys and 14 girls) studying in vocational schools located in low-SES cities in Israel (referred to as development towns) located in Israel's geographical-social periphery (Eini et al., 2022). We selected these cities as the bulk of vocational schools is located in these towns. The interviewees ranged in age from 15–18, with a median age of 17. Most (25) of the interviewees were the third generation of Jewish families who had emigrated from Arab countries (Mizrahim in Hebrew). Among the participants were two girls whose parents emigrated from Ethiopia, two youths whose parents emigrated from the Former Soviet Union, and one boy whose parents emigrated from Romania. Twelve of the interviewees were enrolled in hairstyling and cosmetics tracks. Five of the students studied the following subjects: warehouse management, kitchen occupations, and auto mechanics. Two students studied graphic design, and one studied CNC (technical drawing). 25 interviewees were in the 11th and 12th grades, and five were in the 10th. All the participants' parents were employed in blue-collar occupations as salaried employees or self-employed. Among the self-employed parents, renovation contracting was the most common profession; among the salaried employees, most fathers worked in local factories, and most mothers worked in cleaning. The interviewees were recruited through school principals and counselors, personal contacts, and a snowball technique (where we requested each interviewee to refer us to additional students). The interviews lasted between 1.5–2 hours, with all interviews recorded and transcribed. The semi-structured interview comprised several sections: general introductory questions; describing the schools they attended and their school experiences; the decision to transfer to a vocational school; training; and work. All youths signed informed consent forms, and minors were given informed consent forms for their parents' signature. The study was approved by the ethics committee of the University and the Ministry of Labor and Welfare. This study used an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA; Larkin, Shaw, & Flowers, 2019) to help understand the meaning of being in the world by studying everyday experiences and understanding their meaning. Following IPA, several free transcript readings were conducted to understand the lived experiences of vocational education students. As part of the process, several themes were identified; these were scaled down until key themes were determined. MAXQDA software was used to organize and analyze the data.

The key findings indicate that the youths' lives are characterized by multiple experiences of exclusion, both before their enrollment in vocational education schools and during their time there. First, in their previous academic schools, they felt ignored, humiliated, labeled as pathological, failures, and “bad kids,” and heard from faculty that nothing would come of them. They further reported an attitude characterized by accusation, punishment, and a lack of opportunities to make their voices heard. An additional finding relates to the passivity, despair, and suspicion felt by the youths who were left to cope on their own with various systems in which adults who were meant to protect them did not do so, even violating their rights. The absence of significant adults to believe in them has caused them to feel frustration, despair, and voicelessness, which have been described as key characteristics of life under exclusion (Michael et al., 2015) Another term of exclusion, insufficiently discussed in the research literature, is "working students." Of the 30 interviewees, 25 were engaged in an intensive work schedule (more than 20 weekly hours) to support themselves or help their family financially. The findings reveal that students are exploited and their rights violated due to their being minors and lacking the protection of adults. Another key research finding identified the coping strategies of youth under exclusion, including framing these experiences as opportunities to learn about the real world and focus on the present to establish a sense of success and competence. Though the transition to vocational education was characterized as a space of exclusion, the youths reported disengaging from the negative images that were part of their experience in academic education and working to build a positive, successful self.

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