As the global demand for higher education (HE) rises, vocational education and training (VET) systems are offering alternative routes into HE and providing opportunities for students from disadvantaged backgrounds (Field & Guez, 2018). Following a previous VETNET symposium on 'Vocationally Oriented Schools as Stepping-Stones Towards Higher Education for First Generation Students? (ECER 2022 conference in Yerevan), several contributions to a subsequent thematic issue (Imdorf et al., 2025) investigated vocational schools as pathways to HE in various European and Asian countries. These contributions analysed the potential of vocational schools to enhance educational and social mobility. They demonstrate how vocational schools in various countries influence the permeability between VET and HE, shedding light on the diverse narratives across different educational settings. While in some countries (e.g. Germany and Austria) vocational schools have developed into legitimate, politically motivated paths towards HE, in other countries (e.g. Switzerland and Japan) they are less politically prioritised for widening HE access (Imdorf et al., 2025).

Despite the potential of vocational schools to act as a bridge to HE, the findings regarding their ability to compensate for social inequalities in HE access remain mixed. While they have increased access to university, they still appear to perpetuate social inequalities, albeit to a lesser extent than traditional access routes (e.g. Gymnasium in German-speaking countries or lycées généraux in France). However, some authors suggest that vocational schools could improve their impact by targeting their efforts more effectively, for example through stronger teacher engagement, better information and orientation for students, and structured pathways that acknowledge and address students’ diverse needs (Barber & Netherton, 2018; Dörffer & Bernhard, 2025). Nevertheless, studies demonstrating how vocational schools enable vulnerable young people to access HE remain scarce. Little is particularly known about this issue in Eastern Europe and the Global South, where vocational schools have become important access routes to HE (see Lukina et al., 2026, for Russia). This symposium therefore aims to further develop this emerging research field, focusing particularly on the institutional and social permeability (Bernhard 2019) of vocational schools and HE in (Eastern) Europe and Asia. 

Against the backdrop of extensive social selection and reproduction in access to HE in Bulgaria, a country where nearly half of the youth population enrols in vocational education, Paper One examines the extent to which vocational schools and academic achievements mitigate or exacerbate social inequality in HE access, and whether boys and girls reap equal benefits from the permeability between vocational education and HE. Paper Two explores the attitudes and actions of Chinese vocational schools towards students' expectations of HE in the Shandong region, and how the organisational behaviour of these schools is shaped by social dynamics. Although Norway offers several pathways for VET students to transition to HE, various factors prevent them from doing so (Schmees et al., 2024). Paper Three examines the social permeability of the supplementary academic year, which provides vocational students with access to higher education in Norway. It asks whether this measure broadens HE access for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, focusing particularly on the Healthcare programme. 

The three contributions bring together different conceptual perspectives, such as organisational sociology, institutional analysis, academisation versus vocationalisation, and social inequality and permeability, as well as methodologies, including surveys, case studies and the analysis of register data. This allows us to understand vocational schools as potential stepping-stones towards HE for vulnerable students. The contributions advocate the recognition and enhancement of vocational schools as vital components of the HE landscape in the interest of educational equality.

Barber, T., & Netherton, C. (2018). Transitioning between vocational and university education in Australia: The impact of the vocational education experience on becoming a university student. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 70(4), 600–618. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2018.1463279 Bernhard, N. (2019). Supporting the needs of vocationally qualified students – changes towards institutional permeability in Germany? Formation emploi, 2(146), 129–147. https://doi.org/10.4000/formationemploi.7255 Dörffer, N., & Bernhard, N. (2025). Overcoming Obstacles? Institutional Support for the Pathways to Higher Education at German Vocational Schools. Social Inclusion, 13, Article 8771. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.8771 Field, S., & Guez, A. (2018). Pathways of progression: Linking technical and vocational education and training with post‐secondary education. UNESCO. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000265943 Imdorf, C., Schuchart, C., & Bernhard, N. (2025). International Perspectives on Vocational Schools as Pathways to Higher Education. Social Inclusion, 13, 1-9. Artikel 11391. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.11391 Lukina, A., Maltseva, V., & Rozenfeld, N. (2026). Complex pathways of Russian university graduates: which pathways lead upwards? Higher Education Research & Development, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2026.2615306 Schmees, J.K., Smeplass, E., Skålholt, A., Hovdhaugen, E., & Imdorf, C. (2025). Pathways to higher education for vocationally qualified students. The case of Norway. Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy, 11:1, 93-106, https://doi.org/10.1080/20020317.2024.2384165