Norwegian upper secondary education allows for permeability between vocational and academic tracks via a supplementary academic year, which grants vocational students access to higher education. This route is particularly common among vocational students in the Healthcare programme. However, concerns persist regarding both the academic preparedness of these students and the potential impact on the supply of healthcare assistants (see Meld. St. 16 (2010–2011), NOU 2019:25). This study compares Healthcare students who transition into higher education with peers from the academic track. Research questions: 1. How successful are students from the Healthcare programme in completing the academic qualification through the supplementary year? 2. Are Healthcare-students who have completed the supplementary programme as likely to start higher education as students from the general academic track? Conceptual embedding of the research question: There are different ways of viewing youth who start on a vocational education but transfer into an academic programme and end up with an academic qualification rather than a vocational one. Generally, this is thought of as ‘academisation’, or what is often described as a move away from the practice of ‘on the job-training’ (Kaiser, 2020). However, there are several other similar ways of interpreting this phenomenon. In the German-speaking countries this is often talked about in the terms of ‘permeability’ (see for example Hartmann et al (2009) and Caves et al (2023)). The concept of permeability is understood as opening up access to higher education for students not coming through the regular academic access routes, which potentially can contribute to reducing social inequality in access to higher education. The introduction of the academic supplementary year in Norway can thus be seen as a way of opening up for more access to higher education via alternative routes. Data: In this paper we use administrative data from Statistics Norway that covers all educational activity. In addition, we have information on gender, birthyear, place of birth, parents’ educational level when students were 16 and immigration background. Preliminary results: Bivariate analyses show a performance advantage for females from the academic track. Yet, when controlling for background characteristics, only minor differences emerge in academic qualification completion, higher education access, and bachelor’s degree attainment. These findings suggest that the supplementary year prepares students for higher education and broadens access for those from less advantaged backgrounds, contributing to increased diversity and social mobility.

Caves, K. M., McDonald, P., Naço, D. & Renold, U. (2023). A ticket up and a ticket out. Promoting and ensuring permeability in education system reform (CES Studies 32). ETH Zürich. https://www.research-collection.ethz.ch/handle/20.500.11850/599202 Hartmann, E. A., Knust, M., Loroff, C. & Stamm-Riemer, I. (2009). Towards permeability between vocational and academic education. Experiences and analyses from current initiatives in Germany. European Journal of Education, 44(3), 351-368. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-3435.2009.01390.x Kaiser, F. (2020). Academisation of the vocational school teaching profession and the genesis of vocational educational science: A historic country comparison of Sweden, Finland and Germany. In F. Kaiser & M. Götzl (eds.), Historische Berufsbildungsforschung. Perspektiven auf Wissenschaftsgenese und Dynamik (s. 47-71). Eusl Verlag. Meld. St. 16 (2010–2011). Nasjonal helse- og omsorgsplan (2011–2015). Helse og omsorgsdepartementet. https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/meld-st-16-20102011/id639794/?ch=1 NOU 2019:25. Med rett til å mestre. Struktur og innhold i videregående opplæring. https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/2c79526bf80444b7ba90d1f22e52530b/no/pdfs/nou201920190025000dddpdfs.pdf