The report 'When you can no longer see the wood for the trees’ and a guidance document outlining possible solutions were presented on 18 September to Her Majesty Queen Máxima (honorary chair of MIND Us), Secretary-General of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science Loes Mulder, and Adnan Tekin of the MBO Council at Albeda College in Rotterdam.
When you can no longer see the wood for the trees
The research shows that a large proportion of performance pressure and stress within vocational education can be explained by an accumulation of many (and major) responsibilities. “Vocational education students are confronted with a constant balancing act between their studies, internships, work and home situation,” says Lotte Scheeren, research manager at ECIO. “This constant balancing without sufficient rest often leads to time pressure, chaos and a loss of control, which increases the risk of stress and exhaustion.”
Factors at the individual, social and societal levels influence the pressure people experience. Emotional problems and a lack of control, as well as factors such as a lack of support from family, support from teachers, trust in institutions and experiencing discrimination based on educational level, are associated with this.
Overfull weeks and tensions and obligations at home
Vocational education includes people from a wider range of backgrounds and levels than higher professional and university education. It is therefore more difficult to draw general conclusions about the entire group from the research. What stands out is that, for some students, emotional problems and tensions in their home situation are strongly related to the pressure they experience. Students indicate that they often contribute to household tasks or finances at home. These responsibilities are then added to the pile. “We suspect that this group is larger within vocational education than within higher professional and university education. That is why this emerges more clearly in our research into performance pressure and stress,” explains Jolien Dopmeijer, student project leader at the Trimbos Institute.
More skills and guidance
Students do not feel sufficiently prepared to take on major responsibilities and lack the necessary skills. These include mental health skills, study skills and digital skills to manage these responsibilities. In addition, students experience a bottleneck in terms of guidance: teachers and mentors in vocational education are supportive and willing to help, but appear to be overburdened and understaffed and are therefore not always available for guidance.
Based on the main bottlenecks identified in the research, the researchers make several recommendations. They advise investing in student guidance, with well-equipped teachers and other mentors who can support students. Basic facilities could also be offered to students who are experiencing financial hardship.
More appreciation and a better perspective for the future
Students also feel a constant sense of being evaluated and assessed. Among vocational education students, frequent testing and a perceived lack of appreciation and a perspective for the future appear to play a major role. Students often have little confidence in their future, for example because of low salaries in their future jobs, inequality in this regard compared with students educated at higher professional and university level, or uncertainty about finding a job. Students also say they face discrimination during internships and do not receive an internship allowance, or receive a lower allowance than higher professional and university students.
The researchers therefore also recommend continued investment in reducing discrimination during internships and equalising internship allowances. They also advocate appointing more role models with a vocational education background, for example in policy and politics, whom students can look up to. Finally, it is necessary to involve students directly in developing education, research and policy.
It has long been recognised that working towards greater equality between vocational, higher professional and university students is important. This is evident, among other things, from the Vocational Education Work Agenda. In 2023, a letter to parliament was also published by then Minister of Education, Culture and Science Robbert Dijkgraaf, in which he argued for a renewed appreciation of vocational education. “A great deal of good work is already being done in this area, such as through the knowledge and support programmes student wellbeing Stijn and Wellbeing at School, and through the Healthy School approach,” says Jolien Dopmeijer. “With our report, we are once again drawing attention to the need for greater appreciation of vocational education students and investment in equal opportunities and these students’ prospects for the future. This includes attention to their mental health, but also making their learning and living situations less overcrowded, thereby creating space for their development.”
Student Wellbeing Knowledge Bank and online community
For more information and support, vocational education students and professionals can visit the Student Wellbeing Knowledge Bank, a platform with knowledge and tips for promoting student wellbeing. In addition, the online community Student Wellbeing in Vocational Education provides a place for exchanging experiences and sharing knowledge.