Research Project (Ongoing)

Vocational Education and Training in Secondary Education in the Philippines: Empirical Analyses on Schools, Graduates, Households and Labor Market

Since June in 2016, the Philippines have commenced "the K-to-12 Basic Education Program". JICA Ogata Research Institute and JICA Philippines Office are conducting studies on graduates from technical and vocational high schools. This project examines whether two additional years of schooling (grade 11 and 12) at technical vocational high schools increased employment rate and earnings (return to schooling) of graduates compared to those who did not proceed to these grades. The study also verifies what kind of impact the schools’ resources and the quality of education in the case of grades 11-12 students at model technical vocational high schools have on students and graduates. The research will analyze in particular the impact of school inputs such as strength of ties between schools and industry, characteristics of teachers and principals, among others. The study aims to provide policy implications and recommendations to Department of Education in the Philippines and schools by looking at how two additional years of schooling help graduates perform in labor market and what kind of resources (teachers, industrial linkage with private sector etc.) in schools help improve the quality of technical vocational high schools.

Under this project, JICA Ogata Research Institute is now running a survey on latest situation of highschool graduates to verify impact of K-to 12 Basic Education Program as well as COVID-19 pandemic from April 2021 to June 2021. This survey is the second follow-up to the baseline survey conducted in November 2013 to February 2014 and in March to August 2015, respectively, in selected schools in the Philippines.