Introduction

Under the background of continuous adjustment of social and economic structure and continuous improvement of vocational education system, secondary vocational education, as an important cornerstone of China's vocational education system, plays an irreplaceable role in cultivating technical and skilled talents and promoting regional economic development. As the main body of this education stage, secondary vocational school students are faced with the choice of further education and employment after completing their studies, which not only relates to their personal career development and life trend, but also profoundly affects the talent supply structure and economic development trend of the whole society.

From a macro perspective, with the rapid progress of science and technology and the upgrading and transformation of industries, the demand for talents in society is diversified and high-level. On the one hand, the rise of emerging industries and high-end manufacturing industries requires a large number of high-quality technical and technical talents with solid professional knowledge and innovative ability, which makes it an important way for secondary vocational school students to further improve their academic level and professional skills through further studies to meet the market demand. On the other hand, in the process of technological transformation, optimization and upgrading, traditional industries also need a large number of first-line skilled workers who can skillfully operate advanced equipment and master new technologies, which provides a broad space for secondary vocational students to directly find jobs. However, at present, there is information asymmetry in China's labor market, and it is difficult for employers to fully and accurately understand the true ability and quality of job seekers. In this case, the labor market signals such as academic qualifications and professional qualification certificates have become an important basis for employers to select and hire talents, which undoubtedly has a far-reaching impact on secondary vocational school students' further studies and employment choices.

From the middle level, secondary vocational education faces many challenges and opportunities in the development process. In recent years, the state attaches great importance to the development of vocational education and has issued a series of policies and measures to promote the reform and innovation of vocational education, such as improving the quality of running secondary vocational education, strengthening school-enterprise cooperation, and improving the talent training system of vocational education. The implementation of these policies provides more opportunities for secondary vocational school students to further their studies and better employment security. At the same time, however, secondary vocational education is also facing problems such as low social recognition and relatively insufficient educational resources, which affects the confidence of secondary vocational students in further studies and employment to some extent.

From the micro level, secondary vocational school students are often influenced by a variety of factors when making decisions on further education and employment. Among them, economic factor is one of the most critical factors. For students with difficult family economic conditions, they may prefer to choose direct employment to reduce the family's economic burden as soon as possible; For students with better family economic conditions, they may be more capable and willing to choose further studies in order to pursue higher career development goals and economic returns. In addition, economic factors such as expected income and education cost will also affect the decision-making of secondary vocational school students. For example, if students expect to get higher income and better career development prospects after further studies, they may be more willing to invest time and money in further studies; On the other hand, if the cost of further education is too high and the expected income is not obvious, they may choose direct employment.

It is of great theoretical and practical significance to explore the economic motivation of secondary vocational school students' further education and employment from the perspective of labor market signals. By revealing the key economic factors that affect the choice of secondary vocational students, we can not only provide scientific career planning guidance for secondary vocational students and help them make more rational decisions, but also provide reference for the education and teaching reform of secondary vocational schools and the government to formulate relevant policies, thus promoting the healthy development of secondary vocational education and the optimal allocation of labor market.

1 literature review

1.1 Labor market signal theory

Signal theory originated in 1970s, and the pioneering work of economists such as George Akerlof, Michael Spence and Joseph Stiglitz laid the foundation for it. In his classic paper "Lemon Market: Quality Uncertainty and Market Mechanism", akerlof reveals the influence of information asymmetry on market efficiency through the example of used car market, which provides an important background for the birth of signal theory. Spencer formally put forward the signal theory in the article "labor market signals". He pointed out that in the labor market, job seekers can transmit their own ability and quality information to employers through signals such as education level, work experience and professional qualification certificate, so as to solve the problem of information asymmetry. Since then, signal theory has been continuously developed and improved, and it has been widely used in many fields such as finance, marketing and human resource management.

The labor market signals mainly include education signals, work experience signals and vocational qualification certificates. Education signal is the most common signal, which can reflect the knowledge level, learning ability and comprehensive quality of job seekers. Generally speaking, the higher the educational background, the higher the educational level received by job seekers, and their abilities and qualities are relatively high. The work experience signal can reflect the skills and experience accumulated by job seekers in practical work. For some positions that need practical operation ability, work experience is often a very important factor for employers. The signal of vocational qualification certificate is the proof that job seekers have certain professional skills and abilities, which can enhance the competitiveness of job seekers in the labor market. These signals have an impact on the employment opportunities and salary levels of job seekers by influencing the employers' hiring decision. Its mechanism is that employers evaluate the ability and quality of job seekers according to these signals, and then decide whether to hire and what kind of salary to give.

1.2 Research on the Relationship between Secondary Vocational School Students' Further Education and Employment

The research on the present situation of secondary vocational students' further education and employment shows that in recent years, with the attention and support of the state for vocational education, the channels for secondary vocational students' further education have been continuously broadened and the proportion of further education has gradually increased. For example, more and more secondary vocational students have the opportunity to go to higher vocational colleges for further study through the ways of single-recruitment and counterpart education. However, the employment situation of secondary vocational school students is not optimistic. On the one hand, due to the low social recognition of secondary vocational education, some employers are biased against secondary vocational students, which leads to some discrimination in the job market. On the other hand, there is a certain gap between the professional skill level and comprehensive quality of secondary vocational school students and the market demand, which is difficult to meet the requirements of employers.

The research on factors affecting secondary vocational school students' further education and employment choice involves many aspects. Personal factors, students' academic performance, hobbies, career planning and so on will affect their choice. Students with good academic performance and strong interest in professional study may be more inclined to pursue further studies; However, students with average academic performance who want to find employment as soon as possible may prefer direct employment. In terms of family factors, family economic status and parents' educational concepts will also have an impact on students' decision-making. Students with financial difficulties may prefer direct employment to reduce the family burden; In families where parents attach importance to education and encourage their children to go to school, students are more likely to go to school. In terms of social factors, the demand of labor market and employment policy will also affect the choice of secondary vocational students. If there is a great demand for secondary vocational school graduates in the labor market and their employment prospects are good, students may prefer direct employment; On the contrary, if the employment situation is grim, further studies may become their first choice.

1.3 Research on the role of economic motivation in the decision-making of further education and employment

The influence mechanism of economic factors on personal education and career choice is mainly based on cost-benefit analysis. From the perspective of cost, individuals need to consider direct costs (such as tuition fees, books, etc.) and indirect costs (such as work income given up because of going to school) when investing in education. If the cost of education is too high, individuals may choose to give up further studies and get employment directly. From the perspective of income, individuals expect to get higher income and better career development prospects through education investment. If the expected income after further study is greater than the cost, individuals may choose to further study; On the other hand, you will choose employment. In addition, economic factors will also affect personal career choices. There are differences in salary levels and welfare benefits of different occupations, and individuals often choose those occupations with higher economic returns.

The existing research on the economic motivation of secondary vocational school students' further education and employment found that the family economic status is one of the important factors affecting the choice of secondary vocational school students. Students with financial difficulties pay more attention to the immediate economic return of employment in order to improve their family economic situation; Students with better family economic conditions are more able to bear the cost of further education and pursue higher career development goals. Expected income is also a key factor that affects the decision-making of secondary vocational school students. If students expect to get higher income and better career development prospects after further studies, they may be more willing to invest time and money in further studies. In addition, the cost of education, including tuition and living expenses, will also have an impact on secondary vocational school students' willingness to go to school.

1.4 Literature review

The existing research has made some achievements in the labor market signal theory, the present situation and influencing factors of secondary vocational school students' further education and employment, and the role of economic motivation in the decision-making of further education and employment. These studies provide an important theoretical basis and practical reference for us to deeply understand the problems of secondary vocational school students' further education and employment. However, the existing research also has some shortcomings. For example, there is still a lack of systematic empirical analysis on the influence of labor market signals on secondary vocational school students' further studies and employment; In the study of economic motivation, the influence of some emerging economic factors (such as internet economy, sharing economy, etc.) is not considered enough.

The innovation of this study is that, from the perspective of labor market signals, it comprehensively uses a variety of research methods to empirically explore the economic motivation of secondary vocational school students' further studies and employment. By constructing an econometric model, this paper deeply analyzes the influence mechanism of labor market signals and economic factors on secondary vocational school students' decision-making, and makes up for the shortcomings of existing research. At the same time, this study will combine the new trend of current economic and social development, consider the influence of emerging economic factors, and provide more targeted and practical suggestions for secondary vocational school students' further studies and employment decisions.

2 Theoretical basis and research hypothesis

2.1 theoretical basis

In this study, the labor market signal theory plays a core guiding role. This theory can effectively explain the phenomenon of information asymmetry in the labor market. For secondary vocational school students, in the process of choosing between further education and employment, all kinds of signals they have, such as academic qualifications and vocational skills certificates, will convey their ability and quality information to potential educational institutions or employers. When employers recruit, it is often difficult to directly understand the real ability of job seekers, and then they will rely on these labor market signals to screen suitable talents. Secondary vocational school students need to pay attention to the accumulation and display of their own signals if they want to get better employment opportunities or stand out in the competition for further studies. For example, having a high-level vocational skill certificate may make students more competitive in the job market, or it may become an advantage when they go to school^[2].

Human capital theory and cost-benefit theory provide important support for the research. The theory of human capital emphasizes that investing in people through education and training can improve individual productivity and income level. For secondary vocational school students, further education can be regarded as a further investment in their own human capital. By receiving a higher level of education, they can improve their knowledge and skills, and thus get higher returns in the future labor market. From the perspective of economic rationality, the cost-benefit theory holds that individuals will weigh costs and benefits when making decisions. When considering further education or employment, secondary vocational school students will compare the cost of further education, including tuition and time cost, and the possible benefits after further education, such as higher salary and better career development opportunities. Similarly, when choosing employment, we will also consider the immediate income of employment and the future career promotion space. Only when the expected benefits outweigh the costs will students make corresponding decisions^[1].

2.2 Proposition of research hypothesis

Based on the above theoretical analysis and related literature review, we put forward the following assumptions about the economic motivation of secondary vocational school students' further education and employment.

Hypothesis 1: The better the family economic situation, the greater the possibility of secondary vocational school students choosing further education. Family economic status is one of the important factors that affect students' decision to enter higher schools. Families with better economic conditions can provide more financial support for students, so that students do not have to worry too much about tuition fees, living expenses and other issues in the process of further studies. At the same time, such families tend to pay more attention to their children's education and encourage students to pursue higher academic qualifications and knowledge. They may provide students with better learning resources and guidance to help them gain an advantage in the competition for further studies. For example, some families can enroll students in various extracurricular remedial classes or training courses to improve their academic performance and comprehensive quality.

Hypothesis 2: The higher the expected income after further education, the stronger the willingness of secondary vocational school students to choose further education. According to the cost-benefit theory, students will consider the future economic return when making the decision to enter a higher school. If they expect to get higher income after further studies, then they will think that the investment in further studies is worthwhile. In today's society, with the improvement of educational level, the average income level will often increase accordingly. Secondary vocational school students will be more motivated to choose further studies if they see that people with high academic qualifications have better salary and career development prospects in the job market. For example, some emerging industries have a great demand for highly educated talents, and the salary level given is high, which will attract secondary vocational students to enter these industries through further studies^[3].

Hypothesis 3: The higher the level of vocational skill certificate, the greater the possibility of direct employment for secondary vocational school students. Vocational skill certificate is an important part of labor market signal. A high-level vocational skill certificate represents that students have higher professional skills and practical ability. For some enterprises, they pay more attention to the practical operation ability and professional skills of job seekers. If students in secondary vocational schools have high-level vocational skills certificates, they can prove to enterprises that they are competent for their jobs, thus increasing the opportunities for direct employment. In addition, obtaining a high-level vocational skill certificate may also mean that students have certain advantages in the professional field, and they may be more inclined to directly apply the skills they have learned to their work rather than continue their studies.

3 R esearch design

3.1 Data source and sample selection

Data collection is mainly carried out through multiple channels and methods. On the one hand, using the questionnaire survey method, a detailed questionnaire is designed, which covers the students' personal basic information, family situation, study situation, intention of further education and employment, economic related factors and so on. Questionnaires are distributed to secondary vocational schools in many regions to ensure the universality and representativeness of the data. On the other hand, collecting the relevant archives data of the school, including students' academic achievements, vocational skills certificates and other information, can provide a more accurate and comprehensive supplement for the research. At the same time, it will also refer to the relevant data of the local education statistics department and the labor market to obtain macro-level information, such as the salary level and employment demand of different industries^[4].

The selection of samples follows the principle of combining random sampling with stratified sampling. First of all, the whole country is divided into different levels according to factors such as the level of regional economic development and the distribution of educational resources. Then randomly select a certain number of secondary vocational schools at each level. In the selected schools, different majors and grades are stratified, and then a certain number of students are randomly selected from each stratification as research samples. The sample covers all kinds of secondary vocational majors, including engineering, business and liberal arts, so as to ensure that the sample can reflect the diversity of secondary vocational students^[5].

3.2 Definition and measurement of variables

Dependent variables mainly include the willingness to go to school and the willingness to work. Willingness to enter a higher vocational school is defined as the degree to which secondary vocational students are willing to continue their studies in higher vocational colleges or undergraduate colleges after completing their secondary vocational studies. Using Likert five-level scale to measure, from "very unwilling" to "very willing" were assigned 1-5 points, and the higher the score, the stronger the willingness to go to school. Employment intention is defined as the degree of students' tendency to directly enter the labor market after completing secondary vocational school. It is also measured by Likert five-level scale, and the assignment method is the same as the willingness to enter higher schools.

In terms of independent variables, family economic status is comprehensively measured by indicators such as annual household income and household assets. Divide the annual household income into different ranges, such as low-income families (annual income is below a certain standard), middle-income families and high-income families, and assign 1-3 points respectively. Family assets include real estate, vehicles and other fixed assets and financial assets, which are classified and assigned according to the total value of assets. Expected income refers to students' expected income level after entering a higher school or employment. By asking students about the expected income in the next year or several years, it is measured and standardized. The cost of education includes tuition, books and living expenses. By collecting the actual cost data provided by students and combining with the statistical information of the local education department, the comprehensive calculation is made.

The control variables include students' academic performance, gender and major. Academic performance is measured by the average grade point of students in secondary vocational schools. The higher the grade point, the better the academic performance. Gender is divided into male and female, with values of 1 and 2 respectively. Professions are classified according to subject categories, such as engineering and business, and expressed by virtual variables.

3.3 Model construction

Considering that the dependent variable is a binary choice variable (entrance to higher education or employment), Logit model is selected for analysis in this study. Logit model is suitable for dealing with the situation that the dependent variable is a discrete choice, and can better estimate the influence of independent variables on the occurrence probability of dependent variables.

The specific form of the model is as follows:

Let Y_i be the choice result of the I-th secondary vocational school student, with Y_i=1 indicating the choice of further education and Y_i=0 indicating the choice of employment.

Where

Here, X_1i,X_2i,…,X_ki are independent variables, such as family economic status, expected income, education cost, etc. C_ji is the control variable, such as academic performance, gender, major, etc. is the intercept term, ,,…,B and ₁,₂,…,Ym are the coefficients to be estimated; is a random error term. The parameters of the model are estimated by maximum likelihood estimation method, so as to analyze the influence of each independent variable and control variable on secondary vocational school students' further education and employment choice.

4 Empirical results and analysis

4.1 Descriptive statistical analysis

Table 1 Description of basic characteristics of samples

According to the basic characteristics of the sample in Table 1, the gender distribution is relatively balanced, with slightly more males than females. The number of students majoring in engineering, business and liberal arts is relatively evenly distributed, reflecting the diversification of professional settings in the school. The number of students in each grade is also roughly the same, which shows that the sample is representative in grade structure.

Table 2 Descriptive statistical results of main variables

From the descriptive statistical results of the main variables in Table 2, it can be seen that the average of the willingness to enter a higher school is higher than that of employment, indicating that students are more inclined to enter a higher school on the whole. The average economic status of families is 85,000 yuan, and the standard deviation is 32,000 yuan, indicating that the economic differences between families are large. The average expected income is 60,000 yuan, and students have certain expectations for future income. The average cost of education is 15,000 yuan, and there are some differences among different students.

4.2 Correlation analysis

Table 3 Correlation test between variables

Through the preliminary analysis of the correlation results in Table 3, there is a strong negative correlation between the willingness to study and the willingness to work, which is logical, because students can usually only make one choice between studying and working. There is a positive correlation between family economic status and the willingness to go to school, indicating that the better the family economic status, the more likely students are to choose to go to school. The expected income is also positively correlated with the willingness to go to school, indicating that the higher the students' expectation of future income, the stronger their willingness to go to school. However, the education cost is negatively correlated with the willingness to go to school, which means that the increase of education cost will inhibit students' willingness to go to school.

4.3 Regression analysis

Table 4 Results of the model

Through the explanation and analysis of the regression coefficient in Table 4, the coefficient of family economic status is 0.2 and significant, which means that every unit of family economic status increases, the willingness to enter a higher school increases by 0.2 units on average, indicating that family economic status has a positive role in promoting the willingness to enter a higher school. The coefficient of expected income is 0.3 and significant, which shows that every unit of expected income increases, the willingness to enter a higher school increases by 0.3 units on average, which reflects the important influence of expected income on the willingness to enter a higher school. The coefficient of education cost is-0.15, which shows that every unit of education cost increases, the willingness to enter a higher school decreases by 0.15 units on average, reflecting the inhibitory effect of education cost on the willingness to enter a higher school. The coefficient of academic performance is 0.1 and significant, indicating that the better the academic performance, the stronger the willingness to go to school. The coefficients of gender and major are not significant, indicating that these two factors have no obvious influence on the willingness to enter higher schools.

The test results of the research hypothesis that "the better the family economic situation, the greater the possibility of secondary vocational school students choosing to go to school" is supported, because the regression coefficient of family economic situation is positive and significant. It is also supported that "the higher the expected income after further education, the stronger the students' willingness to choose further education", and the regression coefficient of expected income is positive and significant.

4.4 Robustness test

Table 5 uses different models or variables for robustness test.

Discussion on the robustness test results in Table 5. By changing the model to Probit model and adjusting the variables, Logit regression is conducted again. The coefficients of the main independent variables are similar to those of the original Logit model, and the signs are consistent, which shows that the regression results are robust. This strengthens our confidence in the results of regression analysis, which shows that the influence of family economic status, expected income and education cost on the willingness to enter a higher school is more reliable.

5 Research conclusions and suggestions

5.1 Research conclusion

1. Sample characteristics and tendency: the gender distribution of the sample is relatively balanced, with slightly more males than females; Professional types cover engineering, business and liberal arts, and the distribution is relatively uniform; The number of students in each grade is roughly the same, which has a good representation of grade structure. On the whole, students are more inclined to pursue further studies, and the average willingness to pursue further studies is higher than the willingness to work.

2. Correlation of variables: There is a strong negative correlation between the willingness to go to school and the willingness to work, which accords with the logic of students' choice between going to school and working. The family economic status is positively related to the willingness to go to school, indicating that the better the family economic status, the greater the possibility of students going to school; The expected income is positively related to the willingness to go to school. The higher the students' expectation of future income, the stronger their willingness to go to school. The cost of education is negatively related to the willingness to go to school, and the increase of education cost will inhibit students' willingness to go to school.

3. Regression analysis results: family economic status and expected income have a positive effect on the willingness to enter a higher school, while education cost has an inhibitory effect on the willingness to enter a higher school, and all the coefficients are significant. The better the academic performance, the stronger the willingness to go to school; However, gender and major have no obvious influence on the willingness to go to school. The research assumes that "the better the family economic situation, the greater the possibility of secondary vocational school students choosing to go to school" and "the higher the expected income after going to school, the stronger the willingness of secondary vocational school students to choose to go to school" are supported.

4. Robustness of the results: By changing the model (Probit model) and adjusting the variables, Logit regression was conducted again. The coefficients of the main independent variables were similar to those of the original Logit model, and the signs were consistent, indicating that the regression results were robust, and the influence of family economic status, expected income and education cost on the willingness to enter higher schools was reliable.

5.2 suggestion

1. For students from poor families: the government and schools should increase the establishment and coverage of scholarships and grants, reduce the burden of students' educational costs, and improve their willingness to pursue further studies. For example, we can set up a scholarship program specifically for secondary vocational school students, and evaluate them according to their academic performance and family economic status.

Provide diversified student loan policies, simplify the loan application process, lower the loan threshold, and provide more financial support for students. At the same time, establish a perfect repayment mechanism and adjust the repayment plan reasonably according to the income of students after graduation.

2. For schools and educational institutions: Strengthen career planning education, help students understand the employment prospects and expected income of different majors more accurately, and guide students to make reasonable goals for further studies and employment according to their own conditions. You can invite business representatives and alumni to share their careers, so that students can understand the needs of the workplace more intuitively.

Optimize the curriculum, improve the teaching quality, enhance students' professional skills and comprehensive quality, and improve their competitiveness after entering higher schools, so as to increase their expected income and further stimulate their willingness to enter higher schools. For example, increase practical teaching links and cooperate with enterprises to carry out internship projects.

3. For policy makers: formulate relevant policies, encourage enterprises to cooperate with schools, provide more internship and employment opportunities for secondary vocational school students, and improve students' practical ability and employment competitiveness. For example, give tax incentives and other policy support to enterprises that cooperate with schools.

Increase investment in vocational education, improve the teaching facilities and teachers in secondary vocational schools, improve the overall level of vocational education, and provide better conditions for students to enter higher schools and obtain employment.

5.3 Research deficiency and prospect

1. Insufficient research: The sample of this study only comes from secondary vocational schools in a certain area, which may have geographical limitations, and the universality of the research results needs further verification. In the study, only some factors, such as family economic status, expected income and education cost, have been considered, and other important factors, such as school cultural atmosphere and social concept, may be ignored.

2. Research prospect: Future research can expand the sample range, covering different regions and different types of secondary vocational schools, so as to improve the universality and representativeness of the research results. Further explore other factors that may affect secondary vocational school students' willingness to go to school, build a more comprehensive model of influencing factors, and provide more targeted suggestions for promoting secondary vocational school students to go to school.

References

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[2] Guo Congbin, Liu Xiaodong, Yang Jin, et al. Study on the influence of family background on secondary vocational school students' choice of further education-an empirical analysis based on the survey data of secondary vocational school students in a province [J]. Education Review, 2024,(03):10-16.

[3] Liu Rongxiu, Jiang Yue. Secondary vocational students' further education: intention and demand-based on the survey of G city in Guangdong Province [J]. Southern Vocational Education Journal, 2024,14(02):35-44.

[4] Gui Mei, Huang Yuelin, Zhang Tengfei, et al. Study on the influencing factors of nursing students' willingness to enter higher schools in Hainan vocational colleges-based on the theory of planned behavior [J]. Education and Teaching Forum, 2023,(45):50-54.

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Author information：

WangJia

Doctoral Institution: College of Teacher Education, Batangas State University

-The National Engineering University,Batangas,Philippines

Pablo Borbon Campus Rizal Avenue Ext., Batangas City4200,Batangas, Philippines

Postal code: 4200

Employer: ShiHeZi Open University,China