The Reasons of Students’ Unwillingness to Receive Vocational Education

The present study aimed to explore the reasons of students’ unwillingness to receive vocational education in Jordan from the perspective of faculty members. It aimed to explore whether there are statistically significant differences between respondents’ attitudes which can be attributed to gender, faculty, academic rank and the country that the PhD certificate was obtained. A descriptive analytical approach was adopted. Data was collected through using a questionnaire. Questionnaire forms were distributed to (200) faculty members who work at the University of Jordan.  They were selected from the faculty of educational sciences and King Abdullah II School of Information Technology. 154 questionnaire forms were retrieved. The response rate is 77%. It was found that there are three types of reasons of students’ unwillingness to receive vocational education in Jordan. These types are: psychological, social and economic reasons. In terms of the psychological reasons, the ones who practice a vocation do not enjoy a high job stability level. In addition, practicing a vocation requires exerting much physical effort. In terms of the social reasons, the ones who practice a vocation do not enjoy a high social standing. In addition, the opinions made by the ones who practice a vocation about daily life issues aren’t taken seriously. In terms of the economic reasons, the ones who practice a vocation do not have a high& stable income. The researchers recommend motivating students to enroll in vocational educational schools through providing them with moral and financial incentives. Keywords : Vocational education, students, faculty members, Jordan DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-4-03 Publication date: February 29 th 2020

them to join the labor market (Shamsan and Al-Heety, 1999). Education during the 21 st century aims at developing people in a manner that enables them to join the labor market. Therefore, it aims at developing students' skills and enabling them to apply their knowledge through practices. Education during the 21 st century aims at training students and enabling them to engage in real life situations. It should be noted that educational institutions have been giving priority to the development of cognitive skills over the development of manual skills. That is because economic knowledge has been playing a major role in achieving development. (Thyabat, 2005).
Technical & vocational education have become very important during the contemporary age. Vocational education played a significant role in the ancient civilizations. However, during the last couple of decades, students have become unwilling to receive vocational education, especially in Arab countries. For instance, there are few efforts exerted in Arab countries to develop vocational education in theoretical and practical aspects (Al-Ajami, 2010). Therefore, there must be changes made in political and economic areas to make students willing to receive vocational education. For instance, Arab countries shouldn't reply on the foreign workers who practice vocations. For instance, there are many job opportunities in Arab countries in business, construction and vocational sectors that are given to foreign workers. Despite that, there are many local unemployed people in Arab countries. In the light of the aforementioned information, the present study aimed to explore the reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education in Jordan. It aimed to explore that from the perspective of faculty of members.

Statement of the Problem:
The present study aimed to explore the reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education in Jordan. It aimed to explore that from the perspective of faculty of members. There is a need to explore such reasons because such unwillingness led to having a gap between the demands of the labor market and the outcomes of the educational institutions. Due to having such a gap, there is a need to provide educational programs that utilize the potentials of human resources in a manner that meets the requirements of achieving development. Such programs are needed to handle the current and future challenges. Technical and vocational education are very important. That is because they play a significant role in achieving development in Jordan. However, there aren't many studies that shed a light on the reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education in Arab countries in general and Jordan in particular. Therefore, the present study aimed to provide answers to the following questions: Q.1. What are the reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education in Jordan from the perspective of faculty of members? Q.2 Are there statistically significant differences -at the statistical significance level of 0.05 ≥a-between the respondents' attitudes in this regard which can be attributed to gender, faculty, academic rank and the country that the PhD certificate was obtained from?
The Study's Objectives: The present study aimed to explore the reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education in Jordan from the perspective of faculty of members. It aimed to explore whether there are statistically significant difference -at the statistical significance level of 0.05 ≥a-between the respondents' attitudes in this regard which can be attributed to gender, faculty, academic rank and the country that the PhD certificate was obtained from.
The Study's Significance: The present study is significant because it aimed to identify the reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education in Jordan. It is significant because it aimed to provide solutions for addressing this problem. Addressing this problem is needed due to the significance of vocational education in achieving development, and advancement. It is needed because there is a need to meet the society's needs in terms of having qualified and trained labor force. It is needed because there is a need because there is a need to narrow the gap between the outcomes of educational institutions and the demands of the labor market. It is needed because addressing this problem shall reduce the unemployment rate, develop human resources and support the national economy. The present study is significant because it is useful for: -The Jordanian Ministry of Education and the vocational education institutions: The present study shall encourage the latter ministry and institutions to provide much attention to vocational education. It shall encourage them to develop the labor force professionally through providing them with specialized training courses. Such courses shall develop the skills of the labor force and enable them to meet the latest demands of the labor market. Providing such courses shall participate in achieving a significant development -Researchers: The present study provides researchers with a theoretical framework that shall enrich the knowledge of the Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.11, No.4, 2020 researchers who want to conduct studies about technical and vocational education. It provides researchers with a theoretical framework about the reasons of students' unwillingness to receive such education. The Study's Variables: The study's variables are listed below: -Attitudes of respondents towards the reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education and proposed solutions for addressing such reasons from the perspective of faculty of members -Gender: It has two categories; male & female -Faculty: It has two categories; the faculty of educational sciences & King Abdullah II School of Information Technology Academic ranks: It has three categories; professor, assistant professor and associate professor -The country that the PhD certificate was obtained from: It consists from two categories; Arab and foreign countries. The Study's Limits: The study's limits are listed below: -Thematic limits: The present study aimed to identify the reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education and proposed solutions for addressing such reasons from the perspective of faculty of members. This expression refers to a type of formal education that is delivered by formal educational institutions. Receiving such education takes a period that is not less than 2 years. It is received after finishing the preparatory school stage. It aims at enriching students' scientific, and technical knowledge and developing students' practical skills. It aims at developing young people professionally through developing their skills and enriching their knowledge in a manner that enables them to practice a vocation and meet the requirements of practicing it (Muslim, 2007). *Technical and vocational education (operational definition): This expression refers to a type of education that aims at developing trainees and students in order to practice manual crafts and hold non-academic jobs. In other words, it aims at developing students to become capable of practicing a specific vocation or a craft. After receiving such education, the student must acquire the required practical experience in the concerned vocation. *Unwillingness (operational definition): It refers to the student's lack of desire to receive vocational education. The reasons of such willingness are identified through the study's instrument.

Previous Studies:
The researchers reviewed several studies which are presented below: Al-Ulwan (2001) conducted a study titled (The difference between the vocational attitudes of the students enrolled in the vocational stream of the first secondary grade in the countryside and the city in Al-Balqa). He aimed to explore the difference between the vocational attitudes of the students enrolled in the vocational stream of the first secondary grade in the countryside and the city in Al-Balqa. He also aimed to explore the impact of (gender, parents' profession, academic achievement, parents' academic qualification, & family monthly income) on the respondents' vocational attitudes. He aimed to identify whether there are differences between the respondents' vocational orientations during the academic year (1999/2000). It was found that respondents have positive attitudes towards vocational education. It was found that the students in the city have more positive attitudes towards vocational education than the students in the countryside. It was found that female students are more willing to receive vocational education than male students. Vertakon & Rousseas (2003) aimed to explore the reality of vocational education in Athens. A field investigation was conducted. It targets the vocational schools in Athens. A questionnaire was used for collecting data. It was found that vocational education is considered the last educational option for young people. It was found that the graduates of vocational schools face less difficulties than the graduates of the academic disciplines of secondary education in terms of finding a job.
Legget (2007) aimed to explore the attitudes of students, teachers, and employers towards vocational education in Mississippi. A random sample was selected. It consists from 400 individuals. It was found that students, teachers, and employers have positive attitudes towards vocational secondary school education.
Simpson (2008) aimed to conduct a comparison between students and their parents in terms of attitudes Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.11, No.4, 2020 towards vocational education program. A random sample was selected. It consists from 182 9 th , 10 th and 11 th grade students. It also consists from 44 female and male teachers who were selected from Dayton. A scale was used for measuring attitudes towards vocational education. It was found that the teachers working in vocational schools have positive attitudes towards vocational education. It was found that the attitudes of the latter teachers towards vocational education are more positive than the counterpart attitudes of the teachers who work in nonvocational schools. It was found that the ones who have the most positive attitudes towards vocational education are the student who participate effectively in vocational activities. It was found that the students enrolled in vocational program have more positive attitudes towards vocational education than other students. Al-Shawabkeh et al. (2009) aimed to explore the reality of technical and vocational education in Jordan. They aimed to explore the prospects of such education in Jordan. It was found that there is a need for providing students with the skills that enable them to use modern technology. That shall enable students to participate in economic and social development and meet the society's needs. It was found that there is a need for achieving consistency between the outcomes of educational institutions and the demands of the labor market. That can be achieved through providing open learning opportunities and permitting the ones who obtained a vocational diploma degree to enroll in university. It can be achieved through encouraging students to practice self-learning to learn things about their major. That shall promote a lifelong learning approach among students. The latter consistency can be achieved through making students active learners rather than passive learners. It can be achieved through making students innovators rather than consumers of scientific innovations and modern technologies.
Halabi (2012) aimed to explore the reality of technical and vocational education in the Arab World and the problems facing such education. He targeted Syria. A field investigation was conducted in vocational schools in Edleb, Syria. Data was collected through using a questionnaire. It was found that most of the students enrolled in technical and vocational schools were not fully convinced that they should receive such schools. It was found that there isn't adequate awareness about the significance, role and meaning of technical and vocational education in developing society. It was found that curricula can significantly affect the reality of technical and vocational education.
Badrakhan (2014) aimed to explore the attitudes of tenth grade students in Jordan towards enrolling in the vocational stream of secondary school education. The sample consists from 707 female and male tenth grade students in Jordan. A descriptive analytical approach was adopted. It was found that tenth grade students in Jordan have moderate attitudes towards enrolling in the vocational stream of secondary school education. It was found that there are statistically significant differences between the respondents' attitudes in this regard which can be attributed to academic achievement. The latter differences are for the favor of the ones whose academic achievement level is moderate and the ones whose academic achievement level is low. . It was found that there are statistically significant differences between the respondents' attitudes in this regard which can be attributed to parents' academic qualification. The latter differences are for the favor of the ones whose parents hold secondary school certificate, diploma degree or BA degree.
In the light of the aforementioned studies, it can be noticed that there aren't' many studies that aimed to shed a light on the reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education in Jordan. Therefore, there is a need to conduct studies about this issue. That shall participate in providing solutions for addressing such reasons Al-Saaideh (2016) aimed to explore the reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education in Jordan. He used a questionnaire to collect data from 1050 students. This questionnaire consists from 39 items. It sheds a light on several areas; economic, social, personal, vocational and educational areas. Such reasons include: the instable income of vocations and the discouragement of their peers. They include: the absence of the required physical capability. In addition, vocational education doesn't allow students to develop their capabilities and skills. It doesn't allow them to increase their knowledge. Such reasons also include: the low job security level that is associated with vocation.
Ayub (2015) aimed to explore the factors that affect students' attitudes towards vocational training and technical education. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 300 students. It was found that there are several factors that affect students' attitudes towards vocational training and technical education. Such factors include: parental influence, peers influence, socioeconomic status and career & job potential. They also include: peer influence, parental influence, probabilities of getting a job, and socioeconomic status The Study's Approach: A descriptive analytical approach was adopted. This approach is considered the most suitable approach in the light of the study's goals and questions. Through adopting this approach, the researchers aimed to explore the reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education in Jordan from the perspective of faculty members. The latter approach is adopted for offering readers a sensory description for objects & items. It enables researchers to determine whether certain sensory attributes are accepted or not. It may be adopted by researchers to explore the nature of variables and identify the constituents of a variable (Lawless and Heymann, 1999).

The Study's Population and Sample
The population consists from all the faculty members who work at the faculty of educational sciences and King Abdullah II School of Information Technology at the University of Jordan. A random sample was selected from the population. It consists from 200 faculty members. Questionnaire forms were distributed to them154 questionnaire forms were retrieved. The response rate is 77%. All of the retrieved questionnaire forms are valid for analysis. Table (1) presents the distribution of the respondents in accordance with the personal data.  (1), most of the respondents are males (68.4%). It can be noticed that 31.6% of the respondents are females. It can be noticed that the number of the ones working at the faculty of educational sciences is greater than the number of the ones who work at King Abdullah II School of Information Technology. For instance, 66.7% of the respondents work the faculty of educational sciences. 33.3% of the respondents work at King Abdullah II School of Information Technology. It was found that 46% of the respondents are assistant professors and 40% of the respondents are associate professors. It was found that 15% of the respondents are professors. It was found that 66% of the respondents obtained their certificates from an Arab county and 44% of the respondents obtained their certificates from a foreign county. Thus, the number of the ones who obtained their certificates from an Arab county is greater than the number of the ones who obtained their certificates from a foreign county.
The Study's Instrument A questionnaire was developed in order to collect data from respondents. It was developed based on the relevant references. It consists from two parts. Through the first part, the researchers aimed to collect data about the respondents' personal data. Through the second part, the researchers aimed to collect data about the reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education. These reasons are classified into social, economic and psychological reasons. The five point Likert questionnaire was adopted. The greatest score in this score is 5 which is represented by (strongly agree). The lowest score in this scale is 1 which is represented by (strongly disagree) The face validity of the questionnaire was measured through passing the preliminary version of the questionnaire to a panel of experts. Those experts are faculty members who work at the University of Jordan. They are specialized in the relevant field and possess adequate expertise. They were asked to provide an assessment for the questionnaire in terms of language, clarity and relevancy. In the light of the experts' opinions, several adjustments were made to the questionnaire. Such adjustments include redrafting some statements. The reliability of the questionnaire was measured through calculating Cronbach alpha coefficient values. The total Cronbach alpha coefficient value is 0.86. It indicates that the questionnaire is highly reliable.

Statistical analysis:
The collected data was analyzed statistically through using the SPSS program. The following statistical analysis methods were used for analyzing data: 1) The researchers calculated means and standard deviations to provide an answer to the first question Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.11, No.4, 2020 21 2) The T-test for two independent samples was conducted to identify whether there are differences between the respondents' attitudes that can be attributed to gender, faculty and the country that the PhD certificate was obtained from 3) One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted. It was conducted to identify whether there are differences between the respondents' attitudes that can be attributed to academic rank.

Results
Results related to the study's first question: Q.1. What are the reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education in Jordan from the perspective of faculty of members?
To answer this question, means and standard deviations were calculated. The answer sheds a light on social, economic and psychological areas. First: The psychological area  (3), it was found that respondents have moderate attitudes towards the psychological reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education. The total mean is 3.28 and the total standard deviation is 0.72. The mean of statement (3) is ranked first and considered moderate. It is 3.52. The latter statement states the following: (The ones who practice a vocation do not enjoy a high job stability level). The mean of statement (2) is ranked second and considered moderate. It is 3.48. The latter statement states the following: (Practicing a vocation requires exerting much physical effort) Second: The social area:  (4), it was found that respondents have moderate attitudes towards the social reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education. The total mean is 3.16. The mean of statement (7) is ranked first and considered moderate. It is 3.36. The latter statement states the following: (The ones who practice a vocation do not enjoy a high social standing).The mean of statement (11) is ranked fifth and considered moderate. It is 3.17. The latter statement states the following: (People have feelings of disrespect to manual labor and underestimate its significance). Third: The economic area Journal of Education and Practice www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.11, No.4, 2020 (5), it was found that respondents have moderate attitudes towards the economic reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education. The total mean is 3.21. The mean of statement (15) is ranked first and considered moderate. It is 3.35. The latter statement states the following: (The ones who practice a vocation do not have a stable income).The mean of statement (19) is ranked second and considered moderate. It is 3.29. The latter statement states the following: (The ones who practice a vocation have a low income in comparison to the ones who received university education). Results related to the second question: Q.2 Are there statistically significant differences -at the statistical significance level of 0.05 ≥a-between the respondents' attitudes in this regard which can be attributed to gender, faculty, academic rank and the country that the PhD certificate was obtained from? The results related to each variable are presented below separately: First: Gender: Means and standard deviations are calculated to identify whether there are differences between the respondents' attitudes in this regard which can be attributed to gender. The t-test was conducted to identify whether these differences are statistically significant or not. These values are presented in table (6) (6), it was found that there isn't any statistically significant difference -at the statistical significance level of 0.05 ≥a-between the respondents' attitudes in this regard which can be attributed to gender. Second: Faculty Means and standard deviations are calculated to identify whether there are differences between the respondents' attitudes in this regard which can be attributed to faculty. The t-test was conducted to identify whether these differences are statistically significant or not. These values are presented in table (7) below  (7), it was found that there isn't any statistically significant difference -at the statistical significance level of 0.05 ≥a-between the respondents' attitudes in this regard which can be attributed to faculty. Third: Academic rank Means and standard deviations are calculated to identify whether there are differences between the respondents' attitudes in this regard which can be attributed to academic ranks. They are presented through table (8) (8), it appears that there are differences between the respondents' attitudes that can be attributed to academic rank. To explore the statistical significance of these differences -at the statistical significance level is 0.05 ≥a-one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted. The results of the latter analysis are presented through table (9) below  (9), it was found that there isn't any statistically significant difference -at the statistical significance level of 0.05 ≥a-between the respondents' attitudes in this regard which can be attributed to academic rank Fourth: The country that the PhD certificate was obtained from Means and standard deviations are calculated to identify whether there are differences between the respondents' attitudes in this regard which can be attributed to the country that the PhD certificate was obtained from. The ttest was conducted to identify whether these differences are statistically significant or not. These values are presented in table (10) below Table ( (10), , it was found that there isn't any statistically significant difference -at the statistical significance level of 0.05 ≥a-between the respondents' attitudes in this regard which can be attributed to the country that the PhD certificate was obtained from Discussion Discussion Related to the Study's First Question: Q.1. What are the reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education in Jordan from the perspective of faculty of members? Vocational education has been receiving much attention by the Jordanian Ministry of Education since the 1950s. That is because delivering vocational education plays a significant role in achieving economic development in Jordan. It's because delivering vocational education plays a significant role in meeting the demands of the labor market. In other words, the labor market must be provided with a workforce who are qualified in various vocations (Bader Khan, 2014). Delivering vocational education enables the government to achieve consistency www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.11, No.4, 2020 between the demands of the labor market and the outcomes of the educational institutions. Thus, delivering vocational education has several positive impacts on Jordan. For instance, it enables the Jordanian government to meet the requirements of achieving development. Such requirements include providing the labor market with qualified labor force in various vocations (Al-Twaisi, 2016). Although vocational education is very important, the percentage of the students who enroll in vocational schools in Jordan is low from the perspective of the faculty members. That may be attributed to the fact that vocational education programs in Jordan are not effective in meeting the goals they should meet. These goals include:instillingvocational interests within students and providing the labor market with labor force who are skillful and qualified vocationally. They also include: enabling students to use modern technologies. Discussion Related to the Study's Second Question Q.2 Are there statistically significant differences -at the statistical significance level of 0.05 ≥a-between the respondents' attitudes in this regard which can be attributed to gender, faculty, academic rank and the country that the PhD certificate was obtained from? It was found that there isn't any statistically significant difference -at the statistical significance level of 0.05 ≥abetween the respondents' attitudes in this regard which can be attributed to gender, faculty, academic rank or the country that the PhD certificate was obtained from. That indicates that all the respondents believe that that there are psychological, social and economic reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education. In this regard, the researchers didn't find any study which results are consistent or inconsistent with the latter result.

Conclusion
It was found that there are three types of reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education in Jordan. These types are: psychological, social and economic reasons. In terms of the psychological reasons, the ones who practice a vocation do not enjoy a high job stability level. In addition, practicing a vocation requires exerting much physical effort. In terms of the social reasons, the ones who practice a vocation do not enjoy a high social standing. In addition, the opinions made by the ones who practice a vocation about daily life issues aren't taken seriously. In terms of the economic reasons, the ones who practice a vocation do not have a high & stable income. It was found that there isn't any statistically significant difference -at the statistical significance level of 0.05 ≥a-between the respondents' attitudes in this regard which can be attributed to gender, faculty, academic rank and the country that the PhD certificate was obtained from. In the light of the aforementioned results, the researchers of the present believe that the Jordanian Ministry of Education must develop policies for addressing the psychological, social and economic reasons of students' unwillingness to receive vocational education. They also believe that lectures must be given at school about the significance and benefits of receiving vocational education. Such lectures shall encourage students to join vocational schools.

Recommendations:
The researchers recommend the following: 1-Motivating students to enroll in vocational educational schools through providing them with moral and financial incentives. That can be done through providing students with part-time job opportunities while they are still receiving vocational school education 2-Increasing the effectiveness of the vocational education programs in meeting the intended goals. The researchers recommend making a regular assessment for such programs. They recommend finding new methods that can increase the effectiveness of the vocational education programs in meeting the intended goals. 3-Offering a variety of vocational education programs to students. That shall increase the education options available to students. The researchers recommend achieving consistency between such education and demands of the labor market. They recommend achieving consistency between such education and the practical training of the students enrolled in such programs.