An opportunity to choose? Agency in educational decision-making of vocational education and training students receiving intensive special support

This research focuses on agency in educational decision-making from the point of view of students receiving intensive special support in vocational education and training (VET) in a Finnish vocational special education college (SEC). Agency in educational decision-making was examined according to three modes: individual, proxy and collective. There is little prior research on the agency of VET students receiving intensive special support in relation to their educational decision-making. Therefore, the aim of this research was to deepen understanding and encourage critical examination of students’ genuine and equal opportunities in educational decision-making and to gain further knowledge about how agency is manifested in educational decision-making among VET students receiving intensive special support. The data consists of 20 student interviews. In the analysis, it was of paramount importance to detect specific features in the realisation of agency in making educational decisions. Identifying features of agency in educational decision-making reveals how it is enacted or constrained in practice. The results indicate that the agency of students is constrained by structural barriers within the education system, and their future aspirations are not always adequately considered in educational decision-making. Nevertheless, the students reported experiencing themselves as active agents in crucial decision-making situations.