Abstract
The sense of academic futility is intertwined with students' aspirations. If students do not want to have excellent results or to study at university and so they do not study hard, they cannot face the sense of futility.
The students at the end of compulsory education who headed for the vocational track believed that their outcomes mirrored their abilities and effort and therefore those of them who had weak educational outcomes did not blame the school, they blamed themselves. They chose the vocational track because it was a safe choice since it provides them with a qualification for the labour market.
The families that did not have experience from higher education supported the choice of the lowest track because the academic track seemed to be an irrationally risky choice - it provides no qualification, only makes study in tertiary education possible (after successful admission tests). The academic track seems to be literally worthless for students coming from those families.