motivation for technical studies, interest in technology, professional orientation of the student, diagnostic assessment, school success

The paper reports on the results of empirical research aimed to find out the factors influencing the motivation and decisions of secondary technical schools' students in secondary education. Hypotheses, assuming the statistical significance of the relationship between self-study and students' aspirations to be successful at school, and the relationship between students' interest in technology and their selection of a secondary school with a technical focus due to high future earnings, were verified through a quantitatively oriented questionnaire survey of 620 students from 4 secondary technical schools in the Czech Republic. Research findings can contribute to targeted educational diagnostics of students' professional orientation and support their motivation for technical studies.