Vocational Education in China

Vocational educationVocational education, the form of education most closely aligned with the working world, has become a strategic choice for countries worldwide. This chapter provides an overview of vocational education in China. This chapter first selects representative data and excellence indicators to illustrate the basic features and developmental trends of secondary vocational education in China compared to major global counterparts. Secondly, it shares the Ministry of Education’sMinistry of Education (MOE) efforts in promoting the digitization and standardization of Vocational education and local governments’ initiatives in fostering industry-education integrationIndustry-education integration. The compelling cases are presented to show vocational education and its roles in fostering personal growth and societal advancement. The chapter also shares narratives of exemplary “dual qualified” teachers and their contributions to teaching, research, and service. In addition, this chapter reviews the recent research trends of vocational education research in China in the past 5 years and the key policies shaping China’s vocational educationVocational education. Overall, the Chinese government has established a relatively comprehensive vocational education systemEducation system. This chapter also discusses some challenges, such as fundingFunding constraints, teacher shortages and qualificationsQualification, the property rights of digital resources, infrastructureInfrastructure needs for industry-education integrationIndustry-education integration, and the stigma of vocational educationVocational education.