Perceived workplace competences at three sites on the Chinese Mainland

Abstract

Strengthening the transition from school to work is a major educational reform issue on the Chinese Mainland. Starting in 1985, the government began developing a massive secondary vocational education system, which sought to have 50% of all secondary senior level students enrolled in a vocational education programme. In this study, qualitative research methods were employed to conduct interviews with principals, teachers, workers and employers in vocational schools and workplaces at three sites on the Chinese Mainland. These three sites include the eastern, central and western areas of the country, each with a different level of economic development. As the national policy stressed equipping students with practical manual skills (Dongshounengli) in secondary vocational education, vocational schools in these three sites spent over 50% of their total teaching hours on practical manual skills. However, the study found that stakeholders in the workplace perceived that adaptability, the ability to work independently, a sense of responsibility, a desire to improve and the ability to learn were actually the key competences in the changing workplace. Comparing stakeholders’ perceived competences in the workplace and at school, it was found that there was an explicit gap between what was taught in schools and what was needed in the workplace. Teaching and learning in secondary vocational education in China should pay greater attention to the actual needs of the changing workplace to ensure a more successful transition from schooling to work.

Keywords:

• vocational education
• education and work
• competence