Chinese Path to Internationalization of Vocational Education
Abstract
It is in the context of the reorganization of global industrial chains and the increase in the speed of the international movement of skills that the internationalization of vocational education is one of the most important ways to expand national skills supply capacities and reinforce the global cooperation. Nevertheless, the available literature is mostly based on macro-policy views or on individual isolated cases, which causes drawbacks of partial, incomplete summaries of the path, lack of understanding of how it works, and the impossibility of reproducing effective models. Therefore, the practical situation in China is considered in this paper where a framework that integrates the comparative analysis and policy text analysis is built to thoroughly investigate the implementation mechanisms and internal logic of the same and to test the relevant directions through qualitative experiments. The research goes down to detailing certain operational practices in various aspects, such as international conformity of competencies criterion and curriculum, and multi-stakeholder partnership, finally concluding with two common models: the going global with enterprises model and the model of regional collaboration. Moreover, the analysis of their conditions of applicability and limitations is made in more detail in accordance with the outcomes of the research, and the main functions of institutional embedding, standard coordination, and collaboration of stakeholders are clear. The qualitative research findings reveal that this path has good explanatory malleability, which encompasses major practical forms. Institutional differences are to a certain degree pacified by the modular design of skill standards and the flexibility of courses. Nevertheless, it is not very stable based on how deeply the subject collaborates and the differences in the institutional environment. The findings of this paper offer a ground in theoretical reasoning on the path optimization and positioning that is function-oriented.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Education Systems and Policy
Vocational and Entrepreneurial Education
Global Educational Policies and Reforms
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Adult and Higher Education
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 1
- Publication date
- 1 January 2026