Transcript Work-based learning in the Chinese VET System

Work-based learning in the
Chinese VET System
Prof.Dr.Xu Han
Director of the Institute of Vocational
und Technical Education, Shenyang
Normal University
Introduction
Investments into VET 1995-2002 (Yang Jintu 2005)
14
12
11,53
10
8,42
8
6,35
6
4
2
0
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Methods
the evaluation of reform programmes,
which were presented to the Chinese
government
the analysis of relevant literature in this
field.
is complemented by own research
experiences in field of implementing pilot
projects and experiments in the Chinese
province of Liaoning.
 Findings
1. Alternating duality as a legal
foundation in vocational education in
secondary schools
This educational model aims at
providing apprentices with
professional skills and competence.
The process of implementing the concept
of the alternate dual educational training
into practice is characterised by the
following difficulties.
(1) vocational education lacks examination
regulations as well as a proper definition of
job descriptions, which are necessary for
the implementation of an academic
curriculum.
(2)as a consequence, `learning by doing` is
subordinate to the managerial or economic
interests in cheap labour that impedes a
more in-depth, systematic vocational
training.
(3)both, teachers in vocational school, as
well as the responsible training
supervisors in the companies are
inadequately prepared for these tasks
Conclusion
As a strategy of reform, it would be
necessary to qualify teachers and trainers
in order to implement a systematic and
well structured vocational training
programme on the basis of a stringent
concept of vocational curriculum design. In
order to implement such a concept, the cooperation between vocational schools and
the training companies is necessary.
The reform has to include the learning
potentials in the workplace curriculum.
This requires a domain specific
qualification research as a basis for the
development of modern integrative core
professions.
it is necessary to implement the concept of
learning during the work process.
This concept ensures that apprentices are
involved in the work process as well as in
the process of organisational development.
Vocational teachers are responsible to
guide this learning process and to create
an environment that supports trainees to
reflect and communicate working
conditions and experiences.
2.Establishing vocational training centres
The national reform programme provides
large resources for the establishment of
vocational training centres in order to build
up work-based learning as a part of
vocational education.
Vocational training centres can be
implemented without complicated coordination processes as part of state
vocational training.
The expected disadvantages are:
(1)the distance between vocational training
and the job market
(2)a disentanglement of practical education
from work processes and organisational
development.
(3)a further drawback of companies from
their original role in vocational training.
Conclusion:
The strategic aim of building up vocational
training centres is to reinforce and improve
on-the-job-training, while, at the same time,
it promotes a considerable drawback of
companies from their original responsibility
in apprenticeship. Only if vocational
training centres are complementary to
existing forms of vocational education,
they could become an important element
in the Chinese VET reform
3. "Production schools" and schoolbased practice firms
(1)schools with integrated production areas
“production schools”
Usually, companies and vocational schools
support the build-up of production areas within
schools according to the model of “production
school”. Here, the approach of vocational
education is very similar to the concept of
work-based learning but nevertheless cannot
completely substitute for it.
2. Practice firms
In order to give insights into the working
environment and to strengthen on-the jobtraining, vocational training schools set up
practice firms, where both industrial and
office work can be simulated in a realistic
manner.
Established vocational disciplines and
a good equipment are required, in
order to fulfil the conditions of
handling realistic official offers. During
this simulated work process, teachers
take the role of project managers in
the sense of company managers.
This has the advantage that students
get a deeper understanding of the
problems related to working
environments and work processes. To
finally meet the requirements of a
systematic integration of work
assignments into a vocational
curriculum, an integrated workprocess oriented didactic is needed.
 Conclusion
 The establishment of practice firms and
“production schools” is the result of initiatives
made by vocational schools and their cooperation partners and leads to work - process
oriented learning. However, it cannot replace a
system of dual VET. The raise of “production
schools” also corresponds to the trend of the
Chinese economic development, where
companies tend to concentrate on their
individual core businesses.
Summary and conclusion
The development of the Chinese vocational
educational system faces a turning point where it
still has to be shown whether Chinese
companies are willing to open up to a more
effective form of alternating dual VET. The
reform and all efforts taken so far do have the
potential to lead trainees from novices to expert
in their individual vocations, and also to enable
them to pursue a further academic career. That
way, the attractiveness of vocational education
can be considerably increased.
Thank You!