Is attending a vocational school a success or an achievement
Although school has just started, it does not seem to be easy for families whose children are about to face the entrance examination for senior high school.
Looking at his son who was not interested in studying, Lu Xing's worries gathered a little bit.
"Now the general occupation ratio is 1:1. If you don't work hard, your children can't even go to high school. They can only go to vocational schools. Where will the future be?"
Lu Xing also learned slowly that going to high school is not as simple as imagined.
The current national policy is to "adhere to roughly the same proportion of general jobs, moderately expand the enrollment scale of secondary vocational education," and "use the increase in enrollment for high school education to develop secondary vocational education."
The senior high school entrance examination is a watershed in life: some people go to high school and continue on the road of general education; others will go on the road of vocational education——
Choice-or "spare tire" or passive
Teachers: The enrollment levels of secondary vocational schools are diverse, and students who were not easy to recruit in the past are recruited
Facing the general ratio of 1:1, some parents, like Lu Xing, expressed anxiety and panic: there are people who have been "triggered". Is there a future for them to get to a secondary job?
In an online survey conducted by a reporter with more than 1,000 people participating, it was found that 87% of netizens would choose between secondary vocational school and high school to attend high school.
In many people’s perceptions, entering the vocational education system is like downgrading. It is a last resort or as a "spare tire."
It really doesn't work, only the general will do it.
"In contrast, German students choose vocational schools voluntarily, and our students are passive and unwilling to divert. German first-line industrial workers are paid higher, and vocational schools are somewhat attractive. Ours is relatively low. German occupations The school’s conditions are good, the dual system is guaranteed by the system, and the quality of talent training is high. Ours is significantly lower than that of ordinary education schools at the same level." Ouyanghe, a researcher at the Hunan Academy of Educational Sciences, said bluntly.
In the memory of Shi Weiping, Honorary Director of the Vocational Education and Adult Education Institute of the Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, people often see similar professional enlightenment education abroad, and provide career guidance and consultation for students through diversified courses and projects, and provide students based on Free choice of personalized vocational education program.
"Therefore, for students, choosing what they like is a natural thing, rather than a feeling of being'eliminated', like a loser."
Zhang Yunyi, a Beijing boy who has been working for 3 years, recalled that when he entered a vocational school, he still had a lot of regrets and disappointments. He knew that his first degree was positioned at the level of technical secondary school.
"Achievements are flawed, and the ideal high school admission score is more difficult for me. The reason why I choose vocational education is really a reluctant and passive choice. I can't fail to study!"
The enrollment situation is changing.
"The launch of the policy of the through-training program has promoted the improvement of the overall level of the school students." Wang Yunhao, a teacher of a secondary vocational school in Beijing, told reporters: "In recent years, we have recruited those that were not easy to recruit in the past. Students-the scores of students entering the through-training program have corresponding requirements. Therefore, students will present two extremes. Some students will be very good, and some need to work hard to improve."
Now, students entering vocational schools have more choices.
Wang Yunhao said that the enrollment levels of secondary vocational education are more diverse: one is through education, that is, the "3+2+2" link between secondary and high school. After 3 years of secondary vocational education, transfer to undergraduate colleges, involving high-tech talents and advanced foreign languages Talents, pre-school education and basic education teacher training programs; one is the mainstream "3+2" link between high and high vocational education, and you can get a college diploma after graduation; the other is the traditional three-year system, which is employment-oriented.
Ability is far more important than academic qualifications in the future workplace.
This is what Zhang Yunyi told him when he was studying in Beijing Commercial School, and it was also proved by his ability in job hunting.
But in reality, people still generally do not understand or misunderstand the current level and development of secondary vocational schools in the entire society.
Liu Weijie, vice principal of Jiangsu Taodu Secondary Vocational School, deeply feels that entering the new era, secondary vocational schools have been questioned as never before: on the one hand, the people have the voice of "continue to expand the scale of general higher education"; on the other hand, cancel or cancel Reduce the number of secondary vocational schools, and the voice of "focusing on the development of higher vocational education" echoes from time to time.
"When parents expect their children to get better development through ordinary high school and college entrance examination, we should see those eyes that have lost'light' and'god' in ordinary high school and college entrance examination." Liu Weijie said that multiple intelligences tell us that people His abilities include speech, logic, vision, body, rhythm, communication, self-knowledge and many other intelligences.
How to provide more suitable development opportunities and support for students of different intelligences so that they can thrive?
Obviously, only relying on ordinary high schools is not enough. Secondary vocational schools must be an important part of high school education.
Planning-or further study or employment
Expert: What you learn is what you love, no longer only go to high school to study undergraduate to have a future
What if some students in the vocational education system are returned to the general education system?
"They are likely to be the part behind." Shi Weiping believes that education needs to be taught in accordance with their aptitude.
"The development of vocational education can provide students with diversified paths for growth and talent, and effectively dissipate the pressure of college entrance examinations, avoid the phenomenon of squeezing single-plank bridges with thousands of horses, and create better conditions for deepening education reform." The relevant person in charge of the ministry said in an interview with reporters.
Shi Weiping was pleased to see that people around him were slowly receiving vocational education.
"The grandson of a famous professor I knew learned jewelry design at a vocational school. The child was good at learning, but he liked this major so much, so he chose to go to a vocational school. What he learned is what he loves, and he has not graduated yet. Many units contact him.” Shi Weiping said that for students with a relatively weak learning foundation, it may be a more rational choice to seek suitable development opportunities in a vocational school.
"When I entered school, I found out that vocational education has a unique perspective, which opened up another world for me. Here is no longer the criteria for evaluating'good students' in Chinese, Mathematics, and English. I can give full play to my strengths and extracurricular activities. It's no longer not doing business properly. All this makes me regain confidence." Zhang Yunyi, who is not a standard "good student", realized the flip here.
Comparing the two, Zhang Yunyi felt deeply.
"Vocational education and general education are completely different. One focuses on cultivating cultural knowledge and the other focuses on cultivating technical skills. Two completely different types of education, regardless of which one is better or worse, are both an indispensable part of social development. Professional research is very important, but no one will do it, and everything can only be a castle in the air."
"There are some students in our school whose scores can be promoted to the general high school entrance examination, but they chose to study in our school and chose to study their favorite major. At the same time, a considerable number of them plan to take the high vocational college entrance examination after three years to continue their studies. "Lu Yonghui, vice president of Shaxi Institute of Technology, Zhongshan, Guangdong, told reporters that at present, a modern vocational education system of "secondary vocational-higher vocational colleges-applied undergraduates-professional masters" parallel to general education is being established to adapt to industrial transformation. Upgrade the need for talents with different levels of technical skills.
Since childhood, Zhang Yikang likes to disassemble, disassemble and assemble. In order to reduce the financial burden on the family, Zhang Yikang, who has a good grades, chose the "3+2" high-level vocational connection after graduating from junior high school to enter Shenzhen Vocational College of Information Technology.
Here, he met classmates who had similar experiences with him, but what was even more impressive was that seniors participated in domestic and foreign competitions and achieved good results.
"There is no shortage of excellent people in any environment, it just depends on whether you work hard or not." Zhang Yikang said.
For Zhang Yikang, the difference between secondary vocational and junior high school learning is that there are fewer geography, history, chemistry and biology classes, and the basics of electrical engineering, electronic technology and other professional knowledge are ushered in. There is more practical and learning. How to build the circuit, how to draw the circuit board, how to use the control automation equipment.
Like the senior, Zhang Yikang has also participated in many competitions, step by step from the Guangdong Province competition to the national competition, and won the first prize of the national competition.
"I saw a lot of excellent contestants during the competition. Their skills are always improving. It is not enough to win one or two awards. I have to continue to improve myself in the next time." Zhang Yikang is very clear about his future development after joining the job. Continue to improve myself and be able to come into contact with deeper professional fields. This is also what I am doing in my current work, equipment manufacturing and research and development, to improve the company's efficiency."
"The establishment of the status of'type education' in vocational education means that vocational education will be given a'green light' in policy formulation." Lu Yonghui further explained: "Some people go to secondary vocational schools after graduating from junior high school. It is not the so-called'diversion', but A prudent choice made according to the actual situation and one's own interests and hobbies. In the past, the development model based on general education will be fundamentally changed. It is no longer only a general high school and an undergraduate to have a future for development."
Workplace-or promotion or dilemma
Expert: Expansion of skilled talents, success requires "strengthening"
The new generation of "post-00s" and even "post-05s" characterized by "personality", "trend" and "social" has gradually become the main body of students in vocational schools.
Liu Weijie found that a difference of 100-200 points in a class in a secondary vocational school is extremely normal.
"The problem is that ordinary high school students can choose different colleges, majors and their directions according to their academic studies, interests and potentials. This is like a standardized'assembly line', which will'batch manufacturing' diverse students into the same'model'. Skilled talents."
Although vocational education has made considerable progress, the National Secondary Vocational Education Satisfaction Evaluation Report issued by the research team of the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences in August 2020 shows that the modern secondary vocational education system has not yet been formed, and the quality and effective supply of secondary vocational education The ability is still not well adapted to the objective requirements of high-quality economic and social development and the urgent need for technical and technical talents for industrial transformation and upgrading.
At the same time, employer surveys show that on the one hand, companies believe that the ability and quality of secondary vocational graduates are not worse than those of employees from other sources, but on the other hand, the actual wages given to secondary vocational graduates are lower than the national average. Employers with yuan accounted for only about 10%.
At the same time, with the development of technology and the transformation and upgrading of industries, Made in China is becoming "Intelligent Manufacturing in China", and more Chinese companies are becoming high-tech enterprises. This not only requires the transformation of the talent training standards of secondary vocational education, but also The connotation of its training objectives is required to be upgraded.
From the perspective of the particularity of vocational education, the purpose of running a school is to serve economic development and people’s employment to earn a living; as the generality of education, the purpose of running a school is more important than serving the overall development of people.
"To develop vocational education is to find a path suitable for one's own development, and success is achieved through'strengthening'." Shi Weiping said.
What is recognized is that I have rediscovered myself in vocational education.
Through English and professional assessments, being able to become a staff member of a foreign company after graduating from a technical secondary school at the age of 18 has made Zhang Yunyi more confident. In companies with undergraduates, masters, and PhDs, he does not feel the prejudice that exists because of his academic qualifications.
"The first is the scarcity of majors, and the second is the professionalism and professionalism of'carefulness, care and benevolence' cultivated in the study of ophthalmology and optics, which gives me rare employment opportunities for my peers. ."
"Achieve hundreds of thousands of yuan, several million yuan or even higher. Especially during the epidemic, some students started their own businesses, divided labor and cooperated, and made clothing sales online, and the income was good." Lu Yonghui often listens to teachers. To the development of the students.
Guangdong is at the forefront of economic development. The school's professional settings and the development of the local clothing industry are combined, and the way out for students who choose vocational education is not bad.
How to grow?
In Liu Weijie's view, first, from the school's own point of view, it is necessary to promote supply-side reforms, provide educational products with more user experience, and meet individual needs.
For example, provide more targeted job courses for students with employment needs, provide opportunities for entrepreneurial practice for students with entrepreneurial needs, provide possible development paths for students with higher education needs, and provide personalized students with hobbies Course.
The second is to develop majors and courses based on the actual needs of local industries, especially the joint local enterprises to build integrated courses of production, education and research, so that the development of the school's curriculum products can be integrated with the production of real products (or services) of the enterprise.
"If this can be done, a training model that is different from general education will be naturally constructed, and secondary vocational schools will become a platform for the overall development of people and a source of power for local economic and social development, and people will not repeat the path of general education. The pursuit of academic qualifications is the orientation of entering a higher school, and by then, people's doubts about vocational schools will naturally disappear." Liu Weijie imagined.
What Shi Weiping never forgets is looking forward to the restoration of the "eight-level technician system."
In the minds of the older generation, the "eight-level workers" are a symbol of superb skills and mastery. They are widely respected and they also have an enviable income.
"With such a system, vocational education will naturally be attractive, and it will naturally reflect the'traditional champion' and naturally there will be a'craftsman spirit'. At present, we must improve the long-term mechanism for training skilled talents, expand the capacity of skilled talents, and consolidate The cornerstone of economic development." Shi Weiping said.
(Our reporter Jin Xiaoyan and Yan Shenghe, some of the interviewers in the article are pseudonyms)