Vocational education vision survey shows: 65% of secondary vocational students enter colleges
and universities
◆35% of secondary vocational graduates are employed, among about 65% of secondary vocational students who continue their studies in colleges and universities, about 10% are promoted to undergraduate colleges
◆In terms of further education channels, 49.5% of the counterparts took the single-admission, and 41.6% of the direct admissions, such as 3+2, the five-year system, and the Nakamoto pass through, and about 8.9% of the children chose the general college entrance examination.
◆From the perspective of internship time, the children who are promoted to undergraduate have only 1.8 months of practical practice activities on average, the children who are promoted to college are 2.7 months, and the children who are employed are 3.9 months.
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Recently, the diversion of general jobs has aroused widespread concern in the society, and there is a great tendency to go out of the circle.
In response to the issue of "general vocational diversion", at the recent National Two Sessions, many deputies believed that due to the development of the times, economic transformation, social changes, and the development of education itself, the proportion of students enrolled in ordinary high school and vocational high school education in my country is roughly the same. The "general job diversion" policy has been increasingly challenged.
Many people suggested that the "general vocational diversion" should not be roughly equivalent, but to strengthen publicity and guidance, improve the social acceptance and recognition of vocational education, actively explore a new development model of "general vocational integration", and establish and improve the vocational education college entrance examination system. , to accelerate the development of vocational education at the undergraduate level.
At the press conference of the Ministry of Education in February 2022, Chen Ziji, director of the Department of Vocational Education and Adult Education of the Ministry of Education, proposed that the division of general vocational education is still necessary, but it is necessary to promote the diversified development of secondary vocational schools, from "employment-oriented" Change to "employment and further education".
Vocational secondary school students can be admitted to higher vocational colleges or even undergraduates, which has been guaranteed by policy.
In a sample survey of nearly 20,000 secondary vocational graduates across the country in 2020, the author and the team tried to find out which secondary vocational graduates continued to study, and tried to make policy recommendations for ensuring the promotion of secondary vocational students.
65% of secondary vocational graduates go on to study
The author's investigation found that further education is the main destination of secondary vocational education, and students can continue their studies through various channels such as counterpart single-admission, five-year consistent system, and general college entrance examination.
For children who have no financial worries and want to study hard, there is almost no trouble in whether or not they can go to higher vocational education.
According to the 2020 National Sampling Survey of Secondary Vocational Graduates by the China Institute of Educational Finance of Peking University, among the nearly 20,000 samples, only 35% were employed, and about 65% of the secondary vocational students who entered colleges and universities to continue their studies Among them, about 10% were admitted to undergraduate colleges.
In terms of further education channels, one-on-one admissions and various forms of direct promotion are the main ways of further education.
There are also more than 1,000 people who choose the ordinary college entrance examination and compete with ordinary college students on the same stage.
For children who persisted until graduation, there was no significant difference in the overall admission rate between boys and girls, except that the undergraduate admission rate for girls (7.1%) was slightly higher than that for boys (5.5%).
With the advancement of the "Vocational Education College Entrance Examination", applied undergraduate and vocational undergraduates are expanding the enrollment scale of secondary vocational schools.
In October 2021, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Promoting the High-quality Development of Modern Vocational Education", which clearly stated that "by 2025, the enrollment scale of vocational undergraduate education shall not be lower than 10% of the enrollment scale of higher vocational education." .
The author estimates that if the above goals can be achieved, the proportion of secondary vocational graduates who are directly promoted to undergraduate colleges will be greatly increased after 2025.
This means that the vocational education overpass has been built, and the study path of secondary vocational graduates has not been blocked, but has become wider.
Vocational school graduates, who went to undergraduate
So, who is progressing, especially into attractive undergraduate institutions?
With the help of national sample survey data, we can answer.
The examination system for higher vocational education has distinct regional characteristics, and the region has an influence that cannot be ignored.
There is not much difference between the eastern and central regions. About one-third of children are directly employed, about 60% are admitted to college, and about 7% can be promoted to undergraduate; but in the west, 44% of children are directly employed, and only 4% are able to Advance to undergraduate.
The proportion of children in the western region is far less than that in the eastern and central regions, especially the opportunities for admission to undergraduates.
In terms of further education channels, 49.5% of the students enrolled in the corresponding single-admission, 41.6% of the students who went straight to college, such as 3+2, the five-year system, and the Nakamoto pass through, and about 8.9% of the children chose the general college entrance examination.
In terms of majors, the upgrade rate of majors in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, resources and environment, culture and art exceeds 15%, and the upgrade rate of majors in petrochemical, information technology, medical and health, finance and commerce is between 5% and 10%, and other majors Major categories are below 5%.
The agriculture-related majors, which are positioned to serve the agriculture, rural areas and farmers, have one of the highest enrollment rates among all majors.
From the perspective of school types, district and county-owned public schools have the highest proportion of undergraduates, close to 9%, significantly higher than provincial and municipal government-run secondary vocational schools and private secondary vocational schools.
In the situation that the school-running conditions such as internship training equipment and dual-qualified teachers are insufficient compared with provincial and municipal schools, many district and county-owned secondary vocational schools have earlier formed a school-running model with further education as their core competitiveness.
In addition, from the perspective of internship time, the children who are promoted to undergraduate have only 1.8 months of practical practice activities on average, the children who are promoted to college are 2.7 months, and the children who are employed are 3.9 months.
10% of the children who enter the undergraduate program have no experience in practical training.
The proportion of children who did not obtain vocational certificates was 7%, and the proportion of children who obtained one or two certificates was only 5%.
What led to a higher proportion of children with less practical experience, no vocational certificate, and some low-ranking students who were promoted to undergraduates?
The author believes that general vocational financing is the most important reason.
The principals of some secondary vocational schools have made it clear that their counterparts are mainly recruiting senior two or senior three students from ordinary high schools.
Some secondary vocational schools even have "advancement zones" and "non-advancement zones" in order to prevent the children from further education from being affected.
Another reason may come from the current lack of organization and management of vocational entrance examinations.
It can be seen from the above that there are still bumps in vocational school students' further education, and the reform of vocational education overpass is still on the way.
How to escort the policy of secondary vocational students
The fairness and impartiality of the examination and admissions system is the top priority.
For the irregularities in enrollment, it is urgent to take a heavy blow and increase the rectification.
The problem of further education of some children from financially disadvantaged families in secondary vocational schools needs to be paid attention to at the policy level.
The free secondary vocational policy has helped many children from financially disadvantaged families complete their high school education, but the high cost of higher education, especially the opportunity cost of losing potential income, hinders their continued education.
It is the proper meaning of the student financial aid policy to increase the targeted financial aid for some students from financially disadvantaged families in vocational colleges, so that effort and ability become the dominant factors in the future choices of these secondary vocational graduates.
The optimization and adjustment of the content and structure ratio of the "Cultural Quality + Vocational Skills" examination is related to the retention of the characteristics of the type of education in secondary vocational schools.
In addition to the three subjects of Chinese, mathematics and English, the "Vocational Education College Entrance Examination" distinguishes the professional theory and professional skills examinations of major categories.
The college entrance examination is the baton, and the classroom teaching and practical training activities of secondary vocational schools will be reshaped around this baton.
Some general high school students transfer to secondary vocational schools in their third year of senior high school to participate in their counterpart education. Although this is understandable at the individual level, it also shows that there is an "arbitrage space" between general high school and secondary vocational education, and secondary vocational schools become universities (mainly undergraduates). shortcut.
The formation of this arbitrage space is partly due to the insufficient emphasis on professional knowledge and professional skills in the test content.
The method of refusing ordinary high school students to transfer to secondary vocational schools is contrary to the basic concept of general vocational integration and is not desirable.
However, in the future reform, it is necessary to pay close attention to the large-scale "arbitrage behavior" of senior three students transferring to secondary vocational schools, and adjust the content and structure ratio of the "vocational education college entrance examination" accordingly.
The practice of comprehensive evaluation and multiple admissions will determine whether the integration of production and education can be taken into account.
Children without vocational certificates go to undergraduates, and children with less practical experience go to undergraduates. This phenomenon should be changed.
With the transition of secondary vocational education from "employment-oriented" to "equal emphasis on further education and employment", the impact of the enrollment rate, especially the enrollment rate, on the reputation of the school continues to increase, and in-depth school-enterprise cooperation has become a thankless behavior.
In the face of the rise of some "super secondary vocational schools" with more than 100 people who have been promoted, some secondary vocational schools that were originally good at running schools for the industry and have a long history of apprenticeships have gradually lost their attractiveness to outstanding students.
In response to this change, some secondary vocational schools that closely serve local industries have had to adjust their orientation to attract outstanding students.
And more excellent students go to school, which has a negative impact on the company's continued deep participation in talent training.
Due to the increasing proportion of postgraduate upgrades, this mechanism has also been transmitted to higher vocational colleges, and many originally in-depth school-enterprise cooperation projects have been impacted by the upgrade of outstanding students.
How to formulate evaluation standards that are conducive to the integration of production and education and the cultivation of truly skilled talents and conduct admissions based on this will test the wisdom and responsibility of reformers.
(The author is an associate researcher at the China Institute of Educational Finance, Peking University)
Tian Zhilei Source: China Youth Daily