Assessing the Quality of Upper-secondary Vocational Education and Training: Evidence from China

Comparative Education Review. 2018. Vol. 62. No. 2. P. 199–230.

Yi H., Li G., Li L., Loyalka P., Zhang L., Xu J., Kardanova E., Shi H., Chu J.

An increasing number of policymakers in developing countries have made the mass expansion of upper-secondary vocational education and training (VET) a top priority. The goal of this study is to examine whether VET fulfills the objectove of building skills and abilities along multiple dimensions and further identify which school-level factors help vocational students build these skills and abilities. To fulfill this goal, we analyzed representative, longitudinal data that we collected on more than 12,000 students from 118 schools in once province of central China. First, descriptive analysis shows approximately 90% of VET students do not make any gains in vocational or general skills. In addition, negative behaviors (misbehavior in the classroom, anti-social behavior, and other risky behaviors) are highly prevalent among VET students. A nontrivial proportion of student internships also fail to meet minimum government requirements for student safety and well-being. Perhaps as a result of these outcomes, more than 60% of students express dissatisfaction with their VET programs, as evidenced by eitehr self-reports or dropping out. Finally, using a multi-level model, we find that school inputs (such as school size, teacher qualifications, and per pupil expenditure) are not correlated with vocational and general skill at the end of the school year, or student dropout in the academic year.

Keywords: Китай, развивающиеся страны, China, developing countries, vocational education, достижения, умение учиться, achievement, skill learning, профессиональное техническое образование