Can you choose?, Seven years of undergraduate education in vocational schools

Previously, the news of "Jiangsu Yancheng high school students applying for teacher training colleges with a score of 742 in the middle school entrance examination" attracted social attention, and also brought the vocational education integrated training model into the public eye. How to view such a path of success and growth? Will it become a choice for more people in the future? How can we better develop vocational education?

Integrated training of new students in the new semester through the integration of middle and undergraduate education

Tian Jiaxin, with a full score of 600 and a score of 569 in the middle school entrance examination, was admitted to the early childhood care program at Hangzhou People's Vocational School with a score that exceeded the first batch of admission lines in Hangzhou by 56 points. Why did she choose such a growth path? What are the characteristics of the integrated training mode of vocational education in practice? Click on the video to learn together!

What is the appeal of a 7-year vocational education program consisting of secondary vocational education and undergraduate education?

Chen Yingshu, Deputy Director of the Vocational Education and Adult Education Department of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Education: From our daily work, we have learned that the common people's choice of "integrating Chinese and undergraduate education" also involves a process of exploration and cognitive change. In the past, vocational education was seen as a dead end, not to mention advancing to undergraduate level, the probability of even advancing to vocational level was not particularly high. Zhejiang has always been committed to opening up channels for the advancement of vocational education talents, expanding their avenues for further education, and through the long-term education system of talent cultivation, enabling students to delve deeper into higher-level schools.

The long-term education system not only includes the integration of middle and undergraduate education, but also the integration of middle and higher vocational education. "Zhongben" is a collaboration aimed at vocational schools and undergraduate programs, especially applied undergraduate programs. Through a 7-year long-term training cycle, more students can be comprehensively improved, which is a more reasonable design for professional talent cultivation. By the time students graduate, not only can they reach the undergraduate level in terms of academic qualifications, but they can also reach the level of applied high-quality technical and skilled talents we consider.

Vocational education and general education are different types, and what we need to do is to establish talent training channels within the vocational education system, so that our students can achieve seamless integration. General education can be elevated to a doctoral level through exams such as the college entrance examination and graduate school entrance examination, while vocational education can also be systematically linked to elevate talent cultivation to a higher level, achieving both academic qualifications and skills enhancement.

The challenges and responses of the 7-year vocational education integrated training model

Chen Yingshu, Deputy Director of the Vocational Education and Adult Education Department of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Education: Of course, there are challenges. As of now, the starting time for us to promote this reform is not too long, especially in the long-term cultivation of talents, while also crossing the two stages of secondary and undergraduate education.

Currently, a relatively significant challenge is the alignment of talent cultivation positioning between the two stages, as well as the adaptation in the education and teaching process. Especially after students are promoted to universities, we have not yet explored at a deeper level whether universities still use the same ruler as other general high school students to evaluate the evaluation methods for vocational school students entering the undergraduate stage. So, recently we have also been considering the need to develop specialized and more suitable standard designs for the "integration of Chinese and undergraduate" talent cultivation, and to develop plans for the long-term talent cultivation of vocational education majors.

Is it worthwhile for high scoring candidates in the middle school entrance examination to choose vocational education that integrates middle and undergraduate education?

Researcher Chu Chaohui from the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences: The integrated training of Chinese and undergraduate education is a valuable exploration for solving some of the difficulties encountered in the development of secondary vocational education, especially the problem of difficulty in obtaining students. Whether it is worth it or not actually depends on the individual situation of the students. If you choose a direction that suits your strengths and potential, it's worth it; if you choose the wrong direction, it's not worth it. So in the exploration process of such a model, understanding students is a crucial link, and the strengths and potentials of different people are also different. The key and sensitive periods for the development of certain advantages and potentials, as well as the optimal period, are already clear at the age of fourteen or fifteen. However, some development directions cannot be clearly defined at the age of fourteen or fifteen. Therefore, the vocational education integrated training model we are referring to may be suitable for certain specific professions, and individuals can discover them early. Personal preferences can also be determined early. In this case, I believe integrated training is a more effective path.

Will higher education become a trend in the development of vocational education?

Researcher Chu Chaohui from the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences: In China's cultural background, education may be highly valued. But I believe that vocational education requires a degree, especially in recent years, we have also taken some measures, such as having a vocational undergraduate degree, which has also opened up the channel for vocational education to enter master's and graduate programs. However, in the long run, vocational education should not overly value academic qualifications, as its characteristics are different from those of general education. Vocational education should focus more on developing skills. If this student's skills are not cultivated, even if they have a diploma or education, their practical application in society is still limited.