In the intelligent construction training base of Zaozhuang Vocational College of Science and Technology in Shandong Province, teachers demonstrate the simulated operation of the construction site for students. Photo by Hou Qian, bright**.
Students of Zhejiang Mechanical and Electrical Vocational and Technical College carry out practical training and teaching in the digital workshop. Photo by Chen Zeyi Bright**.
Focus on the connotative development of vocational education].
Recently, the news that a vocational college in Changzhou has suspended enrollment of e-sports sports and management majors has sparked heated discussions. From the opening in 2018 to the suspension of enrollment in 2023, this major has only existed in this higher vocational school for 5 years. According to data, in 2017, there were 17 higher vocational colleges across the country that offered e-sports majors, and in 2018, the number of higher vocational colleges offering this major increased to 47. It is not an exaggeration to describe the e-sports profession at that time as "hot".
In just five years, the "establishment" and "withdrawal" of e-sports majors in a vocational college have become a microcosm of the professional setting of higher vocational colleges. In fact, optimizing the professional setting of higher vocational colleges has always been one of the key tasks for the high-quality development of vocational education. The "Opinions on Deepening the Construction and Reform of the Modern Vocational Education System" issued by the Office of the Central Committee and the Office of the State Council emphasized that the dynamic adjustment mechanism of vocational education should be improved and the professional layout should be closely connected with the local industrial structure. The "Implementation Plan for the Integration and Empowerment of Vocational Education (2023-2025)" issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments also clarifies that the professional setting of vocational education will be improved, and it is proposed to encourage schools to open more majors that are in short supply and meet market demand, so as to form a professional system that closely connects the industrial chain and innovation chain.
At present, what are the problems in the professional setting of higher vocational colleges in China?To build a strong vocational college major, what other aspects need to be strengthened?
1.The professional setting does not match the industrial layout enough.
At present, the professional setting of higher vocational colleges does not match the industrial development and job requirements enough, and there is a phenomenon that is too scattered and redundant. Xu Jianjun, dean of Changzhou Information Vocational and Technical College, pointed out, "First, there are clusters and overlaps in the professional offerings of different schools in the same region, and the logic of professional groups is not clear and there is no differentiation;Second, there is overlap and intersection between different majors in the same school, and repeated investment and construction, resulting in a waste of teaching resources. ”
This issue was also mentioned by Chen Guilin, president of the Guangdong Provincial Institute of Vocational Education. He told reporters that China's higher vocational colleges generally have a rapid increase in the number of majors and an impulsive expansion of the number of majors. "In the absence of teaching conditions such as teachers and practical training, some higher vocational colleges do not consider the actual needs of local economic development and the source of students, blindly compete for some so-called 'popular' majors, and even recruit students without demonstration, taking a kind of extensional, high-investment, low-efficiency rapid expansion road. ”
The redundancy and lack of characteristics of the majors further reflect the deep-seated problem of mismatch between the professional structure and the industrial layout of higher vocational colleges. Tang Zhibin, a professor at the Institute of Vocational Education of Hunan Normal University, pointed out that at present, the industrial chain links of many vocational colleges and universities are incomplete and the level of the value chain is low. "This not only affects the employment and career development of graduates, but also makes it difficult to adapt to the requirements of regional industrial innovation and development, green development, and high-quality development. ”
Many vocational schools are 'rushing to the top' when opening some majors, but due to the lack of scientific demonstration, some majors are susceptible to changes in the external environment and are difficult to achieve sustainable development. Xu Jianjun said that vocational education is employment-oriented education, and the professional setting should be closely related to the needs of local industry enterprises, and the professional groups of schools should be connected with regional key industrial groups and industrial chains. However, some higher vocational colleges do not fully consider the needs of society and industry, and lack the cultivation of students' actual job ability.
In addition, the lack of upgrading and digital transformation is also one of the common problems in higher vocational colleges. Tang Zhibin pointed out that the trend of industrial digitalization has brought about new technologies for occupational positions that are changing with each passing day, and the requirements for relevant workers have gradually changed from "technology + labor" to "technology + brainpower". However, at present, the upgrading and digital transformation of related majors lag far behind the new needs brought about by industrial transformation and upgrading.
The Catalogue of Vocational Education Majors (2021) clearly states that digital upgrading and transformation will be promoted to build future technical skills. "The national teaching standard system of vocational education is becoming more and more sound, and higher vocational colleges should actively implement the requirements for the dynamic update of vocational education majors and promote professional upgrading and digital transformation. Xu Jianjun said.
2.The professional overall management and evaluation mechanism is not perfect.
If the professional setting is "rushed", it is inevitable that there will be a phenomenon of "rushing down". At present, what needs to be further questioned is what is the root cause of the many problems existing in the professional setting of China's higher vocational colleges?
When some higher vocational colleges set up majors, they often only see the current hot industries or market demand, but do not conduct in-depth research on market development trends and long-term planning of the industry. Xu Jianjun said, "Therefore, the school will lack forward-looking and pertinent when setting up majors, and there is no clear understanding of the training objectives and training processes of the popular majors, and it is impossible to effectively formulate talent training programs that meet market demand." ”
Xu Jianjun added that some vocational colleges ignore their own actual situation when they follow the market demand and open new majors. When the number of students in new majors increases, the school may not be able to provide sufficient training places and equipment, excellent teachers and other teaching resources, and it is difficult to provide courses and practical positions closely related to the needs of the industry, resulting in unsatisfactory teaching quality, which in turn affects the reputation and attractiveness of the school.
Tang Zhibin believes that some industries are developing rapidly, technology and demand are changing rapidly, while the response speed of the vocational education system is relatively slow, and it is impossible to reflect the development changes and keep up with the development needs in the professional setting, and the relevant knowledge of new technologies and new processes cannot be integrated into education and teaching in real time.
Building an authoritative and perfect information sharing mechanism for regional industrial development and talent supply and demand is a major problem that higher vocational colleges must solve. Tang Zhibin said that due to the imperfect information sharing mechanism, it is difficult for the school to know the quantity, structure and specific characteristics of the talent demand of the industry and enterprises, which also leads to the lack of matching between the professional setting and the development of the industry. At the same time, the informatization and digital upgrading of some majors require a long time to design, demonstrate and implement, and the cost is relatively high, and it is difficult for teacher allocation, curriculum design and teaching implementation to adapt to the development trend of high-end and compound industry.
In addition, Chen Guilin also found that it is relatively easy for vocational colleges to open new majors, while it is often more difficult to adjust and withdraw certain majors with sluggish enrollment. "There is a lack of effective scientific argumentation in the professional setting, and the effectiveness, progression, cohesion and coherence of the curriculum system of the education majors and curriculum at the secondary vocational, higher vocational and undergraduate levels have not been formed. At the same time, the management and evaluation mechanism set up by the profession is still not perfect. The lack of a regional professional overall management and evaluation system, insufficient regulation and control, and serious professional blind obedience will inevitably lead to an unreasonable professional layout structure, which cannot meet the needs of economic development and industrial transformation and upgrading for talent scale, structure and quality. ”
3.The front and back ends make concerted efforts to do a good job in professional settings and structural adjustments.
So, where should we start with the professional setting of higher vocational colleges?
First of all, it is necessary to strengthen market research and scientific demonstration. Xu Jianjun pointed out that when setting up majors, higher vocational colleges should understand market demand and industry trends, and formulate scientific and reasonable professional setting plans based on the school's positioning to ensure that the school's professional settings fully match the market demand.
The professional setting should not only meet the needs of social and economic development, but also focus on the long-term development of colleges and universities, and adopt strategies such as the combination of long-term majors and first-class majors, the coexistence of wide-caliber majors and narrow-caliber majors, the integration of backbone majors and radiation majors, and the complementarity of academic majors and vocational training, so as to establish a scientific professional construction plan and ensure the scientific, forward-looking and orderly nature of the professional setting and professional structure adjustment. Chen Guilin said.
Tang Zhibin said that the smooth flow of information is a key element. "* The department should effectively improve the information sharing mechanism of industrial development and talent demand supply, break through the functional barriers of various departments, so that higher vocational colleges can timely and accurately understand the needs of skilled talents in industries and enterprises, including quantity, structure, specifications, etc., and be reflected in the professional setting, talent training program and education and teaching process for the first time. ”
It can also set up an information release platform for industrial development and professional settings to guide regions and schools to set up majors in a forward-looking manner. Chen Guilin added that the first-class intervention mechanism should also be improved, and a professional layout structure should be established for regulation and early warning. The adjustment of the professional layout structure should adhere to the principle of serving regional economic development, and establish an early warning mechanism for the establishment of national, provincial, municipal, and school majors according to the local economic and industrial development plans and the needs of enterprises.
Higher vocational colleges can be appropriately laid out in advance, and fully demonstrate the realistic possibility of 'moderately advanced' professional settings. Tang Zhibin suggested that we should give full play to the important functions of new industry-education integration entities such as the city-level industry-education consortium and the industry-education integration community, further strengthen the connection between industry and vocational education, and promote the development of vocational education while improving the service capacity of higher vocational colleges.
In addition to optimizing the "front-end force" of the layout, the "rear guarantee" such as the investment of educational resources is also indispensable. Xu Jianjun said that higher vocational colleges should increase investment in educational resources, strengthen the construction of practice bases, and provide students with more opportunities for practice. At the same time, it is also necessary to improve the comprehensive quality and ability of teachers, and improve the professional level and industry experience of teachers by introducing excellent teachers, strengthening teacher training, and encouraging teachers to participate in industry practice.
Reporter of this newspaper Jin Haotian and correspondent of this newspaper Nie Yidan).