Does Vocational Education Matter in Rural China? A Comparison of the Effects of Upper-Secondary Vocational and Academic Education: Evidence from CLDS Survey
The Chinese government has emphasised the role of vocational education and training (VET) in promoting the rural economy. Since 2018, the government has invested heavily in setting up secondary vocational schools, training centres, specialised programmes, and courses in rural areas. This paper aimed...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Education Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13/3/258 |
| _version_ | 1797612281810386944 |
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| author | Geng Wang Xin Zhang Rui Xu |
| author_facet | Geng Wang Xin Zhang Rui Xu |
| author_sort | Geng Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Chinese government has emphasised the role of vocational education and training (VET) in promoting the rural economy. Since 2018, the government has invested heavily in setting up secondary vocational schools, training centres, specialised programmes, and courses in rural areas. This paper aimed to explore whether VET at the upper-secondary level leads to better labour market outcomes than academic education in Chinese rural areas. We also aimed to quantitively investigate the social prestige of vocational and academic education among rural residents by comparing the subjective social status level of those who graduated from upper-secondary vocational schools and general academic schools. We drew data from the China Labour-force Dynamic Survey (CLDS). A binary logit model and multinomial logit model were used in this research. The results showed that rural upper-secondary vocational graduates had an advantage over general graduates in terms of their income and employment stability. However, VET led to lower subjective social status when compared with general education. This study demonstrated that although promoting VET in rural areas could potentially benefit rural residents financially, cultural change is needed to ensure the elevation of the standing of vocational education and promote the worthiness, effectiveness, and capabilities that vocational graduates possess. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:40:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a1ceaa61dc744571a730f56bb9d38247 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:40:04Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-a1ceaa61dc744571a730f56bb9d382472023-11-17T10:41:43ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022023-02-0113325810.3390/educsci13030258Does Vocational Education Matter in Rural China? A Comparison of the Effects of Upper-Secondary Vocational and Academic Education: Evidence from CLDS SurveyGeng Wang0Xin Zhang1Rui Xu2School of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, ChinaSchool of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, ChinaSchool of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, ChinaThe Chinese government has emphasised the role of vocational education and training (VET) in promoting the rural economy. Since 2018, the government has invested heavily in setting up secondary vocational schools, training centres, specialised programmes, and courses in rural areas. This paper aimed to explore whether VET at the upper-secondary level leads to better labour market outcomes than academic education in Chinese rural areas. We also aimed to quantitively investigate the social prestige of vocational and academic education among rural residents by comparing the subjective social status level of those who graduated from upper-secondary vocational schools and general academic schools. We drew data from the China Labour-force Dynamic Survey (CLDS). A binary logit model and multinomial logit model were used in this research. The results showed that rural upper-secondary vocational graduates had an advantage over general graduates in terms of their income and employment stability. However, VET led to lower subjective social status when compared with general education. This study demonstrated that although promoting VET in rural areas could potentially benefit rural residents financially, cultural change is needed to ensure the elevation of the standing of vocational education and promote the worthiness, effectiveness, and capabilities that vocational graduates possess.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13/3/258vocational education and trainingrural Chinalabour market outcomeemployment stability |
| spellingShingle | Geng Wang Xin Zhang Rui Xu Does Vocational Education Matter in Rural China? A Comparison of the Effects of Upper-Secondary Vocational and Academic Education: Evidence from CLDS Survey Education Sciences vocational education and training rural China labour market outcome employment stability |
| title | Does Vocational Education Matter in Rural China? A Comparison of the Effects of Upper-Secondary Vocational and Academic Education: Evidence from CLDS Survey |
| title_full | Does Vocational Education Matter in Rural China? A Comparison of the Effects of Upper-Secondary Vocational and Academic Education: Evidence from CLDS Survey |
| title_fullStr | Does Vocational Education Matter in Rural China? A Comparison of the Effects of Upper-Secondary Vocational and Academic Education: Evidence from CLDS Survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Does Vocational Education Matter in Rural China? A Comparison of the Effects of Upper-Secondary Vocational and Academic Education: Evidence from CLDS Survey |
| title_short | Does Vocational Education Matter in Rural China? A Comparison of the Effects of Upper-Secondary Vocational and Academic Education: Evidence from CLDS Survey |
| title_sort | does vocational education matter in rural china a comparison of the effects of upper secondary vocational and academic education evidence from clds survey |
| topic | vocational education and training rural China labour market outcome employment stability |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/13/3/258 |
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