The Transition from School World to Authentic Work World —a Model of Integrating Work into Learning in China TVET Colleges Dr. Bin Bai Institute of Vocational and Adult Education Beijing Normal University Johannesburg, 24 April 2013

China Vocational school and students statistics 2010 Vocational High School Number 13,941 Enrollment students number 2010 8.68million Total students number 22.31million Vocational College Number 1,246 3.1million 9.11million China Vocational school and students statistics 2010 from MOE (2012)

Introduction Learning at the workplace is a crucial factor to enhance students’ occupational competency and make them success. Blending work-based practice and school-oriented learning has been justified as an effective learning way in vocational education. Almost all kinds of Chinese TVET colleges are keen to import authentic work into their classroom. But what are effective, and how to explain these blended learning activates have incurred huge debates in China.

Research question How Chinese vocational colleges integrate authentic work into teaching and learning in cooperating with enterprise? In what extent can teaching and learning activities in vocational colleges approach authentic work?

Methodology Meta-analysis of research and documents Hermeneutics and discourse analysis of research and documents More than hundreds of publications in this topic within recent ten years Semi-structured and in-depth interviews and case study Qualitative semi-structure interview and case study methods 8 vocational colleges as cases 9 managers and academic-related staff were interviewed

Research Findings 1. Learning Place Dimension

In some rural areas, researcher finds that students spend most time in theory classroom and little time in skills training rooms, and they have no chance to get in touch with authentic work. But in some developed area, such as Guangdong Industrial Training Center, student are arranged to practice their skill in Single-Function and Multi-FunctionTraining Room.

Single-Function Training Room Multi-Function Training Building The occupational activities are divided into different working tasks, student are arranged to practice their skill in single or multi-function training room. And each skill can be practiced in certain training room. Single-Function Training Room Multi-Function Training Building from Guangdong Industrial Training Center from Nanjing Vocational College

Learning Hub is a comprehensive training and practice center, it composes of different functional areas.Students can experience the whole working process and engage all related training programme. Learning Hub

Productive Teaching Factory Enterprises move their workshops into the colleges. Teachers and students use these equipment to engage real production activity. The production process was imbedded into teaching and learning process. After they finish, the production will be sold to market.

Training workshop within enterprises Enterprise sets up a separate training workshop for students with multi-functions of teaching, training and practice and full-time management and instructors are from the enterprise.

Internship in the Enterprise’s Position Students engage same work with enterprise’ colleges in enterprise for three to six months.

2. Learning in time dimension Learning time allocation in enterprise and college

“Working and Learning Alternation” project—Zhuzhou vocational college Term Time Length (month) Learning Place Term 1 2009.9-2010.1 6 School Term 2 2010.2-2010.4 3 Enterprise 2010.5-2010.7 Term3 2010.8-2010.10 2010.11-2011.1 Term4 2011.2-2011.4 2011.5-2011.7 Term5 2011.8-2011.10 2011.11-2012.1 Term6 2012.2-2012.4 2012.5-2012.7

3.Cooperative Mechanism Aspect China government and trade association involve more and more in enterprises and colleges cooperation, some new reform trials within the national VET system emerge. Different stakeholders play different role, sometimes it is a “Game”. Some local governments such as Zhejiang province, Shangdong province have issued “Regulations for promoting school-enterprise cooperation”.   Most of China's Trade Associations were set up at the end of last century during the transformation from a planned to market economy with relevant line government ministries. They have played important roles in the cooperation of trade organizations. However, because of the shortage of legal function and role in VET, their functions in enterprises and colleges still need to be improved.

4. Learning content dimension

Most popular course model — “Working-Process-Oriented Course” Zhiqun Zhao (2009)

5. Integrating Work into Learning Pyramid Model This four-dimension model and its sub-dimension model design a question space for every college, complex school-enterprise question can translated into a mathematic question, each college can find out its position in this model. This model includes learning place model, learning time allocation model, Learning content model and School-enterprise cooperative mechanism model four sub-models. In certain degree, complex school-enterprise education question is translates into a mathematic question in this model. Every college can find its position in the question space and estimate its distance between the adademic world and work world. The model also can help college transfer from school world to authentic work world.

6. Further research How this model plays its role in practice and how different factors interact and effect each other. Whether this model can explain the results and assess the performance in college and enterprise cooperation. Emending and improving this model in positivism research.

THANKS FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION Dr. Bin Bai E-mail: baibin@bnu.edu.cn Institute Vocational and Adult Education Faculty of Education Beijing Normal University Beijing, P.R. China http://fe.bnu.edu.cn Institute of Vocational and Adult Education Beijing Normal University