Quality Evaluation Model of Vocational Education in China: A Qualitative Study Based on Grounded Theory

Abstract

Enhancing quality is the focus of vocational education reform, and building a quality evaluation system that is adapted to the needs of modern vocational education is an important task of vocational education reform. However, international research on quality evaluation models of vocational education has still not been explored in depth. In order to reveal the influencing factors and the relationships between them in the quality evaluation system of vocational education in China, this study establishes a theoretical model of quality evaluation of vocational education in China and tests the model. Based on in-depth interviews, this study reached the following conclusions: (1) Educational orientation is the starting and ending point of vocational education quality evaluation. The quality evaluation of vocational education in China is directly reflected through professional settings and talent training objectives; (2) the quality evaluation of vocational education in China focuses on factors external to the education system, which is an important means through which the quality of vocational education can be recognized by the public, enterprises, and industries; (3) there are internal factors influencing the quality evaluation of vocational education, namely institutional resources and evaluation system construction. In addition, strategies for vocational institutions are proposed based on the study results, suggesting that other countries should strictly regulate the settings of majors based on the real needs of industries; promote the development of technical knowledge, teaching materials, and teacher training; and explore the function of international exchange and cooperation, industry–education integration, and school–enterprise cooperation in educating people. This study provides a theoretical model for the quality evaluation of vocational education; in terms of practical value, the constructed model extends the scope of basic theory.