Study On Vocational Education Development In The Process Of Urbanization

In the context of rapid urbanization in China, this dissertation researches, at a macro level, the development issues of vocational education through analyzing the attributions of vocational education to urbanization induced economic restructuring, social stability, social equality and orderly transfer of rural surplus labor into cities.The first part of the dissertation focuses on the interactive relationship between urbanization and vocational education, and its application in the Chinese context. Statistical analysis result has revealed a very close interactive, dynamic relationship between urbanization and development of secondary education. China is in its phase of rapid urbanization. Therefore, its overall strategy of focusing on the development of secondary while extending the scope of higher vocational education conforms to the lessons learned internationally. Rapid urbanization in china has brought demands to the development of vocational education in six main areas, including i) changing industrial structure; ii) changing employment structure; iii) orderly transferring rural surplus labor to cities; iv) solving the urban employment challenge; v) solving the contradiction between demand and supply in education along the process of urbanization; and vi) meeting increasing urban needs for skilled workers and reducing disparities on both income and access to education among social groups.The second part of the dissertation examines the important role of vocational education in various key social economic, social and cultural processes induced by and central to urbanization, including economic restructuring, social stability and equality that centered with the integration of rural migrants into the cities, urban population development, as well as employment of farmers. Through analyzing the relationship between urbanization and economic and employment structure, the dissertation argues that the development of the vocational education in China, in both scope and structure, has been a key factor in reshaping the human resources structure and in turn the employment structure. It has been contributing greatly to the development of the tertiary industry and the process of urbanization in general. Integration of rural migrants and conflicts between them and urban residents are among the urgent issues facing China's rapid urbanization. By analyzing the role of vocational education in various aspects of the social development in the process of urbanization, such as migrant integration, reducing inequity and enhancing social stability, the dissertation believes that the development of vocational education can both directly enhance the'education equality'and indirectly reduce the gap between the rich and poor by helping the migrant labor for better job and income prospects. Urban population development is the most distinct and defining feature of urbanization. Based on theories of population mobility, the dissertation examines the role of vocation education to the urban population change in both quantity and quality. In addition, the dissertation has theoretically and empirically analyzed the critical facilitating role of vocational education to the livelihood transfer and employment of rural surplus labor forces.Drawn upon the key findings of the dissertation and targeting the main demands and challenges brought about by the rapid urbanization, the dissertation concludes with seven recommendations to the development of vocational education in the process of urbanization in China, including strengthening the understanding of vocational education development, establishing and improving modern vocational education system, deepening reform of the vocational education management institutions, strengthening coordinated vocational education management by municipal government, broadening sources of investment and the scope of vocational education,vigorously promoting private vocational education, keeping the focus of secondary vocational education development on the needs of rural-urban migrants and making the curriculum reform clearly career-oriented.