Vocational education reform across the Taiwan Strait: A comparative analysis of governance scale and institutional ecology
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21831/jpv.v16i1.97938Keywords:
comparative education, governance scale, institutional ecology, Mainland China, vocational educationAbstract
This study compares vocational education reform in Taiwan and Mainland China to explain why similar reform goals are translated into different institutional practices. Previous cross-strait studies have often examined the two systems separately or compared individual policy measures, while paying limited attention to the institutional logic linking governance scale, institutional ecology, and industrial transition pathways. Using qualitative empirical document analysis within a comparative case-study design, the study analysed 35 core policy, legal, statistical, institutional, and academic sources. Documentary evidence was coded using an integrated covering governance structure, system scale and institutional composition, curriculum and major adjustment, industry–education cooperation, teacher development, and digital transformation. The findings reveal convergence in the shared emphasis on applied talent cultivation, practical learning, and stronger industry linkages, but divergence in the institutional mechanisms through which these objectives are implemented. Taiwan’s relatively smaller and more diversified technical and vocational education system promotes flexible learning pathways, private institutional participation, and industry–academia collaboration, whereas Mainland China’s large-scale system emphasizes national coordination, strategic programme restructuring, school–enterprise cooperation, and workforce development aligned with industrial upgrading. The study contributes an integrated six-dimensional comparative framework for analysing vocational education reform in culturally connected yet institutionally distinct contexts and provides practical insights for context-sensitive policy learning and vocational education reform.
References
Antonietti, C., Cattaneo, A., & Amenduni, F. (2022). Can teachers’ digital competence influence technology acceptance in vocational education? Computers in Human Behavior, 132, 107266. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107266
Bailey, W., Lavender, K., Youde, A., & Jiao, J. (2024). Experiences from great vocational education policy change in China - a teacher perspective. International Journal of Training Research, 22(1), 87–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/14480220.2024.2332350
Billett, S. (2011). Vocational education. Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1954-5
Bray, M., Adamson, B., & Mason, M. (2014). Comparative education research (M. Bray, B. Adamson, & M. Mason (eds.); Vol. 19). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05594-7
Cattaneo, A. A. P., Antonietti, C., & Rauseo, M. (2022). How digitalised are vocational teachers? Assessing digital competence in vocational education and looking at its underlying factors. Computers & Education, 176, 104358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2021.104358
Cattaneo, A. A. P., Antonietti, C., & Rauseo, M. (2025). How do vocational teachers use technology? The role of perceived digital competence and perceived usefulness in technology use across different teaching profiles. Vocations and Learning, 18(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12186-025-09359-4
Deschênes, M., Dionne, L., & Parent, S. (2024). Supporting digital competency development for vocational education student teachers in distance education. Frontiers in Education, 9, 1452445. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1452445
Fuller, A., & Unwin, L. (2003). Learning as apprentices in the contemporary UK workplace: creating and managing expansive and restrictive participation. Journal of Education and Work, 16(4), 407–426. https://doi.org/10.1080/1363908032000093012
Greinert, W.-D. (2005). Mass vocational education and training in Europe: Classical models of the 19th century and training in England, France and Germany during the first half of the 20th (Vol. 118). Nicholson. https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/files/5157_en.pdf
Hu, X., Ke, S., & Han, G. (2018). The characteristics of vocational education in Taiwan and its enlightenment to Mainland China. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Contemporary Education, Social Sciences and Humanities (ICCESSH 2018), 476–480. https://doi.org/10.2991/iccessh-18.2018.106
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511815355
Luo, T., Ma, H., & Wei, Z. (2026). A cross-strait perspective: A study on the development of new-generation vocational education teacher training and faculty team building — a comparative analysis between Mainland China and Taiwan, China. Global Education Development Study, 2(1), 14–23. https://ojs.bbwpublisher.com/index.php/GEDS/article/view/14431
Mende, C., Oswald-Egg, M. E., & Caves, K. (2025). Vocational education and training (VET) system governance: A systematic literature review. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 77(5), 1419–1453. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2025.2461586
Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2022). The National Vocational Education Smart Education Platform officially launched. https://www.moe.gov.cn/fbh/live/2022/54324/mtbd/202203/t20220329_611906.html
Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. (2024). Educational statistics in 2023. https://en.moe.gov.cn/documents/statistics/2023/national/
Ministry of Education of the Republic of China. (2026). Guidelines for technical and vocational education policies. https://english.moe.gov.tw/fp-10-20555-03d82-1.html
Ministry of Education of the Republic of China (Taiwan). (2011). Technological and vocational education in Taiwan, ROC. Ministry of Education. https://gpi.culture.tw/books/2010002059
Ministry of Education of the Republic of China (Taiwan). (2024). Education in Taiwan 2024/2025. https://english.moe.gov.tw/fp-127-39682-8de98-1.html
National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China. (2022). Vocational education law of the People’s Republic of China. http://en.npc.gov.cn.cdurl.cn/2022-04/20/c_909970.htm
OECD. (2023). Education at a Glance 2023. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/e13bef63-en
Phillips, D., & Ochs, K. (2004). Researching policy borrowing: Some methodological challenges in comparative education. British Educational Research Journal, 30(6), 773–784. https://doi.org/10.1080/0141192042000279495
Pilz, M. (2016). Typologies in comparative vocational education: Existing models and a new approach. Vocations and Learning, 9(3), 295–314. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12186-016-9154-7
Rahmawati, S., Prestridge, S., Abdullah, A. G., & Widiaty, I. (2025). Unpacking the digital competence challenge in vocational education: A case from Indonesia. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 12, 101803. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2025.101803
Rauner, F., & Maclean, R. (2008). Handbook of technical and vocational education and training research. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8347-1
Reich, A., Rooney, D., & Lizier, A. L. (2021). Using technology integration frameworks in vocational education and training. International Journal of Training Research, 19(2), 93–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/14480220.2020.1864447
Roll, M. J. J., & Ifenthaler, D. (2021). Multidisciplinary digital competencies of pre-service vocational teachers. Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training, 13(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40461-021-00112-4
Subrahmanyam, G. (2020). UNESCO-UNEVOC study on the trends shaping the future of TVET teaching. https://doi.org/10.54675/MMQE7367
Subrahmanyam, G. (2022). Trends mapping study: Digital skills development in TVET teacher training. UNESCO–a global leader in education. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000380899
The State Council of the People’s Republic of China. (2026). China’s vocational education changes amid push for new quality productive forces. https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202411/23/content_WS6741110cc6d0868f4e8ed56d.html
UNESCO. (2016). Recommendation concerning Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), 2015. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000245178
Weltbank. (2020). Demand-driven skills training and results-based contracting. World Bank, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.1596/33556
World Bank. (2018). Technical and vocational education and training: Lessons from China. World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2018/10/30/technical-and-vocational-education-and-training-lessons-from-china
Yu, B., Li, R., Zhang, S., Mao, P., Xu, C., Shi, J., & Wu, G. (2025). Constraints, mechanisms, and strategies for industry-education integration in vocational education: An empirical study. PLOS One, 20(12), e0339158. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0339158
Zhao, D., & Selvaratnam, D. P. (2024). A systematic literature review on the reform of vocational education in China. Cogent Education, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2343525
Zhou, Y., & Xu, G. (2023). Vocational School–Enterprise Cooperation in China: A Review of Policy Reforms, 1978–2022. ECNU Review of Education, 6(3), 433–450. https://doi.org/10.1177/20965311231167895
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Jurnal Pendidikan Vokasi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Upon acceptance of the manuscript, the corresponding author will be required to complete and sign the Jurnal Pendidikan Vokasi Publishing Agreement before the article proceeds to publication.
The Publishing Agreement Form can be downloaded here:
Jurnal Pendidikan Vokasi Publishing Agreement
The signed agreement should be submitted electronically to the Editorial Office via email:
Authors retain the copyright of their work while granting Jurnal Pendidikan Vokasi a non-exclusive license to publish, distribute, and identify itself as the original publisher of the article.
All articles published by Jurnal Pendidikan Vokasi are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, adaptation, and reproduction in any medium, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s), a link to the license is provided, and any derivative works are distributed under the same license.
Jurnal Pendidikan Vokasi by http://journal.uny.ac.id/index.php/jpv is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
