职业教育的政治经济学故事

The Political Economy Story of Vocational Education

教育,是现代化进程中重要的推进力量。近年来,随着中国经济社会发展步入新阶段,原有教育体制正进入一个全面调整期,这其中,职业教育的改革尤为显著。本期“观察·社会”栏目聚焦当前的职教改革,从历史经验与实践案例的不同维度,将职业教育置于社会发展的宏观视野之中,以期对职业教育的内涵与改革路径提出新的理解。周忆粟的文章从政治经济学的角度梳理了德国和美国职业教育发展的正反两方面经验,揭示出职业教育的本质其实是一种社会制度,是在特定历史情境下对诸种社会矛盾的一种解决方案。今天,要走出有中国特色的职业教育道路,意味着我们必须面对并根据中国自身的条件正确处理社会发展过程中的相关矛盾。尹秋玲的文章讨论了当前中西部地区中职发展的困境与出路。由于大部分中西部县产业结构是去工业化的,缺少产教融合基础和就业机会,中职只能采取策略性的办学逻辑,陷入低水平空转。作者建议,应从全国产业转型和社会公平稳定的战略角度出发,在中观教育制度层面思考中西部地区整体中职发展的转型之路。

This paper treats vocational and technical education(VET) as an institution of skills formation. Tracing its roots to the second industrial revolution, the author examined the historical contingencies which underpinned the success and failure of VET development. The embeddedness of human labor and skills into economic production has been contested by other factors, among which rationalization of production and individual social mobility are two significant ones. Therefore, the establishment of VET could not be equated to an equilibrium state. Rather, the institution is always on the brink of change and requires constant recalibration against disorganizing forces.