GLOBAL LOGICS AND LOCAL TRANSLATION: POLICY TRANSLATION IN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION REFORM IN CHINA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/IJEPC.1163072Keywords:
China, Comparative and International Education, Governance, Policy Borrowing and Translation, Vocational Education and Training (VET), VET ReformAbstract
This study examines how vocational education and training (VET) reform policies in China are translated, recontextualised, and operationalised across different levels of governance through the lens of policy borrowing and translation theory. The research aims to explore how globally circulating VET reform ideas are selectively adopted and reshaped within China’s centralised governance structure. A qualitative document analysis was performed on 16 official policy documents published between 2013 and 2024 at the national, provincial, and municipal levels. Data were analysed using iterative thematic coding to identify patterns of policy discourse, governance expectations, and institutional responsibilities associated with VET reform. The findings reveal that although Chinese VET reforms rhetorically align with international agendas emphasising modernisation, integration, employability, and digital transformation, these global ideas are strategically reinterpreted within China’s developmental-state framework. Four major themes emerged: (1) policy ambiguity and strategic interpretation, (2) compliance-driven performance governance, (3) fragmented capacity and uneven implementation, and (4) future readiness through integration and digitalisation. The analysis demonstrates that national policies employ broad and aspirational language that allows flexibility in interpretation, while provincial and municipal authorities translate reform objectives into measurable compliance-based tasks. Furthermore, institutional capacities vary considerably across regions, producing uneven implementation outcomes despite common policy directives. The study concludes that VET reform in China is best understood as a process of policy translation rather than policy transfer. International policy ideas are selectively borrowed and adapted to fit local political, administrative, and developmental priorities. These findings contribute to the comparative and international education literature by highlighting the importance of governance structures in mediating policy translation and demonstrating how global reforms are transformed within centralised educational systems.
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