A Multidimensional Analysis of China's Career Education Policies Based on Cooper’s Model

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Since the dawn of the 21st century, rapid global economic transformation, profound industrial restructuring, and disruptive technological innovations have placed unprecedented demands on the quality and structure of human capital. Career education, serving as a vital bridge connecting individual development with socioeconomic needs, has seen its strategic importance increasingly recognized. Against this backdrop, the Chinese government has placed growing emphasis on advancing career education.Since the 21st century, particularly following the promulgation of the National Medium- and Long-Term Education Reform and Development Plan Outline (2010-2020), the state has intensively issued a series of policy documents aimed at promoting and standardizing career education. These policies constitute the top-level design and action guide for China's career education practices.However, despite abundant policy supply, the practical outcomes of China's career education face numerous challenges. These include regional and inter-school development imbalances, poor transitions between educational stages, disconnects from societal demands, and the erosion of career education's essence by exam-oriented tendencies. These practical dilemmas profoundly reflect a significant "gap" between policy texts and policy implementation.Existing research predominantly focuses on textual interpretations of individual policies or summaries of localized practices, lacking a systematic analytical framework to comprehensively examine the overall structure, internal logic, and evolutionary trajectory of China's career education policy system. Even fewer studies delve into potential structural imbalances in policy design from the perspective of interactions between policy instruments and governance levels.Conducting a multidimensional analysis of China's career education policies based on an integrated analytical model holds significant theoretical and practical value. This study aims to integrate Cooper's multidimensional educational policy analysis framework with ideological, historical institutionalist, stakeholder, and systems theories. Through systematic review and multidimensional analysis of China's national-level career education policy texts,and utilizing SPSS analysis of valid data from a sample survey—704 online questionnaires on "The Current State of Career Education in Regular High Schools" distributed to and collected from high school graduates across 27 Chinese provinces, along with 173 career interest assessments from current high school students—to achieve the following core objectives: First, to deeply analyze the belief systems and value objectives underpinning China's career education policies, exploring the core value orientations upheld at different developmental stages;Second, systematically map the macro-level landscape and historical evolution of China's career education policies, examining their historical context and institutional environment of formation and transformation; Third, comprehensively clarify the role positioning and interaction mechanisms of diverse stakeholders within China's career education policy system, exploring the delineation of responsibilities and collaborative mechanisms among stakeholders;Fourth, objectively present the application landscape of policy texts and practical outcomes, examining the effectiveness and challenges encountered during the implementation of China's career education policies across relevant educational stages; Finally, based on the above analysis, identify the structural characteristics and potential risks within China's current career education policy system, and provide forward-looking and actionable theoretical foundations and practical pathways for future policy optimization and innovation. Research findings indicate that China's career education policies have evolved through four distinct phases: the vocational education foundation period (1978–1999), the employment guidance transition period (2000–2013), the institutionalization initiation period (2014–2019), and the comprehensive development period (2020–present). At the core value level, these policies have achieved synergistic advancement of individual, societal, and national objectives.Its formation has been shaped by multiple factors including economic transformation, educational reforms (such as the new college entrance examination), societal attitudes, and international experiences, resulting in a progressive policy framework covering all educational stages.Policy implementation involves a multi-stakeholder structure of "government leadership—school hub—family collaboration—social supplementation," with inherent tensions between government and schools, families and policies, and society and equity. Differentiated pathways have emerged across basic education, vocational education, and higher education. While advancing whole-stage coverage and enhancing students' career awareness, the policy faces challenges including urban-rural resource imbalances, utilitarian evaluation practices, and teacher shortages—areas requiring further optimization. By innovatively applying the Cooper model to China's career education policy domain, this study not only offers a novel systemic analytical perspective for understanding China's policy practices—revealing their deep structural characteristics and contradictions—but also provides a path reference with theoretical depth and practical value for advancing China's career education policy from "textual form" to substantive "governance effectiveness."

목차 (Table of Contents)

• I. Introduction 1
• 1.1 Research Necessity and Objectives 1
• 1.2 Research Questions 6
• II. Theoretical Background 8
• 2.1 Definition of Career Education Concept 8
• 2.2 Overview of Cooper's Multidimensional Policy Analysis Model 10
• 2.2.1 Normative Dimension 13
• 2.2.2 Structural Dimension 14
• 2.2.3 Constitutive Dimension 15
• 2.2.4 Technical Dimension 15
• 2.3 Previous Research 17
• 2.3.1 Literature Review of Career Education 17
• 2.3.2 Career Education Policy 25
• 2.3.3 Overview of Career Education in China 62
• 2.3.4 Overview of China's Career Education Policy 72
• 2.3.5 Previous Studies on the Multidimensional Analysis of China's Career Education Policies 84
• III. Research Methodology 110
• 3.1 Research Subjects and Data 110
• 3.1.1 Policy Document Materials 111
• 3.1.2 Survey Questionnaire Data 114
• 3.1.3 High School Students' Career Interest Assessment Data 116
• 3.2 Selection of Research Methods 117
• 3.2.1 A Framework for Analyzing China's Career Education Policies Based on Cooper's Four-Dimensional Educational Policy Analysis Model 117
• 3.2.2 Dimensions of Analysis for China's Career Education Policy 119
• IV. Research Findings 129
• 4.1 Normative Dimension 129
• 4.1.1 All-round Development of Human Beings 129
• 4.1.2 Analysis of the Alignment Between China's Career Education Policies and "Comprehensive Human Development" 132
• 4.2 Structural Dimension 140
• 4.2.1 Foundational Period of Vocational Education (1978–1999):Institutional Emergence Amidst the Transition from Planned to Market Economy 142
• 4.2.2 Employment Guidance Transition Period (2000–2013):Emergency Institutional Supply Against the Backdrop of Higher Education Expansion 151
• 4.2.3 Initiation Period of Career Education Institutionalization(2014–2019): Systematic Exploration Driven by the New College Entrance Examination Reform 160
• 4.2.4 Comprehensive Development Period of Career Education(2020–Present): Policy Expansion and Deepening Under the Concept of Lifelong Education 169
• 4.3 Structural Dimension 179
• 4.3.1 Survey Design on the Current State of Career Education in Chinese Regular High Schools 180
• 4.3.2 Government: The Dynamics of Central-Local Interaction 188
• 4.3.3 Schools:Practical Logic and Subject-Interaction Mechanisms 203
• 4.3.4 Family: Role Positioning and Practical Logic 216
• 4.3.5 Students : Core Stakeholders and Ultimate Value Recipients 225
• 4.3.6 Social Forces : Participation Logic and Interactive Dynamics in Resource Supply Networks 232
• 4.3.7 Multi-stakeholder Resource Integration and Value Co-creation through Diverse Collaborative Mechanisms 236
• 4.4 Technical Dimension 238
• 4.4.1 Policy Inputs: Demand and Resources 238
• 4.4.2 System Transformation: Authoritative Allocation of Policy Instruments and Conflict Coordination 240
• 4.4.3 Policy Output: Multidimensional Manifestations of Career Education Practices 243
• 4.4.4 Policy Feedback Mechanism:Evaluation and Dynamic Adjustment 247
• V. Discussion and Conclusion 257
• 5.1 Discussion 257
• 5.1.1 Balancing the Tension Between "Localization" and "Internationaliz-ation" in 257
• 5.1.2 : Economic and Social Transformation as a Driving Force and Challenge for Career Education Policy 258
• 5.1.3 : Positioning and Functional Reconstruction of Career Education Policy Amid Deepening Education Reform 260
• 5.1.4 Building a Diverse, Collaborative, and Dynamically Adaptive Career Education Ecosystem 261
• 5.2 Conclusions and Recommendations 262
• 5.2.1 Research Findings 262
• 5.2.2 Research Recommendations 266
• 5.2.3 Research Limitations and Future Directions 271
• References 274
• Appendix 293