Skip to main content
Apply Library A-Z Find a person Maps
Brightspace Email
University
of Victoria
Apply Library A-Z Find a person Maps
Sign in Online tools Sign out
Faculty of Graduate Studies

Yifan Lu

  • BA (Beijing Institute of Technology, 2015)

  • MA (Columbia University, 2017)

Notice of the Final Oral Examination for the Degree of Master of Arts

Topic

Education as Strategy: Vocational Reform and Social Mobility in Neoliberal China

Department of Political Science

Date & location

  • Friday, September 27, 2024

  • 10:00 A.M.

  • David Turpin Building

  • Room A318

Reviewers

Supervisory Committee

  • Dr. Feng Xu, Department of Political Science, University of Victoria (Supervisor)

  • Dr. Justin Leifso, Department of Political Science, UVic (Member) 

External Examiner

  • Dr. Angie Chau, Department of Pacific and Asian Studies, University of Victoria 

Chair of Oral Examination

  • Dr. Moustapha Fall, French Department, UVic

Abstract

This thesis explores the evolution of vocational education policies in China, analyzing how market forces, neoliberal ideology, and the centralized control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) interact. I argue that while China aims to modernize and enhance its vocational education system to meet changing economic demands, these reforms serve dual purposes. On one hand, they aim to create a market-oriented education system that supports China’s broader economic objectives; on the other, they direct migrant and rural populations into vocational tracks, masking deeper socio-economic divides and using education reform as a tool for political stability rather than social equity. I situate China within the global trends of ‘vocationalism’ which promotes vocational education as a solution to economic and employment challenges. I then explore how vocational education reforms in China, articulated through the 1996 Vocational Education Law and its amendments, align with neoliberal trends that promote “suzhi” (quality) and “talent” to meet industrial demands. I also probe into China’s unique governance model, which combines market driven reforms with authoritarian controls to shape its education reform. This governance strategy allows for a prioritization of national economic objectives over educational equality and perpetuates class distinctions by directing disadvantaged groups into vocational paths. I conclude that these reforms fail to uplift disadvantaged groups as claimed by state propaganda but only reinforce existing social stratifications. Empirical data for the thesis come from government reports, public media, secondary ethnographic literature and legal research.

Back to oral exams