Trends in Vocational and Technical Education in the People's Republic of China.

Field research was conducted to identify and examine the most recent trends in vocational and technical education during the Chinese Post-Cultural Revolution years of 1976-1981. Prior to the Revolution more than half of the middle school students participated in skill training before graduation. All such programs were abolished during the Revolution, and since then the recovery rate has been slow. Of the approximate 65 million middle school students, only 2 percent were enrolled in vocational and technical programs in 1979. Presently, work-study programs are being revived; in China's Jilin province primary and middle schools are operating 4,000 workshops and 15,000 farms. Part-time education has shown the greatest growth with a participation level of 68 million workers, peasants, and cadres. Now, instructional television programs are providing instruction to workers in general and technical education areas. Central Broadcasting and Television University, founded in 1979, is a degree-granting institution with 410,000 students. Tertiary industries have been established as local or neighborhood collectives. Their educational programs are small and informal, usually consisting of on-the-job training for entry level positions. And recently, on-the-job training in the form of apprenticeship has had renewed interest. Such programs and educational efforts are vital to China's future. If China is to achieve its goals of modernization and improvement of individual welfare, it can come only with continued growth in vocational and technical education at all levels. (BPB)