A Study on the Cultivation of “Craftsmanship” Among Students in Undergraduate Vocational Institutions — A Case Study of Shandong Engineering Vocational University

Abstract

In the era of informatization, digitization, and intelligence, China’s manufacturing sector is transforming from a large country to a strong country. The increasing demand for high-level technical talents in social development has led to the emergence and development of undergraduate vocational education. In 2019, the Chinese Ministry of Education established the first batch of 15 vocational undergraduate colleges and universities across China to foster the cultivation of a “craftsmanship” in applied skilled talents. The research objectives of this article are as follows: 1) To provide an effective way to cultivate the craftsmanship; 2) To provide suitable teaching reform methods for cultivating the craftsmanship; 3) To provide a suitable talent development program.

Drawing on tacit knowledge theory, collaborative education theory, and human-vocational zone matching theory, this study explores the artisan spirit and its cultivation content through a literature review. It empirically tests the index elements of the artisan spirit using a questionnaire survey, ensuring the reliability and validity of the survey instrument. Survey the overall situation of cultivating the artisan spirit among students in Shandong Engineering Vocational University as a sample. The survey results were subjected to statistical analysis using the SPSS software. The analysis included assessing the differences in various dimensions of the artisan spirit based on demographic variables of students in vocational colleges, conducting statistical analysis on the dimensions of artisan spirit characteristics, and analyzing the current status of cultivating the artisan spirit among students in vocational colleges.

This study addresses the issues related to the cultivation of craftsmanship among vocational college students and reaches the following conclusions: 1) By adopting an immersive approach that deeply engages students in the craftsmanship, their awareness and understanding of the “craftsmanship” can be enhanced, providing an effective avenue for cultivating this spirit. 2) By altering teaching content, methods, and educational outcomes, adaptable instructional reform methods are provided to cultivate the craftsmanship. 3) By updating students’ perspectives on employment, a suitable talent development program is offered to establish accurate perceptions about career paths.
Finally, the results of this study are reflected, discussed and suggested. These recommendations include establishing vocational values that align with the artisan spirit, integrating the cultivation of the artisan spirit into the entire process of vocational college education and teaching, emphasizing the impact of campus culture on the artisan spirit, strengthening the development of a faculty team with dual-teacher qualifications, and building a mechanism for deep integration of school-enterprise cooperation in education.

Keywords: undergraduate vocational education, craftsmanship, cultivation theory

A Study on the Cultivation of “Craftsmanship” Among Students in Undergraduate Vocational Institutions — A Case Study of Shandong Engineering Vocational University

Master of Business Administration (International Program), Siam University, Bangkok, Thailand