earticle

영어

Vocational education is an essential component of the modern education system, aiming to cultivate highly skilled technical talents to meet the demands of economic and social development. However, in China, vocational education has long been influenced by social prejudice, resulting in relatively low social recognition. Although policies have increasingly supported vocational education, its public perception remains weak, especially among parents, students, and educators, where significant cognitive biases exist. These biases not only hinder the development of the vocational education system but also impede the overall optimization of the social talent structure. Therefore, enhancing the social recognition of vocational education has become an urgent issue. This study, drawing on social cognitive theory, explores the changes and underlying causes of public perceptions of vocational education in China after recent reforms. The research involved nine participants—teachers, parents, and students—from a regular high school in Anhui Province. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and field observations, and analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step method for thematic extraction. The analysis focused on three aspects: cognitive formation, transformation mechanisms, and social impact, and identified six core categories, including educational choice logic, family cultural capital, policy comprehension, and social image. Findings reveal that public perceptions of vocational education are profoundly shaped by structural factors such as family economic conditions and parents’ educational backgrounds. At the same time, external variables, such as policy publicity, school guidance, and employment prospects, also influence attitudes to a certain extent. Despite some improvement in acceptance among certain groups, traditional academic hierarchies, concerns about employment uncertainty, and unequal access to information remain key obstacles to changing social perceptions. To enhance the recognition of vocational education, this study proposes two practical suggestions: first, strengthen policy communication channels to improve parents’ and students’ understanding and trust in vocational education policies; second, reform teacher training mechanisms by integrating vocational education into daily teaching and career guidance systems, thereby reinforcing teachers’ roles as cognitive mediators and guiding students toward more diverse and rational educational choices. This study aims to provide both theoretical support and practical pathways for the development and improvement of vocational education.