Industry-Education Integration Optimization Pathways for Higher Vocational Colleges Aligning with Regional Key Industries

Abstract

The problems arising from the combination of industry and education between higher vocational colleges and local important industries are due to the differences in the logical structure between the educational and industrial systems. By applying institutional logics theory as a research method, semi-structured interviews were given to 24 people from two higher vocational colleges and four enterprises, and then thematic analysis was carried out using NVivo. The findings show that there are substantial discrepancies in the legitimacy authority, temporal perspectives and normative standards of both sides. The participants negotiate continuously by exchanging resources, changing rules and reconstructing discussions. The results of their negotiations involve: interface rules, slight alterations or structural conflicts in the cooperation mechanisms. This study reveals the micro-processes of the combination of industry and education, namely "conflict occurrence-strategy negotiation-institutional integration", providing theoretical and practical suggestions for the improvement measures.