Analysis on the Connotation of Rural Vocational Education and its Development St

Abstract.As is known to all, it is an effective way to resolve the "three issues concerning agriculture, the countryside and peasants" with the enhancement of rural vocational education. In this paper, based on the analysis of the development history of China’s rural vocational education, the basic connotation of rural vocational education is analyzed by the author in this paper, and also the rural vocational education development strategies, meeting to the needs of China’s development in the new era, are proposed further.

Key words:Countryside; Vocational Education; Connotation

1.Introduction

The "three issues concerning agriculture, the countryside and peasants" are not only the most important but also the most difficult points in the modernization process of China.

To construct a new socialist countryside with developed production, comfortable life, custom civilization, good image and democratic management, it is a powerful measure to improve the qualities of peasants with the enhancement of the rural vocational education.

2.Development History of Rural Vocational Education

2.1.Stage 1―Emergence of Rural Vocational Education (Before 1949)

The "village schools", which emerged in the Yuan Dynasty, was the prototype of China’s rural vocational education. In the late Qing Dynasty, the "village schools" disappeared with a gradual step and were replaced with the new schools.

For example, agricultural school was established by Zhang Zhidong in Hubei; sericulture museum school was set by Lin Dichen in Hangzhou. In ancient China, the education models in rural areas generally included hereditary model, master-prentice model, and industrial communication and so on. As the western school education systems were introduced in China, the rural education attained an improvement without a stop.

However, at that time, only several agricultural vocational schools, which were established in cities symbolically, could give real expression to the vocational education in the countryside of China.

In Renxu school system, including a systemic introduction to the development of rural vocational education, the "vocational education" giving consideration to agriculture was officially listed as a school system, and simultaneously the vocational schools and Chinese learning schools were established with combination.

2.2.Stage 2―Formation of Rural Vocational Education (1949-1978)

At the beginning of new China’s foundation, the most important point of vocational education was training talents for the construction of the country. During this period, the rural vocational education of China was oriented at making the agricultural development objective of agriculture realized and training increasingly more talents in agricultural technology.

Generally, the rural vocational education was developed through the inheritance form of handicraft industry. With the purpose of promoting agricultural production and the development of the countryside in an all-round way, Chinese government in the first five year plan explicitly pointed out that the key point of the secondary technical education within the five years were training the technical and management cadres for all industries, and also was necessary to provide supports in the rapid development of the agricultural cooperation movements, and especially should attach importance to the training of agricultural technical and management cadres.

In 1951, the State Council of China listed the secondary specialized schools in secondary education in Decision about Reform of School System. The service of this type of schools for agriculture was mainly responsible for training technical talents, cadres and management personnel in agriculture.

Therefore, at that time, the vocational schools trained great numbers of agriculture technical talents for a wide range of rural places in China, and also the agricultural productivity was promoted to attain an increase greatly.

2.3.Stage 3―Development of Rural Vocational Education (1979-2000)

After the Cultural Revolution, the second and third industries achieved a development with a gradual step in the rural places of China, and the progress of the traditional agriculture transferring to the modem agriculture was accelerated constantly at the same time.

In 1983, in the Notification on Several Issues about Strengthening and Changing the Rural Schools Education, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council pointed out, "it is a strategic measure to revitalize the economy of rural areas and speed up the construction of the modern agriculture with the reform of the secondary education structure and the development of the vocational and technical education in the countryside.

Therefore, it is necessary for the governments at all places to make an overall plan and increase a great number of agricultural high schools and other professional schools step by step in accordance with the actual needs and possibilities.

According to the policy, all kinds of vocational schools in the rural places of China are necessary to educate the economic policies and scientific management knowledge to rural people when providing them with the fundamental knowledge in culture, science, specialties and skills.

In the mean time, it is necessary for the governments at all places to make a reform on the education of the general rural middles schools, offering the necessary vocational technology courses as well as work classes to rural students, and providing vocational and technical education for the graduates who do not attend a higher schools after high school, junior high school and primary school and allowing them to gain professional skills through the implementation of peasant technical schools, short-term training and special lectures, etc.

2.4.Stage 4―Leap of Rural Vocational Education (2001-)

The "Three Issues Concerning Agriculture, the Countryside and Peasants" and the new rural construction provide a new direction for China’s rural vocational education. Especially, in the decision about developing vocational education greatly, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council clearly proposed that vocational education should serve for the transfer of rural labor and the new rural construction.

Through the enhancement of the "three educations" balance development, the combination among agriculture, science and education can be promoted greatly; the practical training projects can be implemented in the countryside; the roles of all kinds of vocational schools,culture and technology schools and agricultural technology promotion training organizations in the rural places are necessary to be exerted.

As a result, the practical talents and skills-oriented talents can be cultivated in the extensive rural places; the advanced practical technologies can be popularized in a wide range, and ultimately the ideas and morals as well as the scientific and cultural qualities of peasants in the rural places of China can attain a great improvement.

3.Connotation of Rural Vocational Education

The "village schools", which emerged in the Yuan Dynasty, was an enlightenment education in the rural places of ancient China. This type of education laid a solid foundation on the prototype of the rural vocational education in China.

There was a common belief among some scholars that it was unnecessary for the rural vocational education to be implemented in the countryside, but was necessary to serve for the countryside. The rural vocational education is mainly oriented at implementing all kinds of professional and skill education among the rural young students who possess a certain foundation and also are the existing rural labor or are going to enter society soon.

The rural vocational education of China has possessed an unceasingly rich connotation after a long-term development. It is believed by the author that it is necessary for China’s rural vocational education to take serving for the "three issues concerning agriculture, the countryside and peasants" as tenet, and promoting the development of the rural human resources and the improvement of the peasants income as objective.

Hence, a new education system, which can meet the needs of new countryside and modern urban agricultural development, can be trained and established for Chinese peasants.

In addition, it is a rural vocational and technical education system, which is concentrated on the higher vocational education, takes the secondary vocational education as backbone, and is founded on the vocational education and socialization service system of the countryside.

4.Strategies for the Development of China’s Rural Vocational Education

To speed up the vocational education which is oriented at the rural places of China is of great and far-reaching significance for promoting the synchronization agricultural modernization with the industrialization and urbanization process, the construction of the socialist new countryside and the balanced urban and rural development, and the establishment of higher education power and human resources power.

4.1.Building a Good Development Environment for Rural Vocational Education through Management Innovation

First of all, the important contributions that the practical talents and students from the rural places make to the construction of the socialist new countryside can be publicized in a wide range of places. Efforts can be made to improving their economic income and social status. Hence, the entire society can attach importance and give supports to the good social environment and public opinion atmosphere that are oriented at rural vocational education.

Second, starting from institution, a sound work mechanism can be established under the joint efforts with related departments, for the ultimate purpose of promoting the development of rural vocational education.

Finally, it is necessary to lay a stress on the improvement of the education conditions, and make a great enhancement to the fundamental ability of the rural vocational education in China.

4.2. Adhering to the Balanced Development of Three Educations and the Combination of Agriculture, Science and Education, and Making Effort to Training New Peasants

In general, it is necessary for rural fundamental education, vocational education andeducation to undertake the coordination and distribution of responsibilities, forming cooperation between each other and training new peasants having high cultural qualities, techniques and management ideas with the joint efforts.

Also, it is necessary for the primary and secondary schools of rural places to take full advantage of faculty, facilities and fields to give assistance to the development of peasant education and training when making efforts to consolidating and improving the nine-year compulsory education.

At the same time, it is necessary for rural vocational education to greatly cultivate professional talents, management personnel, pioneering talents and new peasants for the modern agriculture, making an expansion to the scale of practical talents and improving overall quality of the Countryside construction team. Theeducation in rural places is necessary to actively develop the practical technical training, labor transfer training and continuing education, making an enhancement to the ability of the main working population in employment and venture.

4.3. Innovating Teaching Models and Improving Teaching Quality and Efficiency

The education and training in ideological morality, current policy, culture, public health, popular science knowledge and social life, etc. As a result, the comprehensive quality of the peasants can be improved in China.

According to the learning characteristics of different peasants, the concentrated training and self-learning can be adopted in combination.

Also, the new training models oriented at "sending education to the Countryside" and "flowing class car" can be promoted relying on SATV (Satellite Television), computer network and China education satellite broadband transmission network, to develop distance education in rural places.

Every effort can be made to train a great number of peasants, promote a batch of new technologies, and develop a new industry, and revitalize the economy in a place.

4.4. Enlarging Fund Investment and Strengthening the Construction of Rural Vocational Education Faculty

First, it is necessary for all places to make an improvement to the management systems for the rural and agricultural vocational schools teachers with a gradual step, promote rural and agricultural vocational schools to do a good job of income allocation, and ensure the reasonable wage distribution system for the teachers, stabilizing the faculty firmly.

Second, it is necessary for all governments to increase the investments on the rural and agricultural education, and also ensure a great increase in student unit budget education investment and public expenditure.

Finally, it is necessary for the education departments to take measures, attracting excellent talents and graduates from higher education schools to work at the rural and agricultural vocational schools.

5.Acknowledgement

Fund Project: This Paper is a Stage Result of Guangzhou Education Bureau Project "Research on Guangzhou New Rural Construction and Rural Vocational Education Reform" (No.10A159).

6.References

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