Crossing the Rivers by Touching the Stones - Alternative Approaches in Technical and Vocational Education and Training - Alternative Approaches in Technical and Vocational Education and Training

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk

Crossing the Rivers by Touching the Stones examines why efforts to transplant Western vocational education models often fail and what Eastern Asian experiences can teach for designing context-appropriate technical and vocational education and training (TVET). The study reviews the history of transferring Western skill-formation schemes through donor-supported practices and identifies policy blind spots when universal “best practices” ignore distinct cultural, sociological, and economic conditions. Comparative cases from China and the Republic of Korea show two alternative pathways for functional TVET development.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages23

Reading Time58 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Purpose

Design/Approach/Methods

Findings

Originality/Value

The search for global TVET solutions: History, development, and failings

The evolution of unified TVET policy and the significance of Western models

Crossing the Rivers by Touching the Stones: Alternative Approaches in Technical and Vocational Education and Training From the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea Wei Ha (哈巍) Peking University Po Yang (杨钋) Peking University Youngsup Choi (최영섭) Korea University of Technology and Education Sungsup Ra (나성섭) Asian Development Bank Ryotaro Hayashi (はやしりょうたろう) Asian Development Bank Conor McCutcheon New York University ECNU Review of Education 2023, Vol. 6(4) 654–676 © The Author(s) 2023 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/20965311231182157](DOI: 10.1177/20965311231182157)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/20965311231182157)[journals.sagepub.com/home/roe](journals.sagepub.com/home/roe) Abstract Purpose: This study aims to answer the following questions: (1) Why have attempts to transplant Western vocational education models failed? (2) Is there anything we can learn from the experiences of Eastern Asian countries when developing their own vocational education models? Corresponding author: Wei Ha, Institute of Economics of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China. [Email: wha@pku.edu.cn](Email: wha@pku.edu.cn) Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as speciﬁed on the SAGE and Open Access page ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage)). Design/Approach/Methods: This study reviews the history of transplanting Western skill formation schemes into developing countries, an often-failed die-hard practice supported by both bilateral and multilateral donors. Findings: Our ﬁndings suggest that developing countries should design their technical and vocational education and training systems based on their unique cultural, sociological, and economic contexts. It offers two alternative pathways based on the experiences of the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea. Originality/Value: These East Asian examples could broaden the perspectives of policymakers in developing countries aspiring to develop functional skill formation schemes. Keywords Comparative education, East Asia, international development, skill formation, technical and vocational education and training Date received: 22 January 2023; revised: 25 March 2023; accepted: 28 March 2023 Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) represents an important area of development, especially in developing countries that desire to take advantage of employment opportunities in low-to medium-skilled areas. TVET remains somewhat understudied and less well-understood than general education. As discussed in this essay, TVET development strategies are generally based on the experiences of several developed Western nations. Their “success stories” have been encapsulated into a set of “best practices” advocated by international organizations, multilateral development banks, and other aid-focused organizations. The attempt to collate a set ofpractices that are considered universally the best, albeit well-intentioned, have potentially overlooked the perspectives and experiences of developing countries where different circumstances related to economics, politics, culture, and history can render their policy needs substantially different from those addressed by the “best practices.” This article conducts insightful analyses ofTVET approaches on a global scale and the history of their development, and offers case studies of two countries: the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) . Both count

FAQs

Why do Western vocational education models fail when transplanted to other countries?

The document argues that transplant attempts can fail because they do not fit local economic, political, cultural, and historical contexts, causing policy needs to diverge from those implied by “best practices.”

What can developing countries learn from Eastern Asian experiences for TVET development?

The study suggests designing TVET systems based on each country’s unique cultural, sociological, and economic contexts, using experiences from China and the Republic of Korea as alternative pathways.

What historical trend shaped TVET policy over the decades discussed?

TVET policy shifted over time: it was initially promoted for development, later de-emphasized when returns were seen as insufficient and universal primary education dominated, and then revived after unemployment concerns increased TVET investment.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by hdkawk