Governance Mechanisms and Implementation Pathways for Vocational Education Reconstruction from the Perspective of Educational Administration

Abstract

Driven by the dual imperatives of a new stage of development and the pursuit of high-quality growth, vocational education is undergoing a significant transformation from factor-driven expansion toward systemic reconstruction and modern governance. Educational administration, situated at the intersection of national policy, public governance, and institutional practice, plays a pivotal role in shaping this transformation through governance philosophy, institutional design, and policy implementation. This study aims to examine the governance mechanisms and implementation pathways through which educational administration facilitates the reconstruction and high-quality development of the vocational education system. Drawing on theories of governance and educational administration, the research adopts a mixed-methods approach that integrates literature analysis, policy text analysis, questionnaire surveys, semi-structured interviews, and field observations, with a primary focus on higher vocational colleges. The findings reveal several key challenges, including insufficient vertical coordination across administrative hierarchies, fragmented policy instruments and institutional supply, superficial multi-stakeholder collaboration, and limited autonomy and adaptive capacity at the institutional level. These constraints collectively weaken the effectiveness of vocational education governance and reform implementation. In response, the study proposes governance innovation pathways, including optimizing authority–responsibility structures through guided decentralization, strengthening the systematic coordination of institutional policies, institutionalizing collaborative governance mechanisms, and enhancing the empowerment of grassroots institutions. The study contributes theoretical insights into vocational education governance while providing practical guidance for policymakers and administrators seeking to advance governance modernization and improve the effectiveness of vocational education reform.