[On "teaching fish", "teaching fish" and "teaching desire" in vocational education] It is better to teach people to fish than to teach them to fish

Abstract: As a type of education that cultivates skilled and practical talents, vocational education must not only cultivate students’ skills, but also cultivate students’ abilities. At the same time, it must also strengthen students’ ideal education and guide students to make correct plans. Life. Keywords: vocational education; teaching "fish"; teaching "fishing"; teaching "desire"

About the author: Zeng Zhaoxia (1968-), female, associate researcher at Hunan Communications Vocational and Technical College, mainly engaged in higher education Educational management, vocational and technical education research.

CLC classification number: G710 Document identification code: A Article number: 1001-7518 (2008) 05-0048-05

Vocational education as a means of cultivating skilled practical talents Should education "teach 'fish'" or "teach 'fish'"? The author believes that both are important, and there is also an added "desire to teach". Vocational education should take a three-pronged approach. While "teaching 'fish'" and "teaching 'fishing'", it should also "teach 'desire'" to play the trio well.

1. “Teaching people to fish” is the core requirement of vocational education

“Teaching people to fish”, as the name suggests, means giving fish to others. Vocational education is a type of education that cultivates skilled and practical talents for enterprises and society. The cultivation of skills is the fundamental difference between vocational education and general education. What kind of talents are needed by enterprises and institutions, what kind of talents will be cultivated by vocational education. What skills are required of students by vocational positions will be cultivated by schools. What distinguishes vocational education from general education is that the important task of the former is to cultivate students' skills. If a school graduates without mastering any skills, it cannot be regarded as a true vocational school. If it does not grasp the cultivation of skills, it cannot be called vocational education. The essence of vocational education is employment-oriented, that is, it is oriented towards the positions to be employed and cultivates one or several skills that students need to be employed. These skills are also the "fish" referred to in this article. Skill development is the core requirement of vocational education. "Teaching fish" means to be employment-oriented and teach students the skills they need to get jobs according to the requirements of the intended employment positions.

(1) The importance of skill development

1. Strengthening skills training is a requirement to cultivate students' practical abilities and improve students' employment rate. In recent years, due to the fierce competition for employment, the employment of college students has become an issue of social concern. In 2006, a joint research team composed of the Youth League Central School Department and the Public Policy Institute of Peking University conducted a survey on the employment status of more than 6,000 2006 undergraduate graduates from nearly 100 universities across the country. "As of the end of May Among the 2006 undergraduate graduates surveyed, 49.81% have signed a contract or have intentions but have not yet signed a contract, 15.02% do not want to find a job immediately, and 27.25% have not found a job. "Facing the severe situation. Regarding the employment situation, many college students have lowered their employment expectations very low, and even found "zero-wage" employment, but they still find it difficult to gain favor from enterprises.

The low employment rate of college students has become a problem faced by students, schools, and society. On the one hand, college students lament that “satisfying jobs are hard to find”, and on the other hand, companies also lament that “satisfying talents are hard to find.” What kind of talents are difficult for companies to find? They are talents who can do things by themselves, who can solve practical problems, and who are highly skilled talents. In recent years, the employment situation of higher vocational graduates is better than that of undergraduates from general colleges and universities, which also shows that students who have mastered higher vocational skills will undoubtedly have a higher employment rate. Skills training is the characteristic and advantage of vocational education. Vocational schools should focus on training goals, grasp the focus of skill training, and pay close attention to the cultivation of practical ability, so that students can master excellent skills to better promote Student employment.

2. Strengthening skills training is a requirement to fill the gap in high-skilled talents in society. On October 31, 2006, Zhou Yuqing, Vice Chairman of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, stated at a press conference of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions that what Chinese enterprises currently lack most is not college students, but highly skilled talents. Chang Yimin, head of the Economic and Technical Department of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, who attended the press conference that day, revealed that there are nearly 260 million urban workers in China, and skilled workers account for about one-third of the total, and most of them are junior technicians, technicians and senior technicians. The proportion of technicians is only four percent. The demand of enterprises for highly skilled talents is 14%, and the difference between supply and demand is 10%. Taking the transportation industry where the author works as an example, according to the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan for the Development of Transportation Education and Training", during the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" period, there is an urgent need for millions of people who master practical skills, have strong practical skills, and are dedicated to their jobs. Transportation skilled talents, while technicians and senior technicians in 70% of enterprise units in the transportation industry account for only about 1% of the total number of skilled workers, which is far lower than the 5% requirement proposed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. In professional fields such as transportation engineering construction and maintenance, automobile operation and maintenance, ship driving and engine management, engineering diving, engineering equipment management and maintenance, and modern logistics services, there are both quantitative and qualitative shortages of skilled talents. The serious shortage of highly skilled talents that enterprises need most has become a bottleneck restricting economic development. The cultivation of highly skilled talents depends on vocational education, and strengthening skills training is the primary task of vocational education.

(2) Guarantee of skill development

1. Build a high-level experimental training base to provide material support for practical teaching. Skills are the result of repeated training. Both quantity and quality can ensure that the experimental training conditions necessary for teaching are the material basis for skill training. To run a good vocational education, the equipment and venues for experimental training must meet certain requirements in quantity and quality. In terms of quantity, there must be enough sets. Dozens of students queuing up and squeezing into one machine tool for practical training will not be able to practice skills well. It must be ensured that each student has enough practical experimental training equipment. In terms of quality, the configuration of experimental training equipment should reflect the latest technology as much as possible. Equipment with backward technology should be updated in a timely manner and eliminated, and equipment that can represent the most cutting-edge technology in the industry should be added. Simulation and simulation training conditions should be added to build a real working environment. training room and internship workshop. It is necessary not only to build a high-level on-campus training base, but also to build a high-level and stable off-campus training base in high-quality enterprises in the industry.

2. Build a high-level team of teachers with "double-qualified" qualities and a "double-qualified" structure to improve the practical teaching capabilities of professional teachers. To cultivate students with excellent skills, teachers themselves must first have high practical ability. This requires vocational colleges to have a group of professional teachers who can "talk" when they stand on the podium and "do" when they step off the podium. That is to say, professional teachers in vocational colleges must have strong theoretical knowledge on the one hand and update and supplement relevant theoretical knowledge in a timely manner with the update and progress of modern technology. On the other hand, they must have strong practical skills. Ability means being able to stand alone in real work and becoming an expert in the industry. It is necessary to hire a group of technical backbones and skilled craftsmen who are proficient in the work procedures of the enterprise and industry as part-time workers. More importantly, it is necessary to cultivate a group of college's own technical masters and craftsmen who are influential in the industry and region. It is necessary to carry out various forms of practical skills training for professional teachers, open channels for teachers to regularly go to enterprises for practical training, improve teachers' practical skills, and meet the needs of teaching.

3. Reform the school running model, reform the curriculum system and teaching content, and strengthen practical teaching links. Vocational education must be closely integrated with enterprises, and the current model of running schools behind closed doors must be reformed. Not only should we "invite" the engineers and technicians of the company, and bring in the company's advanced technology and advanced equipment, but we should also "go out" and put students in the company and move the classroom to the workshop. Because of various objective conditions, the number of people who can be "invited" is limited, and its effects are also limited. Therefore, it is necessary to reform the school-running model and implement the integration of work and study, so that students can have a longer period of time instead of symbolically fixing and filling positions in companies, and learn and practice in a real work environment, so that students can get more comprehensive and more comprehensive knowledge. Only through effective and sufficient training can the seamless connection between teaching and enterprise requirements be truly realized. Correspondingly, it is necessary to develop a curriculum system that embodies the characteristics of the integration of work and learning. The teaching content should be fully close to production practice and strengthen practical teaching. At present, some vocational schools have explored this aspect, but in general, in terms of the arrangement of the number of hours for students to practice in enterprises, the arrangement of courses and teaching content that should be adjusted accordingly, and the relationship between schools and enterprises In aspects such as the connection of teaching, there is great flexibility and randomness, and a relatively stable school-running model that can fully reflect the characteristics of vocational education has not been formed.

4. The “dual certificate” system is implemented to impose rigid requirements on students’ skill levels. Vocational colleges should strengthen students' awareness of skills training, stimulate students' subjective desire to practice skills, and improve students' subjective initiative to practice skills. They must reform the talent quality evaluation mechanism, implement the "dual certificate" system, and put forward rigid requirements for students' skill levels. It should be stipulated that not only passing the course assessment will meet the graduation requirements, students must participate in vocational skills appraisal related to their major and obtain one or more vocational skill appraisal certificates before they are allowed to graduate. The introduction of vocational skills appraisal allows students to have an objective evaluation standard for their skill levels, which can effectively enhance students' employment competitiveness.

2. “Teaching people to fish” is a requirement for students’ sustainable development

“Teaching people to fish” and teaching students to master the skills required for future careers is the most basic of vocational education However, vocational education is not training, it does not simply teach students skills, but includes many educational contents. The "teaching fish" mentioned in this article is an important part of it.

"Fishing" in this article refers to ability, and "teaching 'fishing'" means cultivating students' comprehensive abilities. Vocational education should not only focus on the cultivation of skills, but also the cultivation of students' abilities, requiring students to develop their abilities as much as possible while learning expertise to meet the requirements of future occupations and the needs of sustainable personal development.

(1) Paying attention to the cultivation of abilities is a requirement to promote students’ smooth employment

Enterprises’ requirements for talents are multi-faceted, and skills alone are not enough to be invincible in the workplace. In this country, employers have increasingly higher requirements for the comprehensive quality and ability of graduates.

CCTV and Zhaopin Recruitment Network once conducted a survey on 116 employers to understand what qualifications employers value most in job applicants. The result is: when looking at resumes, 58% of employers said they value social practice and part-time internships, and 44% of employers said they value majors, 28%, 22% and 13% respectively said they value the school they graduated from, English and computer proficiency, personality and hobbies; during the interview, what employers will value are: practical ability 26% , professional knowledge 24%, conversational expression 22%, personality characteristics 16%, image and temperament 12%. What abilities do entrepreneurs pay more attention to in applicants during the probation period? The survey results show that 51% are concerned about learning ability, 42% are concerned about teamwork ability, and 36% and 24% are concerned about execution ability and innovative spirit respectively. The needs of employers should be the direction that students strive to pursue during the career preparation stage. Therefore, vocational colleges should pay attention to the cultivation of students' abilities in all aspects to promote social recognition and improve students' employability.

(2) Paying attention to the cultivation of abilities is a requirement to ensure the reasonable flow of talents

Vocational education is "employment-oriented", and "employment-oriented" is not the same as "initial-oriented" "Employment-oriented", in the era of market economy, career change is very common. Both enterprises and individuals have requirements for the reasonable flow of talents, and there is a dynamic two-way selection problem. "Mobility" puts forward ability requirements for "talents" in terms of "job transfer". The reason why talents can "move" and can move from one professional position to another, and can quickly adapt to different professional roles, is also because they can Can quickly adapt to different professional positions and meet the professional requirements of the company. Whether you have a strong ability to transfer jobs is very important to whether an individual can successfully obtain second or third employment, and it is also very important to an individual's job promotion. Vocational education should not only pay attention to whether students can successfully find a job when they graduate, but also consider the career changes that students will face in their careers. Therefore, from the perspective of reasonable talent flow, ability cultivation is also very important.

(3) Paying attention to the cultivation of abilities is a requirement for students’ lifelong education

Contemporary education theory believes that lifelong education is an educational concept, including a person’s different aspects from infancy to old age. The various levels of education received during the developmental stage run through a person’s life. Vocational education should teach students how to learn, learn to do things, learn to survive, and master learning methods. Methodological abilities and social abilities are not only the basic survival abilities of students in their future professional lives, but also the basic development abilities that should be possessed in an open social life. Vocational schools The cultivation of various abilities such as methodological ability and social ability should be strengthened to lay the foundation for students to achieve lifelong learning.

It can be seen that the cultivation of students' abilities in vocational education is undoubtedly important, and vocational education must pay attention to the cultivation of students' abilities. However, many vocational schools have this understanding, say this, and want to do this. However, in actual practice, currently in many vocational schools, even in many well-run schools with prosperous supply and sales of students, due to various reasons, this has not been done or is not done enough, and it is common to focus on skills training but neglect abilities. Cultivation issues. The author believes that among these "various" reasons, there are two very important reasons:

One of the reasons is the consideration of maximizing interests. Vocational education is the education most closely linked to the economy and society. The survival and development of vocational schools are closely linked to whether companies recognize the talents they cultivate. If enterprises recognize the school's education, it will be easier for students to find jobs, and if students are more likely to find jobs, school enrollment will flourish; on the contrary, if enterprises do not recognize the school's education, students' employment will be a problem, and the school's development will also be a problem. This is a practical issue related to the survival and development of vocational schools. Therefore, when running vocational education, we must fully consider the requirements of enterprises for talent training.

For the sake of their own interests, companies must first emphasize those requirements that meet the needs of the company when it comes to talent training, rather than considering the development of students. Therefore, they will intentionally or unintentionally Ignore the educational requirements for the all-round development of students. When jointly running schools with vocational schools and participating in formulating training goals and teaching content, companies often only emphasize their own requirements for talents and clearly put forward their own requirements for students' skill training, but do not seriously consider the long-term development of students. And put forward a practical training plan.

Vocational schools are very clear about the requirements for the all-round development of students. However, when the job market is still a buyer's market, schools are pursuing high employment rates for students. In practice, when students' long-term interests (gaining more abilities for more and greater development in the future) are different from the current When there is a conflict between interests (mastering skills that meet the company's current job requirements to promote smooth employment), the school's full performance of its educational responsibilities (cultivating students' all-round development is an important aspect) and the school's current interests (smoothly "selling out" graduated students) , often "helplessly" choose to sacrifice the former and take care of the latter. Because of this, its training goals and methods are very short-term. In other words, in vocational schools, students’ employment issues always come first. Although they know that some practices will destroy the integrity of education and be detrimental to students’ all-round development, schools will still make such choices.

Looking at this issue from the perspective of students and parents, due to the shortage of jobs, when current employment requirements conflict with long-term development, in fact students and parents often choose to protect current interests. , that is, how to better promote smooth employment is their choice. Therefore, the author believes that an important reason why emphasis is placed on skill training while relatively neglecting ability training is the consideration of maximizing the interests of enterprises, schools, students and other parties.

The second reason is that vocational education itself has many problems. If the first reason is caused by "external" factors to the education system, then the author believes that the second reason is due to the fact that there are many problems within the current vocational education itself.

At present, my country's vocational education still has a strong general education flavor, and it has not fully implemented vocational education in accordance with social development and market requirements. The school running model, professional setting, curriculum system, The teaching content, teaching methods and teaching staff cannot well adapt to the requirements of vocational education, let alone reflect the characteristics of vocational education well. This not only affects students' skill development, but also affects students' ability development.

These problems existing inside and outside vocational education have led to the current neglect of ability cultivation in vocational education, and this will ultimately affect the long-term development of vocational education. Therefore, the author believes that while vocational education emphasizes the core position of skill cultivation, it should also pay attention to the issue of ability cultivation. To this end, it is necessary to further deepen the internal reform of vocational education and find countermeasures to solve the problem.

3. "Teaching 'Desire'" is the requirement to achieve life goals

"Desire" literally means hope and hope, and the second is wanting to get something or achieve something. requirements for a certain purpose. The generation of desire is an instinct of the individual. Various external stimulation factors can induce people's various desires. At the same time, external stimulation can also strengthen people's various desires. There are many kinds of desires. The "desire" referred to in this article is actually a life goal and an ideal in life. "Teaching 'Desire'" here refers to the way that vocational colleges stimulate students' "desire for life" by providing students with ideal education. The author believes that the "desire to teach" in vocational colleges should not only cultivate students' correct ideals, but more importantly, teach students to correctly design their own life goals, plan for future life, especially career, and guide students Under the guidance of correct planning, work towards your ideal goal step by step. In other words, the focus of vocational education is to carry out life planning education, especially career planning education.

(1) Strengthen life planning education and prepare yourself psychologically, competently and methodically for entering society

Ideal education should be taken seriously in our country, starting from primary school or even younger From the beginning of time, many people knew that they should establish lofty ideals. However, the current traditional life ideal education is too vague and lacks operational level education. In fact, many students regard going to college as their ideal when they are in middle school. After entering college, they have the idea of ????"the boat arrives at the dock and the car arrives at the station". They have no goal to strive for and no motivation to study. After entering college, many students have insufficient understanding of their majors. They do not know what they can do in the future and what industries they can engage in. Their understanding of their future careers is limited to their names, and they do not understand the requirements of the professions. They do not know what the university As for the significance of what I have learned for my future career, there are no clear and specific goals in college. After entering the society, it will be difficult to adapt and find my own position.

Japan's "World Weekly" once conducted a survey in Shanghai. The survey showed that 85% of unmarried people in Shanghai, except students, depended on their parents for part or all of their lives. The academic qualifications of these "little emperors" are not low, but they just don't want to work. Even if some of them finally find a job, they easily quit their jobs in search of better remuneration. Even in some not-so-rich families, parents who rely on pensions work part-time to support their sons who don’t work. The magazine called these young people "gnawing at the old people." The emergence of "chewing old people" is not entirely due to the difficulty of finding a job. "World Weekly" analyzed the survey results and pointed out the reasons. There are two reasons: First, the lack of psychological preparation and the inability to design a life in society. Way. The second is to have high ambitions and low ambitions, hoping for a high salary. Fundamentally speaking, the reason is that there is no correct ideal view and no clear plan for one's life.

The connotation of life planning is very rich, covering all aspects such as academic, career, emotion, family, economy, etc. In the vocational education stage, the focus is on career planning. What is career planning? Career planning is to determine the goal of personal career by analyzing the subjective and objective factors that determine one's career, such as society, family, and individuals, and choose a career to achieve this goal, and prepare corresponding work, education and training plans, and prepare each person's career plan. Make reasonable arrangements for the time, sequence and direction of each step. Life planning education can help students position themselves correctly, clarify "what kind of person do I want to cultivate myself", understand "what can I do" and "what opportunities can society provide me", and solve "what do I choose to do" and "how do I "do" and other issues, and reasonably plan your career development plan.

Vocational education is a type of education that is employment-oriented. For vocational education, because its talent training is positioned to cultivate practical skills talents for the front lines of production, management, and services, graduates are expected to find employment. Working conditions will be relatively more difficult, and work remuneration may also be relatively low. Therefore, vocational colleges should incorporate career planning education into the scope of school education and strengthen life planning education for students, especially career planning education. , to make multiple preparations in terms of psychology, ability and method for entering the society after graduation.

(2) Life planning education should be carried out as early as possible and run through the entire process of vocational education. Life planning should be done sooner rather than later. Overseas, many countries attach importance to and carry out educational guidance in life planning. For example, the National Occupational Information Coordinating Council of the United States announced the national career development guidance standards, which believes that career guidance should start from the age of 6. The four different growth stages of elementary school, junior high school, high school and adulthood should have different life plans. In our country, there is no similar national career development guidance program document. Many schools have not yet realized the importance of career development planning to students’ careers. They have not incorporated it into education from primary school to middle school to university. schedule.

Career planning is an important part of life planning. When students arrive at vocational colleges, they have basically chosen their career direction. It is actually too late to talk about career planning at this time. Many students who apply for vocational colleges do not actually know much about this major when choosing a major. They are not clear about the occupation and occupational requirements corresponding to this major. They are not sure whether they are suitable for this occupation and how to study to adapt. Future career needs are also not very clear. Therefore, vocational colleges should carry out life planning, especially career planning education for students from the beginning of freshmen enrollment.

Starting life planning education from freshmen can help students clarify their thinking, enable students who do not have clear goals for their future when they enter school to correctly understand and evaluate themselves, find out their areas of interest, and clarify their life goals. , adjusting or clarifying their career direction as early as possible can make students realize that the current stage of study is of great significance to future life and work, thereby effectively stimulating students' professional interests and learning initiative and consciousness, and improving learning efficiency. .

Life planning education should run through the entire process of vocational education. Life planning cannot be completed in one go. It is a gradual process that requires constant correction and adjustment. Educating students on life planning is not just a matter of attending a few classes. Once the students are taught how to plan for life, it must be implemented throughout the entire school education process. Students should always be reminded and urged to work tirelessly and consciously take action according to their own planned life goals. They should be guided to develop a habit that they can constantly make corrections according to changes in situations at different stages in their future studies and work. , adjust your life goals, and work persistently under the guidance of correct planning to get closer to your life goals step by step.

(3) It is necessary to combine life planning education with quality education, and combine it with the all-round development of students

Quality is the innate physical and psychological characteristics of an individual and acquired through the environment, Basic qualities acquired through education. Life planning has two meanings. One is to encourage students to fully develop their innate genetic qualities, and the other is to encourage students to achieve comprehensive and personalized development through acquired efforts. Life planning is a comprehensive plan. When vocational colleges carry out life planning education, they should not only emphasize career planning, but also the practical aspects of knowledge such as vocational skills and vocational abilities related to students' careers and employment. More importantly, It is to guide students to pay attention to the value aspect of knowledge and guide students to distinguish between good and evil; not only to make them clear about personal interests and abilities, and "what do I want to do", but also to form sound judgment and value orientation, and to form a correct world view, values, and understand “whether it can be done, whether it can be done”; it is also necessary to cultivate students’ sound personality, noble sentiments, and healthy interests, so as to comprehensively improve their quality and make them become people with ideals, beliefs, sustainable development, and ability People who actively participate in social reform.

Students in vocational colleges are in the period of the most intense psychological changes. Their life attitudes, emotional styles, thinking patterns and values ??have been initially formed but have not yet been finalized. At the same time, they have to face the challenges of learning, making friends, falling in love, There are many psychological conflicts related to a series of issues such as career choice. In addition, some students attend vocational schools not voluntarily but as a helpless choice. They feel confused about their future and are prone to negative emotions such as loss, confusion, anxiety, and impatience. They will not be very Handle interpersonal relationships well. Through life planning education, they can be encouraged to form a correct world view and values, gradually establish stable self-awareness and work values, consciously cultivate adaptability, learn interpersonal communication, handle interpersonal relationships appropriately, overcome psychological weaknesses, and make full use of what they learn in school. Opportunities to develop yourself in an all-round way.

(4) Life planning education in the vocational education stage focuses on career planning education and should be combined with employment education

Career planning is an important part of life planning, especially in the past In the employment-oriented vocational education stage, it is of special significance to carry out career planning education.

The author believes that at this stage, the focus of life planning should be on future career planning, and for vocational college students, career planning must ultimately be implemented in job selection. Therefore, vocational colleges must Focus on strengthening career planning education for students, and combine life planning education with job and career selection education.

It is necessary to organize students to carry out social surveys and various social activities so that they can understand the current social situation and employment situation, so as to understand the gap between their own expectations and social reality; organize students to go deep into modern enterprises and understand the attitude of enterprises to Talent requirements, understand the company's various new equipment and new technologies, and thereby understand the gap between one's own strength and the company's requirements, and the gap between self-awareness and social evaluation. Combining career planning with employment education can help students develop a sense of urgency for survival and job hunting, formulate practical study plans in a targeted manner, actively seek opportunities for exercise and learning, and make preparations for achieving ambitious goals. .

It is necessary to guide students to rationally grasp and handle the relationship between their life design and current employment, rationally and scientifically position their lives based on personal interests, social needs, and family needs, and make correct employment choices. There is a distance between ideals and reality. Students who carefully plan their careers can handle the contradiction between ideals and reality, update their employment concepts, adjust their employment expectations, and maintain the mentality of ordinary workers in the face of the current fierce employment competition. and positioning to participate in employment selection and employment competition, with an enterprising attitude to create conditions to get closer to the goal, and in a difficult environment, be optimistic and open-minded, perseverant, and down-to-earth in every step.

The purpose of vocational education is ultimately to cultivate people. Only when vocational schools implement comprehensive education for students from many aspects such as skill cultivation, ability cultivation, and ideal education can they cultivate students who are suitable for society and the economy. Develop the required technical and practical talents to achieve the ultimate goal of vocational education.