TY - GEN
T1 - A Bibliometric Analysis of the Current Status and Trends in Higher Vocational Education Research
AU - Li, Shanshan
AU - Wang, Kebu
AU - Liu, Xia
AU - Gao, Yuge
AU - Zhang, Hongfeng
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2026.
PY - 2026
Y1 - 2026
N2 - This study employs bibliometric methods to conduct an empirical analysis of 53 vocational education projects approved under the National Education Science Planning (NESP) Program between 2020 and 2024 in higher vocational institutions (HVI) across China. The aim is to reveal the current state, developmental trajectory, key characteristics, and future directions of research in higher vocational education. The findings indicate that the number and categories of approved projects are significantly influenced by national policy orientations, exhibiting notable fluctuations and overall imbalances in distribution. The geographical distribution of project-leading institutions is uneven, and the distinctive characteristics of higher vocational colleges have yet to be fully demonstrated. While the research themes increasingly align with national vocational education policies, the construction of research teams remains weak. Based on the structural analysis of the approved projects, it is recommended that HVI focus on type-based positioning, coordinate research capacity with regional development needs, optimize the allocation of research resources, concentrate on key tasks such as quality improvement and excellence cultivation, and enhance the research motivation of young faculty members. These efforts are essential for advancing vocational education research toward a new stage of high-quality development.
AB - This study employs bibliometric methods to conduct an empirical analysis of 53 vocational education projects approved under the National Education Science Planning (NESP) Program between 2020 and 2024 in higher vocational institutions (HVI) across China. The aim is to reveal the current state, developmental trajectory, key characteristics, and future directions of research in higher vocational education. The findings indicate that the number and categories of approved projects are significantly influenced by national policy orientations, exhibiting notable fluctuations and overall imbalances in distribution. The geographical distribution of project-leading institutions is uneven, and the distinctive characteristics of higher vocational colleges have yet to be fully demonstrated. While the research themes increasingly align with national vocational education policies, the construction of research teams remains weak. Based on the structural analysis of the approved projects, it is recommended that HVI focus on type-based positioning, coordinate research capacity with regional development needs, optimize the allocation of research resources, concentrate on key tasks such as quality improvement and excellence cultivation, and enhance the research motivation of young faculty members. These efforts are essential for advancing vocational education research toward a new stage of high-quality development.
KW - high-quality development
KW - National Education Science Planning (NESP)
KW - quality improvement and excellence cultivation
KW - Vocational education research
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105022740681
U2 - 10.1007/978-981-95-2566-9_3
DO - 10.1007/978-981-95-2566-9_3
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:105022740681
SN - 9789819525652
T3 - Communications in Computer and Information Science
SP - 37
EP - 57
BT - Data Science - 11th International Conference of Pioneering Computer Scientists, Engineers and Educators, ICPCSEE 2025, Proceedings
A2 - Yu, Yi
A2 - Pan, Haiwei
A2 - Han, Qilong
A2 - Wang, Hongzhi
A2 - Yu, Chen
A2 - Liu, Haiyi
A2 - Song, Xianhua
A2 - Lu, Zeguang
PB - Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
T2 - 11th International Conference of Pioneering Computer Scientists, Engineers and Educators, ICPCSEE 2025
Y2 - 19 September 2025 through 21 September 2025
ER -