Scrutinizing “industry-education integration” policies in China’s higher education: A post-structural analysis

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 1:45 pm - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Who Governs Education? Power, Law, and Institutional Change Across Systems

Abstract

This article critically examines China’s industry-education integration (IEI) policies in higher education through a post-structural lens, employing Bacchi’s “What’s the Problem Represented to Be?” (WPR) framework. Analyzing eight central policy documents, it explores how IEI is constructed as a solution to perceived educational shortcomings and misalignments with industry needs. The study reveals underlying assumptions about enterprise motivation, state intervention, and the instrumental role of education in economic development. It highlights discursive silences around curriculum compatibility and evaluation standards, while tracing the practical effects of centralized policy implementation. The article contributes to critical policy research in non-Western contexts and deepens understanding of how education is governed through discourse in China’s evolving political economy.

Author

• Tengteng Zhuang, Beijing Normal University