Internationalization evaluation indicators for Chinese higher vocational education: A case study

Educational evaluation is necessary for the continuing development of education by monitoring the direction of educational development toward its set goals. The Ministry of Education in China has set the overall goal of higher vocational education to reach a world-class level by 2035. In the current internationalizing environment, this study accordingly aimed to develop a set of internationalization evaluation indicators for higher vocational education in Shandong Province, China. Previous studies on internationalization evaluation indicators have exhibited differences and limitations in terms of their objectives, measures, and their differentiation between undergraduate-based university and vocational colleges. Most previous studies have been based on reviewing certain aspects of internationalization, whereas few studies have considered the issue from the perspective of internationalization practitioners. This study first reviewed and synthesized previous research to develop a framework of international development elements for higher vocational education in a Chinese context. This was then analyzed by a focus group of 15 people in charge of the international offices (schools) of their higher vocational colleges, who identified 6 first-level indicators, 14 second-level indicators, and 14 third-level indicators. These indicators were then analyzed using a general inductive method. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to identify internationalization evaluation indicators for higher vocational education from a phenomenological research perspective. Based on the results, we draw forth the theoretical and practical implications for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.