基於五維教育培養模式的企業實習對民辦高職院校畢業生自我認知偏差與就業質量的影響研究 - 以廣西經濟職業學院為例

Abstract

The penetration of higher education in China has now reached more than 50% of the population. With the rapid development of economy and society, current talent training models of vocational colleges do not meet the demand from Chinese corporate employers. College graduates show inaccurate self-assessment (Dunning–Kruger effect; D-K effect) and fall short in psychological capital, social capital and human capital. How to resolve such issues and improve the graduates’ competences has attracted a lot of attentions both from academics and practices. Many existing vocational training models incorporate work-based learnings, especially paid internship, as one key teaching and training element.
Previous literature on the topic mainly focuses on macro perspectives and lacks empirical investigations from a micro level. The "School-Work (STW)" and "School-Career (STC)" relationship by American scholars indicating the training philosophy of integrating practice and education, student-oriented, and lifelong training. Other influential vocational education modes include dual education system from Germany and work-study alternation mode from Britain. In recent years, more and more Chinese scholars devote to the innovation of vocational training programs and exploring effective vocational training models. It is important to empirically explore the vocational education model (especially in private vocational colleges) in China. It is especially valuable, both academically and in practice, to understand how does paid internship impact vocational students’ employment competitiveness, and help correct their self-assessment bias (D-K effect).

This study first reviews the literature on enterprise internships and factors that impact on students’ employment and development. We focus on the effect of paid internship on the employment and career development of vocational students. We adopt a five-dimensional education model to analyze the internal mechanism and propose theoretical hypotheses. We follow the training and employment paths of 1,700 students (Class 2016 and 2017) from Guangxi Economic Vocational College for five years and test the hypotheses using structural equation modeling, multiple regression analysis, correlation analysis, etc. Our major findings include:

(1)The self-evaluation scores of the students significantly vary before and after participating in the first internship. Specifically, the scores after the internship are lower than the score before the internship, indicating that the "D-K effect" bias exists among students before the internship. This result is consistent with the existing literature, and further demonstrates that the "D-K effect" exists among the students from private vocational college.

(2)After the three corporate-paid internships, which last for 12 months in total, the level of psychological capital, social capital, and human capital rated by both the students themselves and their teachers are all improved. The participating enterprises also offer consistent and positive evaluations. The results show that the five-dimensional corporate-paid internship can significantly improve the psychological capital, social capital, and human capital of the vocational students. The internships also correct the "D-K effect" of the vocational students.

(3)The self- and teacher-rated scores of psychological capital, social capital, and human capital are positively associated with the employment satisfaction of the students. A higher score of the importance of the paid internships leads to a higher employment satisfaction of the graduates.

(4)Students with self- and teacher-rated scores of psychological capital, social capital, and human capital receive a higher salary in their employment.

Based on the above research findings, we identify the following major insights: (1) First, the implementation of work-based learning as well as the three-round five-dimensional corporate-paid internships help correct the "D-K effect" that is common among vocational students. It helps improve students to conduct to self-evaluation more objectively, which in turn helps them enter the workplace smoothly and improve their satisfaction about employment. (2) Second, based on the positive impact of the five-dimensional corporate-paid internships on vocational training, the study constructs a framework of "corporate-paid internship --- job role switching --- students’ overall development of psychological, social and human capital --- career adaptation --- smooth transition from school to workplace". The framework enriches the existing literature on vocational education and human resource management. (3) Third, our study proposes a measurement for the impact of paid internship on vocational school students’ career growth, and empirically tests its reliability and validity. The study also identify factors affecting the career development of vocational college graduates. (4) Forth, the study analyzes the influence of the five-dimensional corporate-paid internship model on student development, as well as on their transition from school to workplace. The findings expand the application of vocational education theory in the field of human resources. (5) Finally, the study indirectly illustrates the positive effect of the five-dimensional education training model on the overall development of vocational students and the sustainable development of their careers.

This research is not without limitation. First, the empirical data is mainly from the graduates from Guangxi Economic Vocational College. It is hard to conduct comparative study on the effect of the five-dimensional corporate-paid internship model on other colleges and universities. In order to promote the five-dimensional education training model, our future research will examine the model in other colleges and incorporate other influential variables to explore their impact and moderating effect on the five-dimensional education model. We will further investigate the mechanism of how paid internship influences the overall development of students.

Second, research from McKinsey shows that the proportion of students in our study (Class 2016 and 2017) who own a start-up company half a year after graduation is 6.1% and 6.7%, respectively. This is higher than the average level, i.e. about 3.5%, of all vocational colleges in the same region of the country within the same period. The average start-up monthly salary for the 2018 graduates (4210 RMB) is also significantly higher than that of all vocational college graduates (3447 RMB) in Guangxi Province. This correlation between the five-dimensional education model and the start-up rate of college students needs further verification.

Date of Award	30 Jul 2021
Original language	Chinese (Traditional)
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Hong LING (External Supervisor), Haibin YANG (Supervisor) & Juan FENG (Supervisor)