A study on establishing effective vertical connections between secondary and higher vocational education based on a credit bank framework

Liu Fang and Liu Jing
Yunnan Open University
Kunming, China

For lifelong learning and the establishment of a credit bank system, there is a pressing need to break through the restrictions of the conventional education system and achieve mutual acceptance, accumulation and conversion between the outcomes of different means of learning and education. The overlapping and connections in learners' motivation and learning content between secondary and higher vocational education make it possible to convert the learning results achieved through different types of education by means of a credit bank system. Open and distance education contributes greatly to secondary vocational schools which are short of higher education teaching resources and faculty members. It is a significant education mode, particularly for nations and regions with relatively underdeveloped education systems.

This study is concerned with connecting secondary and higher vocational education based on Yunnan Open University's credit bank framework by establishing a pathway for accumulating and converting credits between these levels. Connecting pre-vocational and vocational education will strengthen the functions of vocational education and open distance education, and help learners to improve and contribute to the development of society.