Pathways for Constructing China’s Highly “Dual-Qualified” Teaching Force in the New Era: A Textual Analysis of Nine Chinese Vocational Education Policies (2019–2025)

Abstract Against the backdrop of industrial transformation and the digital transition of vocational education in the new era, building a highly “dual-qualified” teaching force has become a pivotal issue in advancing the high-quality development of China’s vocational education. Based on nine nationally issued vocational education policy documents from 2019 to 2025, this study employed textual analysis and qualitative research methods to systematically examine the pathways for constructing a highly “dual-qualified” teaching force, utilizing a three-tier coding framework to elucidate the policy priorities and focal points in China’s efforts. The findings reveal that the current development of “dual-qualified” teachers in China primarily advances along four dimensions: (1) standardizing the entry mechanism for “dual-qualified” teachers to ensure their possession of “dual qualifications”; (2) fostering “dual competencies” through industry-education collaborative teacher training; (3) establishing a post-employment professional development support system to facilitate continuous improvement in teachers’ expertise; and (4) refining incentive and evaluation mechanisms to motivate vocational education teachers to attain and enhance their “dual-qualified” capabilities. The study summarizes four key policy pathways for China’s high-level “dual-qualified” teacher development, shares successful experiences in this endeavor, and contributes to broadening global perspectives on vocational education teacher development research.