Industry-Education Integration Optimization Pathways for Higher Vocational Colleges Aligning with Regional Key Industries

Abstract

The deep-seated difficulties in industry-education integration between higher vocational colleges and regional key industries stem from structural conflicts between educational and industrial logics. Using institutional logics theory as an analytical framework, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 participants from two higher vocational colleges and four enterprises, followed by thematic analysis using NVivo. The research reveals systematic mismatches between the two parties in terms of legitimacy authority, temporal horizons, and normative requirements. Actors engage in dynamic negotiations through strategies including resource exchange, rule adaptation, and discourse reconstruction. The outcomes of these negotiations become embedded in cooperation frameworks in three forms: interface rules, marginal adjustments, or structural contradictions. The study uncovers the micro-dynamics of industry-education integration—"conflict triggers—strategic negotiation—institutional embeddedness"—providing both theoretical and practical references for optimisation pathways.