Integrating Industry and Education in Higher Vocational Colleges: Practical Logic and Pathways for Fostering a Strong Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation

Abstract

The integration of industry and education provides higher vocational colleges with a unique 'embodied' practical field for fostering a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation. Drawing on a three-dimensional analytical framework of 'space–subject–carrier', and incorporating theories of embodied cognition and situated learning, this paper elucidates the intrinsic mechanisms through which industry-education integration facilitates the cultivation of this sense of community. The findings reveal that the threefold logic follows a progressive trajectory of 'cognitive anchoring–emotional deepening–behavioural transformation'. By bridging the three spheres of school, enterprise, and society, this approach embeds value identification throughout the entire chain of skills training. However, current practice is confronted with challenges such as inadequate synergy among educational fields, superficial collaboration among multiple stakeholders, and tokenistic curriculum and practical activities, with distinct manifestations across institutions in ethnic and non-ethnic regions. Accordingly, this paper proposes an optimised pathway encompassing 'field integration–stakeholder synergy–carrier development', with particular emphasis on digital empowerment and the construction of value-added assessment systems, aiming to organically embed the sense of community for the Chinese nation within the holistic process of cultivating technically skilled talent.