The industry-education integration(IEI) is an ideal goal for vocational education to develop high-quality technical and skilled personnel. At present, IEI in China's vocational education has fallen into a development pattern of "involution" with "growth without development". This paper focused on the "involution" mechanism of IEI to promote the sustainable development of IEI in China’s vocational education.For this purpose, We introduced the instrumental analytical value of "involution" and incorporated the "involution" into the scope of cross-organizational knowledge management of Industry-Education Integration; and we constructed the Cross-organizational Learning Cycle Model (COLCM) of IEI, which is a combination of the SECI model and the OLC model, and developed a quantitative model of enterprise input-output ratio of IEI based on the knowledge spillover effect. Through our research, we found that IEI is falling into an "involution" development pattern of "growth without development" in China's vocational education. The reason for this "involution" is that the current pathways of IEI are challenging to effectively establish a positive ratio of enterprise input-output mechanisms. This challenge is manifested in the most significant development dilemma faced by IEI in China's vocational education—referred to as "positive schools and negative enterprises." This dilemma is characterized by a development pattern where "external conditions" are limited, and the "internal process" is locked into current pathways. To promote the sustainable development of IEI, it is necessary to build new pathways that can effectively establish a positive ratio of enterprise input-output mechanisms.

Wang Yiyuan, Yang Yanlu. Research on the "Involution" Mechanism of Industry-Education Integration in China’s Vocational Education. Frontiers in Educational Research (2023) Vol. 6, Issue 30: 137-143. https://doi.org/10.25236/FER.2023.063023.

[1] Li Jinshun and Mao Wei. (2007) The Shaping Construction of Evolution in Rural Society. Academic Journal of Jinyang, 02, 42-46.

[2] He Yanling and Cai He. (2005) An Analysis of Involution of Chinese Residents' Committee and Its Reason. Journal of Sun Yat-sen University(Social Science Edition), 05, 109-114,133.

[3] Wei Sen. (2006) Smith Dynamics and the Brodeur Bellwether-- A Possible New Perspective on the Historical Causes of the Modern Rise of the Western World and the Relative Stagnation of the Late Qing Empire. Social Science Front, 1, 72-85.

[4] DAI Xiangzhi. (2017) Involution and Breakthrough in the Development of Higher Vocational Education. Journal of Changsha University, 05, 142-147.

[5] Geertz Clifford. (1963) Agricultural Involution: The process of Ecological Change in Indonesia. CA: university of California Press, 80-82.

[6] Douglass C. North, (1981) Structure and Change in Economic History. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 

[7] Prasenjit Duara. (1991) Culture, Power and the State: Rural North China, 1900-1942. California: Stanford University Press.

[8] Fan Zhihai. (2004) On the problem of "internalization" in China's institutional innovation. Chinese Journal of Sociology, 4, 4-7.

[9] Guo Ji-qiang. (2007) A New Interpretation of the Concept of“Involution". Sociological Studies, 03, 194-208.

[10] Pang Shouxing and Li Shuxiao. (2010) Involution:A Description of Bottleneck in Education. Higher Education Development and Evaluation, 26(6), 24-29.

[11] Xia Jun. (2012) Exploring the growth of involution in higher education. Education Review, 3, 12-14.

[12] DAI Xiangzhi. (2017) Involution and Breakthrough in the Development of Higher Vocational Education. Journal of Changsha University, 05, 142-147.

[13] Zhang Xiaoyu. (2019) The Involution Phenomenon of University-enterprise Cooperation in Vocational Colleges and Its Breakthrough. Journal of Vocational Education, 01, 134-139.

[14] Tang Jiazhou. (2012) Interpreting the Dilemma of School-Enterprise Cooperation in Higher Vocational Education from the Perspective of Knowledge Management. Education and Vocation, 24, 14-17.

[15] WU Yan-ming. (2013) On Curriculum Construction of Higher Vocational Education under the Perspective of Knowledge Management. Journal of Nanning Normal University(Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), 34(04), 87-90.

[16] WANG Yanan and LIU Yi. (2014) Collaborative Innovation Research Based on Knowledge Management and Proposal for Universities. Science and Technology Management Research, 34(1), 107-111.

[17] Sun Xiaoli. (2020) Cultivation of New Financial Talents Based on "SECI + Industry-Teaching Integration" in the era of intelligence. Popular Standardization, 08, 107-108.

[18] Meng Renzhen, Zhang Boyao and Xu Guangming. (2023) Research on cultivation path and strategy of modern apprenticeship under advanced goal--from the perspective of SECI model. Chinese Vocational and Technical Education, 02, 50-57.

[19] Nonoka I. and Takeuchi H. (1998) The Knowledge-Creating Company[J]. Nankai Business Review, 482-484(2), 175–187.

[20] Dixon N M. (1994) The organizational learning cycle: How we can learn collectively. London: McGran-Hill. 

[21] ZHANG Jian. (2018) On Deepening the Integration of Production and Education by Cracking the Problem of Hot School and Cold Enterprise. Journal of Henan Institute of Science and Technology, 38(04), 1-3+9.

[22] WANG Heyuan, TANG Sheng, HUANG Xiaoyan. (2023) Why do Enterprises Lack Enthusiasm: The Dilemma and Breakthrough of the Integration of Industry and Education in the Cultivation of Professional Degree Postgraduates. Academic Degrees & Graduate Education, 08, 22-29.

[23] Xi Jin. (2018) The transaction cost for enterprises to participate in the school- enterprise cooperation of vocational education and the compensation mechanism construction. Chinese Vocational and Technical Education, 33, 44-518.

[24] Wu Jinling. (2020) Cost Structures and Compensation Mechanisms of Enterprises Participating in Vocational Education School-enterprise Cooperation. Education and Vocation, 02, 48-54.