Greening the Way Forward: A Qualitative Assessment of Green Technology Integration and Prospects in a Chinese Technical and Vocational Institute

• Published in: Sustainability 2023-03, Vol.15 (6), p.5187
• Main Authors: Li, Hui, Khattak, Shoukat Iqbal, Lu, Xiaoqian, Khan, Anwar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Attitudes; Clean technology; Curricula; Development systems; Education; Educational aspects; Environmental education; Environmental protection; Green technology; Personnel development; Professional development; Skilled workers; Students; Sustainable development; Teachers; Technical institutes; Technology application; Trade schools
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su15065187

In an era of rapid change and sustainable development, reform of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems worldwide is essential. Integrating green technologies into TVET is key to training a competent workforce in this field. This study aims to determine the extent of faculty knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards green technology to better integrate green technology into future labor. Sixteen faculty from a public technical and vocational institute in China were interviewed, and the contents were analyzed with NVIVO 11 software. However, our research reveals a daunting challenge: 68% of vocational education teachers lack the necessary knowledge and understanding of green technologies. Despite this, the attitudes of these teachers toward integrating green technology into education vary widely, ranging from education about environmental protection to education about green production to education about good green habits. The majority of faculty recognize the need for green technology education due to governmental requirements, industry transformation, improving student employability, and creating environmentally friendly citizens. Unfortunately, faculty commitment to green technologies remains low. A few faculty members have integrated green technologies into their teaching, but research in this area remains limited, primarily due to heavy workloads, course and program irrelevance, lack of college support, and lack of industry demand. To address this problem, faculty members have proposed embedding green technology education into the talent development system rather than treating it as a stand-alone course. They also emphasize the need for closer collaboration with the industry to improve green technology education. This study serves as a foundation for understanding the current state of green technology in vocational education and a pathway for its improvement.