Is the social evaluation of vocational schools sufficient? What form of educational quality assurance is required?

The first requirement for gaining social recognition is performance, which is indicated by indicators such as capacity utilization rate, dropout rate, employment rate, qualification pass rate, local employment rate and initial career development of graduates. The second requirement is identity, which must be clearly defined for vocational training programs that are accredited in cooperation with companies. The third is the management of vocational training, which requires the formulation of a medium-term business plan that defines the objectives of training and management, and the existence of a management system that produces results in terms of learning and training. Finally, unlike accreditation evaluation, vocational schools are required to undergo third-party evaluation by an autonomous evaluation organization that the schools establish themselves, and to disclose the results.

The “form of quality assurance required of vocational colleges”, which refers to the above as a whole, specifically means “to produce high performance through the management of vocational education, to strive to further establish an identity, and to widely disclose to society the results of objective and impartial third-party evaluations of these conditions”.

The number of international students enrolled in the certified care worker training program has increased rapidly in recent years. At our vocational school, international students comprise approximately 70% of this program’s participants. In this context, there is a need for teaching and learning management that is adaptive and tailored to enhance each student’s individuality and abilities. This study aimed to identify effective teaching and learning management strategies that support the expression of international students’ individuality and abilities in the certified care worker training program. To this end, an interview survey was conducted. The analysis produced 29 codes, 13 subcategories, and six categories. Findings indicated that fostering individuality and abilities among international students requires focusing not only on certification or graduation but also on their successful integration into society. This calls for promoting a philosophy centered on certified care worker education and developing consistent, thoughtful teaching and learning management practices.