TITLE:
Post-Graduation Plans among Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers in Higher Vocational Education in China: Patterns and Associated Factors—A Survey of 567 Students across Three Higher Vocational Institutions in Jiangsu Province
AUTHORS:
Jing Li, Mengping Yang
KEYWORDS:
Career Preparedness, Early Childhood Teacher Education, Higher Vocational Education, Person-Environment Fit, Post-Graduation Plans, Practicum
JOURNAL NAME:
Creative Education,
Vol.17 No.10,
October
16,
2026
ABSTRACT: Research on teacher-career intention tends to treat the move from training to work as one question: enter the profession, or leave it. For pre-service early childhood teachers in Chinese higher vocational education the options are broader. They may enter early childhood education (ECE), upgrade to a bachelor’s degree, move to another sector, or remain undecided. This study surveyed 567 students at three institutions in Jiangsu Province and modelled these four plans against major-choice motivation, perceived training-career fit, curriculum-work alignment, career preparedness, practicum exposure, and grade, using multinomial logistic regression with bootstrapped average marginal effects and false-discovery-rate-adjusted chi-square tests. Further study was the most common plan (39.3%), ahead of ECE employment (28.9%), indecision (23.1%), and other-industry employment (8.6%). Career preparedness, training-career fit, interest-based entry, and practicum exposure under the ordinal specification were each associated with a higher predicted probability of planning ECE employment. Net of the other predictors, students heading for further study stood out: higher on curriculum-work alignment and grade but lower on preparedness, a profile suggesting academic orientation rather than departure from the field. Programme-reform priorities also diverged, with cross-disciplinary learning, wider practicum and employment channels, and expanded childcare or early-education directions drawing uneven support across groups. Post-graduation planning is therefore multidimensional, and vocational teacher-education programmes need differentiated support that builds readiness for work while keeping academic progression and career exploration open.