Secondary vocational education is mainly undertaken by secondary vocational schools. Secondary vocational schools mainly include secondary specialized schools, technical schools and vocational middle schools.

According to "People's Republic of China (PRC) Vocational Education Law", "the implementation of vocational education must implement the national education policy, carry out ideological and political education and professional ethics education for the educated, impart vocational knowledge, cultivate vocational skills, provide vocational guidance, and comprehensively improve the quality of the educated". Opinions on Promoting Quality Education in an All-round Way and Deepening Teaching Reform in Secondary Vocational Education formulated by the Ministry of Education requires secondary vocational education to fully implement the Party's educational policy, change educational ideas, establish the concept of taking overall quality as the basis and ability as the standard, and cultivate high-quality laborers and junior and middle-level professionals who meet the requirements of socialist modernization, have comprehensive professional abilities and work in the front line of production, service, technology and management. Higher vocational students should have scientific world outlook, outlook on life, patriotism, collectivism and socialism, as well as good professional ethics and behavior norms; Have basic scientific and cultural literacy, necessary basic cultural knowledge, professional knowledge and relatively skilled vocational skills; Have the ability to continue learning and adapt to career changes; Have innovative spirit and practical ability, enterprising spirit and entrepreneurial ability; Have a healthy body and mind; Have the basic ability to appreciate beauty and create beauty.

Through the analysis of the training objectives of "technical secondary school, technical school and vocational school" in the new period, we can find that it has the following characteristics:

First, the goal of secondary vocational education in the new period is "high-quality workers and junior professionals working in the front line". As a kind of education, secondary vocational education is necessary to improve students' cultural basic knowledge, but it is "necessary cultural basic knowledge" and serves for learning professional knowledge and skills; As an education, secondary vocational education has the responsibility to undertake the dual tasks of employment and further education, not only to train practical talents for the front line of production, service and management, but also to train qualified freshmen for higher-level schools, especially higher vocational schools. However, its "dual tasks" are light, heavy and primary, and its main task is to serve employment. We can't treat the dual tasks equally, and we can't take further education more seriously than employment.

Second, the secondary vocational education in the new period focuses on the cultivation of comprehensive vocational ability. With the transformation of enterprises to technology-intensive and intensive management, the division of labor has changed from a single type of work to a compound type, requiring workers to have cross-post ability. In order to solve the contradiction between professional orientation and the uncertainty of future career (post), students can only broaden their knowledge, master a variety of skills, enhance their employment adaptability, and become "multi-functional" compound talents.

Third, the secondary vocational education in the new period focuses on the cultivation of comprehensive quality. In recent years, the employment situation in China is very severe. The report of the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly pointed out: "Guide the whole society to change the concept of employment, promote flexible and diverse forms of employment, encourage self-employment and self-employment, improve the employment training and service system, and improve the employment skills of workers". Vocational education aims at cultivating high-quality workers from all walks of life, and most graduates go directly to the society without further study, so it is more important to implement employment and entrepreneurship education. Vocational education needs to pay attention to cultivating students' professional skills according to the development and changes of economy and society, and at the same time strengthen the cultivation of students' entrepreneurial awareness and employability, so that students have a strong ability to adapt to the constant change and transfer of occupations and apply for jobs independently.

Second, the comparison of secondary vocational education with general education and on-the-job training (short-term technical training courses).

The State Council's "Implementation Opinions on the Outline of China's Education Reform and Development" stipulates: "The training goal of vocational education should focus on cultivating skilled workers and all kinds of practical talents with certain professional skills that are urgently needed by society". It shows that vocational education should pay attention to cultivating the working ability and production skills of the educated, so that high-quality workers with certain professional ability can create value for the society in the front line of production, service and management.

The State Council's Decision on Vigorously Promoting the Reform and Development of Vocational Education (Guo Fa [2002]16) puts forward: "Vocational education should conscientiously implement the Party's educational policy and comprehensively implement quality education. It is necessary to strengthen the professional ethics education of "love and respect one's post, be honest and trustworthy, act impartially, serve the masses and contribute to society", strengthen the basic education of culture, professional ability education and physical and mental health education, pay attention to cultivating the professional skills, scientific research spirit, pragmatic spirit, innovative spirit and entrepreneurial ability of the educated, and train a large number of high-quality workers and practical talents in the front line of production and service. "

"The education and training of skilled workers, when laying a broad foundation for their future specialization or promotion, should be oriented to the practical and theoretical skills and knowledge that are needed or may be needed for future employment. The education and training of technicians should emphasize the technical content of specific occupations without ignoring practical skills and knowledge. " "Technical and vocational education to prepare for entering the professional field should lay the foundation for a happy career with strong working ability. It should: a, enable learners to acquire extensive knowledge and core skills needed by several occupations in a certain field, so that individuals will not be restricted in choosing occupations and can transfer from one occupation to another in their future career; B at the same time, provide adequate professional preparation for initial employment, including self-employment and post-employment training; C. Provide the foundation of knowledge, skills and attitude, so that you can receive continuing education at any time in your career. "

The Compulsory Education Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) stipulates: "Compulsory education must implement the national education policy and strive to improve the quality of education, so that children and adolescents can develop in an all-round way in morality, intelligence and physique, and lay the foundation for improving the quality of the whole nation and cultivating ideal, moral, educated and disciplined talents for socialist construction." Compulsory education is a stage of general education. The previous provisions fully explain that general education should aim at cultivating citizens' basic cultural quality and provide a certain cultural knowledge base for other kinds of education and continuing learning. We should aim at cultivating theoretical and research-oriented talents.

By comparing the training objectives of secondary vocational education and general education, we can find the similarities and differences between them. The similarity is that they are all general concepts subordinate to the upper concept of "education" and belong to the category of education. Implementing the party's educational policy and cultivating students' comprehensive qualities such as morality, intelligence, physique, beauty and labor have much in common. But because they are two different types of education, their differences are obvious and can be summarized as follows:

First, the difference between major and foundation. Vocational education should not only provide the necessary academic foundation for students' lifelong learning, but also provide the necessary professional knowledge and skills to adapt to future employment. Vocational education has dual training objectives. What needs to be explained here is that the dual goals of vocational education (academic foundation, professional knowledge and skills) are not equal. Although vocational education also undertakes the task of improving the basic cultural quality of the educated, because the main destination of the educated is the front-line operation posts of production, service, technology and management, the implementation of vocational education is the main training goal (learning professional knowledge, mastering professional skills, and being able to engage in professional work in the future). General education aims at cultivating citizens' basic cultural quality and providing a certain cultural knowledge base for other kinds of education and continuing learning.

Second, the difference between practicality and theory. Vocational education aims at cultivating the technical ability required by a certain occupation or post, and should be a combination of education and actual production labor, and it is to cultivate applied technology, technology and management talents for production and frontline. In terms of talent specifications, students should be able to use their hands and brains; Both theoretical knowledge and practical skills; There are both academic certificates and vocational qualification certificates; It has the characteristics of compound talents and meets the needs of diversified knowledge and skill structure of workers in front-line professional posts. What needs to be explained here is that the dual abilities (theory and practice) in vocational education are not equal. Vocational education at all levels focuses on cultivating technical and skilled talents in front-line jobs, which requires strengthening the cultivation of the educated's operational ability and the educated's ability to analyze knowledge, solve practical problems and skillfully use production materials on the basis of having a certain theoretical knowledge reserve. Therefore, the implementation of professional practical skills education and training is its main task. General education aims at cultivating academic and research-oriented talents with certain theoretical knowledge.

Third, the difference between practicality and universality. Vocational education is most closely related to social economy. Article 23 of People's Republic of China (PRC) Vocational Education Law stipulates that "vocational schools and vocational training institutions should combine production with education, serve the economic construction of the region, keep close contact with enterprises, and cultivate practical talents and skilled workers". The second part of the State Council's Decision on Vigorously Promoting the Reform and Development of Vocational Education also points out: "Promote the reform of management system and school-running system, and promote the close integration of vocational education with economic construction and social development." Vocational education should always be in a dynamic state. Through the school-enterprise combination and Industry-University-Research integration mode, we will establish extensive contacts with enterprises, service and scientific research units, timely reflect all kinds of new technologies, achievements and new requirements of personnel training in social and economic development to education and teaching, and at the same time transmit and popularize the school's scientific research achievements and personnel information to serve social and economic development and local economic development.