A Quantitative Study on Pedagogical and Curriculum Strategies to Enhance Innovation Ability in Chinese Vocational Colleges

Abstract

Innovation ability has become a defining outcome for vocational education across China. This study tests how pedagogical strategies and curriculum structures shape that ability. We frame the problem through a reciprocal mediation lens. A structured survey instrument was administered through Google Form to 426 vocational college teachers. The instrument captured four latent constructs. These were Pedagogical Innovation Strategy and Curriculum Innovation Architecture and Digital Pedagogical Competence and student Innovation Ability. All scales showed strong internal consistency with Cronbach alpha values above 0.80. Multiple regression explained 34.1 percent of the variance in innovation ability. Curriculum Innovation Architecture emerged as the strongest direct predictor. Digital Pedagogical Competence operated as a partial mediator for both the pedagogical pathway and the curricular pathway. Bootstrapped indirect effects were positive and did not span zero. Innovation ability did not differ significantly across macro regions or institutional tiers. The findings reposition digital competence as a competence conduit rather than a peripheral skill. We argue that curricular porosity and ideational scaffolding jointly raise the innovation propensity of learners. Implications for pedagogical intervention design and curriculum reform are then advanced.