Industry–Education Integration in Early Childhood Educator Preparation and Professional Development: A Systematic Integrative Review of Barriers and Collaborative Pathways

Ruiqin Fan

doi:10.62177/jetp.v3i3.1703

Authors

Ruiqin Fan Binzhou Vocational and Technical University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62177/jetp.v3i3.1703

Keywords:

Activity Theory, Boundary Work, Early Childhood Care and Education, Industry-Education Integration, Professional Development, Systematic Integrative Review

Abstract

This systematic integrative review examines how collaboration between education providers and workplace institutions is constructed in the preparation and professional development of early childhood care and education educators. Guided by activity theory and the concepts of boundary crossing and boundary objects, the review synthesizes 28 English- and Chinese-language sources published between 2023 and 2026. Searches were conducted in ERIC, OpenAlex, and CNKI, supplemented by citation and manual searching. The thematic synthesis identified two interrelated patterns. First, collaboration was frequently constrained by tensions between institutional rules and mediating tools, including curriculum frameworks, practicum handbooks, assessment criteria, workplace routines, and performance requirements. Second, potentially productive collaboration involved boundary work through which stakeholders negotiated responsibilities, translated workplace knowledge into curriculum and assessment practices, and developed shared tools. Because it integrates English- and Chinese-language evidence, the review offers a distinctive bilingual perspective that connects internationally reported partnership mechanisms with the Chinese policy discourse of industry-education integration. The synthesis proposes an interpretive pathway in which institutional contradictions create a need for boundary negotiation, while the co-development of tools and roles may support educator learning when sustained by adequate time, authority, and organizational resources. The findings offer practical implications for vocational colleges, early childhood institutions, teacher educators, workplace mentors, and policymakers. Further longitudinal research is required to test and refine the proposed pathway across different institutional and national contexts.

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