A Practical Study on Integrating Traditional Chinese Etiquette Culture into Ideological and Political Education for Vocational College Students

Abstract

The integration of traditional Chinese etiquette culture into higher vocational education has gained policy momentum under China's Moral Education Initiative, yet empirical evidence validating its instructional efficacy remains scarce. This study examines the effectiveness of a structured curriculum intervention designed to cultivate professional competence through traditional etiquette education among vocational college students. A quasi-experimental single-group pre-test-post-test design was employed with 25 students at Quanzhou Light Industry Vocational College. Participants completed an eight-session course (45 minutes per session; six instructional hours) titled “Etiquette Nurtures Craftsmanship: Integrating Traditional Etiquette with Professional Competence,” with data collected via knowledge tests, satisfaction questionnaires, classroom observation, and self-report instruments. Cognitive outcomes demonstrated a substantial gain from pre-test (M = 69.64) to post-test (M = 85.00), representing a 15.36-point increase that was statistically significant, t(24) = 29.54, p < .001, with a very large effect size (Cohen's d = 5.91; 95% CI [14.29, 16.43]). Emotional engagement yielded a mean satisfaction score of M = 4.34 (p < .001, d = 0.83); subscale analyses showed medium-to-large effects for course content (d = 0.62) and learning outcomes (d = 0.81), although teaching methods did not reach significance (p = .075). Classroom observation scores showed no statistically significant behavioral change (t = 1.23, p = .231, d = 0.25); however, 88% of students reported heightened attention to etiquette norms and 92% expressed willingness to continue practicing etiquette behaviors. The Efficiency Index was 0.506, exceeding the 0.50 threshold for high efficiency. The findings provide feasibility evidence, a replicable curriculum framework, and a cognitive-emotional-behavioral evaluation model for culturally grounded vocational moral education.