Lying Flat or Involution the Career Path Choices of Chinese Vocational Teachers

This study adopted a qualitative research approach, conducting one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 23 respondents to analyze the relationship between higher vocational teachers’ needs and their career path choices. Thematic analysis of the interview data identified two key themes related to career paths: lying flat and involution. Faced with various incentive systems structurally present within the organization, individual teachers may become caught in involution due to needs such as “supporting their families” or “promotion”. Conversely, some may choose “lying flat”, opting for disengagement upon recognizing conflicts between work-life balance and the governance of institutional and relational dynamics.