Research direction:
Comparative vocational education; Sociology of education; Educational policy research
Teaching courses:
Undergraduate: Global Educational Leadership; Performance Analysis; Performance Improvement; Workplace Learning
Graduate students: Comparative Research on Curriculum and Teaching; Lectures on the Frontiers of International Education Research; Principles of Education
Scientific research project:
Hosting scientific research projects
1. The 15th Five-Year Plan decision-making consultation project of the Shanghai Municipal Government in 2024 (concluded)
2. The 6th Mentor-led Project at Shanghai International Studies University in 2024 (ongoing)
3. International Comparative Study Project on Vocational Education at the Global Education Research Center of Shanghai International Studies University in 2023 (Completed)
4. The ideological and political education project of the School of International Education, Shanghai International Studies University in 2023 (concluded)
5. Open project of the Institute of Regional and National Studies, Shanghai International Studies University in 2023: Research on the Internationalization Path of Vocational Education in China (ongoing)
6. The 2022 Youth Fund Project of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education, Research on the Path and Mechanism of China's Vocational Education 'Going Global' from the Perspective of Regional Countries (under research)
7. Research on the construction of a new vocational education model based on skills + education (concluded), supported by the 64th batch of general funding projects of the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation in 2019
Participation in scientific research projects
1. Research on the International Contribution of Chinese Education by the Language Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Education in 2024 (Host: Researcher Yu Yunfeng)
2. Research on Evaluation Indicators for World-Class Universities conducted by the Education Evaluation Center of the Ministry of Education in 2024 (Host: Professor Jin Hui)
3. Research on Digital Transformation in Major Countries of the World by the Ministry of Education in 2024 (Host: Professor Jin Hui)
4. 2023 Shanghai Vocational Education Teaching Reform Project (Host: Researcher Jiang Feng)
5. The Vocational Education Database Construction Project of the Education Information Management Center of the Ministry of Education in 2023 (Host: Professor Jin Hui)
Publication of academic papers:
Publication of SSCI journal articles:
1. Guan, S., & Blair, E. (2024). Exploring conceptualisations of vocational education in China: how the hierarchical education system mirrors social hierarchy. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 45(5), 778-797.
2. Guan, S., & Abbas, A. (2022). ‘I am just a loser of higher education’: a framework for comparative analysis of the value of adult higher education derived from a Chinese study. Studies in Higher Education, 47(4), 928-940.
3. Guan, S., & Blair, E. (2022). Adult higher education as both an ‘opportunity’ and a ‘trap’: student perceptions on credentialism in China. Studies in continuing education, 44(3), 362-375.
4. Guan, S., & Blair, E. (2021). Chinese adult higher education as a heterotopia. Higher Education, 81(3), 471-489.
5. Guan, S., & James, F. (2020). Staying afloat via guanxi: student networks, social capital and inequality in Chinese adult higher education. British Journal of Educational Studies, 68(3), 349-364.
6. Guan, S., & Ploner, J. (2020). The influence of cultural capital and mianzi (face) on mature students’ orientation towards higher education in China. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 50(1), 1-17.
Publication of Chinese journal articles:
[1] Meng Fanrong, Wang Ke, Guan Shanshan. Analysis of Global Vocational Education Trends in 2024 [J]. Shanghai Education, 2024
[2] Liu Lu, Guan Shanshan. The Practice and Reflection of the EPIP Teaching Model of Luban Workshop in Pakistan under the Background of the Belt and Road Initiative [J]. Vocational Education Newsletter, 2024, (06): 93-98
[3] Wang Ke, Tian Xiaoyong, Guan Shanshan. Development, Challenges, and Paths for Teacher Training in Secondary Vocational and Technical Schools in Iran [J]. Vocational Education Newsletter, 2024, (03): 14-23
[4] Sun Meilu, Guan Shanshan. Positioning, Challenges, and Improvement of Social Service Functions of Higher Vocational Colleges under the Concept of Lifelong Education [J]. Vocational Education Newsletter, 2022, (06): 11-17
[5] Guan Shanshan, Tang Ying. Research Hotspots and Trends of Vocational Education in China towards Germany, the United States, and Australia since the 21st Century: A Visual Knowledge Mapping Analysis Based on CiteSpace [J]. Vocational Education Newsletter, 2023, (10): 84-97
[6] Guan Shanshan. Continuously Improving the Skilled Talent Cultivation System: An Analysis of the Ten-Year Development and Changes in UK Continuing Education Policies [J]. Vocational and Technical Education, 2021, 42(27): 70-79
Publication of monographs:
1. A Brief History of Technical and Professional Education in the UK (2025)
2. Digital Transformation of Basic Education in Russia (2025)
3. Dance to the Dominants' Tune: The Impact of Institutional Habitus on the Study of Mature Students in Both England and China (A Comparative Study of Adult Higher Education in China and the UK - From the Perspectives of Cultural Capital, Social Capital, and Credentialism). Zhejiang University of Technology Press, 2023
4. E. Blair & S. Guan. 2020. Exploring the landscape of postgraduate supervision in the UK. In Blair, E., Watson, D. & Raturi, S. (Eds.), Graduate Research Supervision in the Developing World: Policies, Pedagogies, and Practices. Routledge: Oxon UK
Submit a policy advisory report:
1. Analysis of the current situation and difficulties of internationalization of vocational education in China (submitted to the Ministry of Education)
2. Analysis of the Challenges and Solutions in the Internationalization Practices of Chinese Vocational Colleges (Submitted to the China Association for Vocational and Technical Education)
3. Analysis of global vocational education trends in the first half of 2024 (submitted to the Education Information Management Center of the Ministry of Education)
4. Analysis of the Internationalization Path of Vocational Education during the 15th Five-Year Plan Period in Shanghai (Submitted to the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and Proven to Have Been Adopted)
Awards:
2018 Shanghai Super Postdoctoral Scientific Research Award Funding
Journal peer review:
Conduct peer review for SSCI journals such as Studies in Higher Education