East-West Crosscurrents in Higher Education – serie

This book takes students’ responses to grievances as a platform for exploring the construction of students’ rights against the backdrop of China’s shift to mass higher education and move to rule of law. Specifically, the study reconstructs the spaces of action involved in seven major responses to student discipline, with special emphasis on the role of law in students’ action and in social change. Data for this book came from interviews with students and other key players in landmark cases as well as focus-group interviews and surveys of ordinary college students at ten universities located in four geographically different cities.The study offers an interesting example of integrated bottom-up and top-down policy/legal changes in Chinese higher education. By comparing college students to other emerging rights-claiming populations such as peasants and workers, the study also addresses a gap in the extant literature on rights, citizenship, and resistance in China and has important implications for the understanding citizenship development in China.

The book mainly investigates the challenges that confront France’s unique dual system of higher education in facing internationalization and the recruitment of international students. This book focuses on the development of the institutional strategies in two groups of higher education institutions: University and Grande École in responding to the opportunities and stresses of both Europe’s Bologna process and globalization.The research data presents in this book was collected from four local institutions, two Grandes Écoles and two universities, one of each focusing on the social sciences and the other on natural sciences and technology. Interviews with major stakeholders in the institutions, including personnel from international offices, faculty/researchers and international students were adopted as principal methods for data collection. The thematic organization of the findings in each chapter covers views from three levels of stakeholders’ and interprets the results within theoretical frames, such as institutional theories, world-system theory, international academic relationship theory and branding theory.  Readers will find this book both practical and innovative in four key ways. Firstly, in knowledge diffusion, revealing the mysterious veil of the unique French dual higher education system. Secondly, in new knowledge production, exploring a new subject of research and filling the blanks from previous studies of the two groups of institutions. Thirdly, in presenting new interesting sights into current reforms in Frances’s higher education and how far principles of path dependency will ensure strong continuities with the past as against a tendency to homogenization in response to pressures from Europeanization and global ranking systems. Finally, in exploring the dimension of interculturality and the interplay between researcher’s identity and research process.

This book uses a mixed-method approach to address the topic of personal epistemology among Chinese engineering doctoral students from U.S. institutions.--It presents a broad view of the epistemological development among Chinese engineering students from five U.S. Midwestern doctoral programs. Meanwhile, it provides practical examples from students’ academic experiences to showcase their thinking development and behavioral patterns.It allows readers to gain an understanding of Chinese engineering students’ academic lives in U.S. institutions through a cognitive theoretical lens. It also highlights a number of factors that can potentially facilitate adult students’ cognitive development, and extends the discussion on the benefits of study-abroad and cross-cultural education to the epistemological domain.

The book mainly investigates the challenges that confront France’s unique dual system of higher education in facing internationalization and the recruitment of international students. This book focuses on the development of the institutional strategies in two groups of higher education institutions: University and Grande École in responding to the opportunities and stresses of both Europe’s Bologna process and globalization.The research data presents in this book was collected from four local institutions, two Grandes Écoles and two universities, one of each focusing on the social sciences and the other on natural sciences and technology. Interviews with major stakeholders in the institutions, including personnel from international offices, faculty/researchers and international students were adopted as principal methods for data collection. The thematic organization of the findings in each chapter covers views from three levels of stakeholders’ and interprets the results within theoretical frames, such as institutional theories, world-system theory, international academic relationship theory and branding theory.  Readers will find this book both practical and innovative in four key ways. Firstly, in knowledge diffusion, revealing the mysterious veil of the unique French dual higher education system. Secondly, in new knowledge production, exploring a new subject of research and filling the blanks from previous studies of the two groups of institutions. Thirdly, in presenting new interesting sights into current reforms in Frances’s higher education and how far principles of path dependency will ensure strong continuities with the past as against a tendency to homogenization in response to pressures from Europeanization and global ranking systems. Finally, in exploring the dimension of interculturality and the interplay between researcher’s identity and research process.

This book uses a mixed-method approach to address the topic of personal epistemology among Chinese engineering doctoral students from U.S. institutions.--It presents a broad view of the epistemological development among Chinese engineering students from five U.S. Midwestern doctoral programs. Meanwhile, it provides practical examples from students’ academic experiences to showcase their thinking development and behavioral patterns.It allows readers to gain an understanding of Chinese engineering students’ academic lives in U.S. institutions through a cognitive theoretical lens. It also highlights a number of factors that can potentially facilitate adult students’ cognitive development, and extends the discussion on the benefits of study-abroad and cross-cultural education to the epistemological domain.

This book examines the way Chinese academics returning from the US re-establish their academic identities and professional practices at China’s research universities in the context of higher education internationalization in China. It goes beyond economic accounts of academic mobility based on the notions of brain drain, brain gain, and brain circulation. Instead, it uses a cultural approach to explore the everyday experiences of the returning scholars concerning the issues of their sense of identity, as well as their ways of connecting and bringing about changes in their work communities. It will appeal anyone interested in 1) globalization and academic mobility; 2) China’s talent policies and strategies; and 3) the internationalization of Chinese universities.

This book introduces a new typology of “inward- and outward-oriented” higher education internationalization, and investigates China’s current situation of shifting from a mainly “inward-oriented” higher education internationalization to a more balanced approach. It describes the gap between China’s soft power goals of using higher education internationalization for image and influence enhancement and the reality, and examines the three major dimensions of China’s “outward-oriented” higher education internationalization (i.e. the Confucius Institute program based on Sino-foreign higher education collaboration, international development aid in higher education, and higher education level international student recruitment) based on reflections provided by international graduate students in English instruction programs in education-related majors in three Chinese universities. Providing both theoretical insights and real-world examples, this book is suitable for higher education researchers, graduate students in the relevant fields, administrators of higher education institutions, and policymakers in the government sector.

This book introduces a new typology of “inward- and outward-oriented” higher education internationalization, and investigates China’s current situation of shifting from a mainly “inward-oriented” higher education internationalization to a more balanced approach. It describes the gap between China’s soft power goals of using higher education internationalization for image and influence enhancement and the reality, and examines the three major dimensions of China’s “outward-oriented” higher education internationalization (i.e. the Confucius Institute program based on Sino-foreign higher education collaboration, international development aid in higher education, and higher education level international student recruitment) based on reflections provided by international graduate students in English instruction programs in education-related majors in three Chinese universities. Providing both theoretical insights and real-world examples, this book is suitable for higher education researchers, graduate students in the relevant fields, administrators of higher education institutions, and policymakers in the government sector.

This book studies impact of “Overseas Leadership Development Programmes for Chinese University Leaders in the Central and Western Regions of China,” a research project funded by National Office for Education Sciences Planning (No. CIA170270), China. It is intended to enhance university leaders’ professionalism and to achieve impact on both the individual and institutional levels. The empirical data was collected using a mixed-methods approach including policy documents, learning diaries, a quantitative survey, and individual interviews. From the standpoint of transnational education, the book scrutinizes the context of the Chinese higher education governance system, the provision of overseas leadership development programmes, the needs of Chinese university leaders, the leadership development impact on the university leaders’ personal views regarding leadership, and its impact on institutional development and change. The book also addresses the challenges faced by these leaders when implementing the changes after their leadership development sections, explaining how these leadership development sections met or failed to meet the national goals of promoting innovation and social justice in university leaders’ work.The findings presented here will greatly enrich readers’ knowledge concerning Chinese university leaders’ professionalism and professional development. Further, the respective chapters provide evidence-based recommendations for educational practitioners, policymakers, overseas trainers, and researchers who are interested in developing university leaders’ professionalism through targeted leadership development, making the book a valuable resource for leadership development, policymaking, and further educational research.

This book studies impact of “Overseas Leadership Development Programmes for Chinese University Leaders in the Central and Western Regions of China,” a research project funded by National Office for Education Sciences Planning (No. CIA170270), China. It is intended to enhance university leaders’ professionalism and to achieve impact on both the individual and institutional levels. The empirical data was collected using a mixed-methods approach including policy documents, learning diaries, a quantitative survey, and individual interviews. From the standpoint of transnational education, the book scrutinizes the context of the Chinese higher education governance system, the provision of overseas leadership development programmes, the needs of Chinese university leaders, the leadership development impact on the university leaders’ personal views regarding leadership, and its impact on institutional development and change. The book also addresses the challenges faced by these leaders when implementing the changes after their leadership development sections, explaining how these leadership development sections met or failed to meet the national goals of promoting innovation and social justice in university leaders’ work.The findings presented here will greatly enrich readers’ knowledge concerning Chinese university leaders’ professionalism and professional development. Further, the respective chapters provide evidence-based recommendations for educational practitioners, policymakers, overseas trainers, and researchers who are interested in developing university leaders’ professionalism through targeted leadership development, making the book a valuable resource for leadership development, policymaking, and further educational research.

The current social reality and changing global forces and spaces are inspiring the rethinking, refining, and re-empowering of the world social sciences to broach the frontiers of human knowledge, enhance mutual understanding across cultures and civilizations, and shape a better world. Taking Tsinghua University’s sociology as a case, this book concentrates on how internationalization shapes disciplinary development in a global context of asymmetrical academic relations. This inquiry is set amidst China’s dramatic economic, social, political, and cultural transformations, as well as the institutional reforms in this Chinese flagship university. This book seeks to probe how Chinese and Western knowledge, institutions, and cultures are integrated in the ongoing process of internationalization and concentrates on the disciplinary evolution of Tsinghua’s sociology—intellectually, institutionally, and culturally—drawing on top-down higher education policy and bottom-up perceptions and experiences of Tsinghua’s social scientists. This book highlights that higher education internationalization is an evolving process whose advanced phase would require Chinese social scientists to bring China to the world. It is time for Tsinghua University to reassess the long-term impact of internationalization on its academic disciplines and provide sufficient support for the development of the social sciences.This book will attract academics, practitioners, and postgraduate students interested in higher education internationalization, international academic relations, global constellation and distribution of academic power, academic knowledge production, and the development and intellectual influences of the Chinese social sciences.

The current social reality and changing global forces and spaces are inspiring the rethinking, refining, and re-empowering of the world social sciences to broach the frontiers of human knowledge, enhance mutual understanding across cultures and civilizations, and shape a better world. Taking Tsinghua University’s sociology as a case, this book concentrates on how internationalization shapes disciplinary development in a global context of asymmetrical academic relations. This inquiry is set amidst China’s dramatic economic, social, political, and cultural transformations, as well as the institutional reforms in this Chinese flagship university. This book seeks to probe how Chinese and Western knowledge, institutions, and cultures are integrated in the ongoing process of internationalization and concentrates on the disciplinary evolution of Tsinghua’s sociology—intellectually, institutionally, and culturally—drawing on top-down higher education policy and bottom-up perceptions and experiences of Tsinghua’s social scientists. This book highlights that higher education internationalization is an evolving process whose advanced phase would require Chinese social scientists to bring China to the world. It is time for Tsinghua University to reassess the long-term impact of internationalization on its academic disciplines and provide sufficient support for the development of the social sciences.This book will attract academics, practitioners, and postgraduate students interested in higher education internationalization, international academic relations, global constellation and distribution of academic power, academic knowledge production, and the development and intellectual influences of the Chinese social sciences.

This book investigates the higher education system in Germany and China, and analyzes the differences between academic higher education and application-oriented higher education. It explores the past, present, and future of application-oriented higher education in these two countries, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of this type of education. Using multiple data collection methods across case studies and student questionnaires, it demonstrates the necessity of a dual track higher education system based on separate entrance test and admission system to tertiary-level education, which ensures that students have transitional options. Further, it highlights the improvement of teaching quality and student satisfaction with application-oriented higher education and concludes that the international perspectives from higher education should be considered as one of the most significant methods of educational strategies.

This book investigates the higher education system in Germany and China, and analyzes the differences between academic higher education and application-oriented higher education. It explores the past, present, and future of application-oriented higher education in these two countries, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of this type of education. Using multiple data collection methods across case studies and student questionnaires, it demonstrates the necessity of a dual track higher education system based on separate entrance test and admission system to tertiary-level education, which ensures that students have transitional options. Further, it highlights the improvement of teaching quality and student satisfaction with application-oriented higher education and concludes that the international perspectives from higher education should be considered as one of the most significant methods of educational strategies.

This book examines the way Chinese academics returning from the US re-establish their academic identities and professional practices at China’s research universities in the context of higher education internationalization in China. It goes beyond economic accounts of academic mobility based on the notions of brain drain, brain gain, and brain circulation. Instead, it uses a cultural approach to explore the everyday experiences of the returning scholars concerning the issues of their sense of identity, as well as their ways of connecting and bringing about changes in their work communities. It will appeal anyone interested in 1) globalization and academic mobility; 2) China’s talent policies and strategies; and 3) the internationalization of Chinese universities.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the motivations, experiences, and challenges that Chinese students face in transnational higher education (TNHE). It traces their educational journey-from their initial motivations for seeking TNHE to their graduate employment-while exploring the academic, social, and cultural dimensions of their experiences. Readers will gain a nuanced understanding of Chinese students’ engagement with TNHE, both within China and at later stages abroad. The book offers valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and researchers, providing a strong foundation for addressing the challenges and opportunities associated with TNHE in China. Additionally, it serves as a key resource for those interested in enhancing Chinese students’ perceptions of and experiences in TNHE programmes. Beyond practical implications, this book contributes to the theorisation of TNHE, teacher development, and research methodologies in the field.

This book brings together English translations of thirteen research papers published in recent years by Chinese historians, sociologists, and educators. These papers investigate various dimensions of the legacy of China’s historic The Christian Universities which continues to inspire higher education reform in China even in the twenty-first century.This book focuses on Christian Universities, which fostered a particularly notable Liberal Arts Education in the Chinese context. Besides embracing some ideals in common with Liberal Arts Education developed in the West, their Liberal Arts Education curriculum had an emphasis on readings in the classics, history, philosophy, religion, ethics, and literature which conveyed traditional Chinese values. The Christian Universities also shared a strong commitment to moral formation, community service, and global citizenship education. This book emphasizes Liberal Arts Education that focused on the whole person, whereacademic knowledge, skills, and character were equally valued. The book presents distinctive characteristics of the study of Christian higher education in China and the interplay between globalization and localization.