Marketing in Demonstrative High Schools in Northeast China

Author(s):

Deyun Yang(presenting / submitting)Daniel Arifin

Conference:

ECER 2016

Network:

Emerging Researchers' Group (for presentation at Emerging Researchers' Conference)

Format:

Paper

Session Information

ERG SES C 08, Secondary Education

Paper Session

Time:

2016-08-22

11:00-12:30

Room:

OB-E0.01

Chair:

Maria Pacheco Figueiredo

Contribution

Although there are some similarities, education systems can be different from country to country. China has a vast and varied school system, and it represents a pyramid. The compulsory public education system administered and funded by the Ministry of Education is a nine-year program which starts at the primary level, for all citizens aged 6 to 15. There is another parallel model for five years of primary school and four years of middle school. After middle school, there is three years of high school, which completes the secondary education. Demonstrative high schools are the ones that fall under the Education Laws, regulations and other related policies, and initiate educational and teaching reforms.

Research around the topic marketing in education has increased rapidly. Marketing can be defined as ‘mange profitable customer relationships’ (Kotler and Armstrong, 2014). Marketing itself can be seen as a philosophy, a function, a strategy and relationship (Drysdale, 2001). However, in education, marketing concept needs to be clarified. This paper explores deeper into four case studies for an answer. How a school defines its ‘profitable’, ‘customer’ and ‘relationships’ would indicate how it marketsitself, to what extent it is market oriented and how it brands itself. Market orientation is an organization’s efforts and behaviors to orient itself towards the market, and outlines five dimensions of marketing proposed by Arifin and Drysdale (2015).

The study aims to investigate the extent that Chinese demonstrative high schools have adopted a marketing perspective. The study will explore two demonstrative high schools in Northeast China from two perspectives: market orientation and marketing management. The study will adopt a mixed methods approach based on a multi perspective case study methodology that includes interviews, document search, observation and survey instrument.

The question that guides this research is: To what extents have the two Chinese demonstrative high schools adopted a marketing perspective: a market orientation perspective and a marketing management perspective?

Sub-questions

1. How does the school market itself? (Marketing) 2. To what extent are the schools market oriented? 3. How does the school evaluate and measure its performance? 4. How does their marketing strategy impact on the school’s activities and long-term decision-making? 5. How are their marketing strategies linked with the teaching and learning process? 6. In regards to their market orientation, how areschools in China similar or different when compared with schools in Australia?

This research is important because:

1. As Chinese high schools have become increasingly competitive, it appears that many have adopted a marketing perspective, the degree to which schools have applied marketing has not been fully explored; 2. There is limited research in marketing in schools in Northeast China, especially in the high school education sector; 3. The research will inform administrators, academics and other interested groups of the marketing strategies and activities used in Chinese demonstrative high schools; 4. The way organisations market themselves has been transformed through the introduction of social media; this aspect of marketing has not been explored in high schools； 5. Early research by Yang (2011) showed that a government primary school and a private tertiary school developed a strong marketing perspective; however, it is not possible to generalise to other educational settings. 6. A comparison with schools in Australia will contextualize the marketing and market orientationtowards an international perspective.

Method

The research employs a mixed method approach throughmultiple-perspective case studies across four demonstrative high schools and focus on the extent the schools have adopted a marketing perspective. The case studies will include individual and group interviews, document analysis, observation and survey instrument. Using the Market Orientation in Schools Questionnaire (MOSQ) by Arifin and Drysdale (2015), the quantitative data explores the level ofmarket orientation and school performance, which will be utilized for triangulation between-methods. The different sorts of qualitative data from individual and group interviews, document search and observation would provide a means for conducting in-method triangulation. In these case studies, the researcher will be involved with each school over a two-week period. The amount of time devoted to each school will vary depending on school circumstances, but it is envisaged that for each school the researcher will spend up to ten days each during a two-week period, conducting interviews, collecting appropriate documents, and observing the school marketing activities. The main methods used to collect data will be: •Individual interviews with the principal (1 interview), vice principal (1 interview), person responsible for marketing or publicity (1 interview), curriculum/learning leader (3 interviews), six other teachers (2 long-serving at the school, 2 experienced teachers recently appointed to the school, 2 newly qualified teacher recently appointed to the school); •Group interviews with parents (2 groups of 6); •Observation of the marketing activities of the school; •Collection of documents to confirm the marketing perspective and to inform the observational and interview data. Through convenience sampling, the four demonstrative government high schools (16 to 18 year old students) will be selected in Northeast China that have been listed among 3,336 demonstrative high schools in China. In consultation with the principal of each school, the MOSQ instrument would be distributed to all school staff. A pen-and-paper approach has been chosen to ensure a higher level of return rate. Qualitative data analysis will follow Miles and Huberman(1994) ‘data reduction’, ‘data display’ and ‘drawing and verifying data’ framework, with appropriate trustworthiness procedures. Quantitative data draws from the survey instrument. The instrument adopts a measurement of the central tendency.

Expected Outcomes

This brief outline demonstrates that understanding of marketing in education have evolved over recent decades despite the fact that there is still confusion and misunderstanding from time to time. This confusion and misunderstanding has resulted from the complication brought by marketing in education growing and changing rapidly, especially with the development of social media marketing. Significant studies, though limited, have fairly consistently built on prior research to consolidate knowledge in marketing, market orientation and branding in education. This research will extend and expand breadth and depth of marketing in regard high schools in China. Significant studies, though limited, have fairly consistently built on prior research to consolidate knowledge in marketing, market orientation and branding in education. This research will extend and expand breadth and depth of marketing in regard high schools in China. Existing literature shows a positive link between market orientation and school performance. It is expected to observe the similar link in this research.

References

Aaker, D. (1996). Building strong brands. New York: Free Press. Aaker, D. (2013). Strategic market management. Edwards Brothers Malloy. Arifin, D. N., Drysdale, L. (2015, December 2). A Market Oriented School. Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE), Fremantle, Australia. Australia: AARE. ISSN 1324-9320. Arifin, D. N., Drysdale, L. (2015). Understanding and Measuring Market Orientation and Innovation in Schools. The International Conference on Language, Innovation, Culture and Education, Bali, Indonesia. Malaysia: Infobase Creation Sdn Bhd. ISBN 978-967-13140-6-7 Drysdale, L. (1995). The evolution of marketing: implications for schools. Hot Topics: Australian Council of Educational Administration, 2, pp.1-4. Drysdale, L. (2001). Getting the most out of Marketing for Schools. Monograph Australian Council for Educational Administration, 29, pp.1-10. Drysdale, L. (2002). A study of Marketing and Market Orientation in Selected Victorian Schools of the Future. Thesis submitted as fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The University of Melbourne. Jaworski, B. and Kohli, A. (1996). Market orientation: review, refinement, and roadmap. Journal of Market Focused Management, 1(2), pp.119-135. Kohli, A. K. and Jaworski, B. J. (1990). Market orientation: the construct, research propositions, and managerial implications. Journal of Marketing, 54 (2), pp.1-18. Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2014). Principles of marketing. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson. Kotler, P. Brown, L. Burton, S. Deans, K. & Armstrong, G. (2010). Marketing. Pearson Australia. Kotler, P. and Fox, K. F. A. (1995). Strategic marketing for educational institutions. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Kotler, P. and Keller, K. (2012). Marketing management. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Miles, M.B. and Huberman, A.M. (1994). Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook. California, USA: Sage. Narver, J. C. and Slater, S. F. (1990). The Effect of a Market Orientation on Business Profitability. Journal of Marketing, 54, pp.20-35. Payne, A. (1993). The essence of services marketing. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, pp.12-30. Slater, Stanley S. F. and Narver, John., C. (1994a). Does Competitive Environment Moderate the Market Orientation- Performance Relationship? Journal of Marketing, 58, pp. 6-55. Slater, S. F. and Narver, J. C. (1994b). Market Orientation, Customer Value, and Superior Performance. Business Horizons, March-April, pp.2-28. Tuten, T. L. and Solomon, M.R. (2015) Social Media Marketing. Los Angeles : SAGE. Yang, D. (2011). Market Orientation in Schools in Harbin, China. Master in Education. The University of Melbourne.

Author Information

Deyun Yang (presenting / submitting)

The University of Melbourne

The Graduate School of Education

Zhuanghe

Daniel Arifin

The University of Melbourne, Australia

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