Internationalization of Higher Education in China: Motivations and Issues Underlying the Development of Chinese-British Collaborative Universities

Author(s):

Jing Xiao(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

22. Research in Higher Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

22 SES 08 A,

Paper Session

Time:

2017-08-24

09:00-10:30

Room:

K5.04

Chair:

Monne Wihlborg

Contribution

Purpose of the Study

Since initiating a series of economic and political reforms in the early 1990s, the Chinese government has been regarding internationalization of higher education as a tactic to strengthen its international economic competitiveness (Ennew & Yang, 2009). As a result, the economic and political significance of China’s rapid expansion of investment in higher education has attracted the interest from many European universities. Among them, British universities collaborated with top Chinese universities and established two international branch campuses in China: University of Nottingham Ningbo and Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University.

This paper is based on a study investigating the development of international branch campuses in China. The purpose of the study is to explore the rationales and approaches in China’s efforts to strategically internationalize its higher education sector through international partnerships, with a specific focus on the Chinese-British collaborative universities. This study is guided by the following research questions:

How is internationalization of higher education in China manifested in policies and practices that support international branch campuses?
How have educational stakeholders perceived the benefits and challenges regarding the development of international branch campuses in China?

Conceptual Framework

China’s higher education system is shaped by many factors that reflect political, economic, and cultural changes, which has become the basis for increasing Chinese-European higher education partnerships. This study draws on key political and economic ideas of globalization and neoliberalism (Altbach, 2013; Harvey, 2005), Socialist Market Economy (Mok, 2005, 2008), and the Post-Confucianism (Marginson, 2011, 2013).

Altbach (2013) contends that it is important to consider the impact of neoliberal globalization on international branch campuses from both national and international perspectives. At the national level, international branch campuses in China represent the changing relationship between the Chinese government and higher education institutions. As Chinese society moves toward a greater market economy, the government of China is experimenting on changing the tight central control model of the past to allow more private and international providers for its higher education (Altbach, 2013). International branch campuses also represent the changes in financial diversification and shifting model of university administration (Ennew & Yang, 2009).

Socialist Market Economy, also known as Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, is an ideology and economic model employed by China. The adoption of market principles and practices of Socialist Market Economy has affected not only the economic system in China but also the educational sphere. Mok (2005, 2008) maintains that the Socialist Market Economy has changed the highly centralized governance model in Chinese higher education with increasing privatization and marketization. The British university campuses in China are examples of Chinese government’s attempt to exploring alternatives to publicly funded universities.

Marginson (2011, 2013) suggests that there is a rise of a post-Confucian model permeating China’s higher education system. Post-Confucian model has been manifested in the planning and practices in Chinese higher education. Onsman (2012) comments that the Confucian heritage in Chinese higher education makes China’s process of internationalization a unique model of international higher education with Chinese characteristics.

Method

Research Design This study uses a qualitative research methodology based on a constructivist-interpretive paradigm (Crotty, 1998). I draw on a case study approach (Stake, 2005; Yin, 2009) to focus on two British university branch campuses in China: University of Nottingham Ningbo, and Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University. Three research methods were used for data collection: semi-structured interviews, observation, and document analysis. Research participants include administrators and faculty members at the two branch campuses, government officials at both local and national Chinese government level, and researchers in internationalization of Chinese high education. Access to the participants are recruited through “gatekeepers” such as government intermediaries, and snowball sampling approach is used for further recruitment. Data analysis follow the procedure as suggested by Miles and Huberman (1994) with the steps of data immersion, transcription, coding, categorization, abstraction and comparison, integration, and interpretation.

Expected Outcomes

Based on data collected in the two British branch campuses in China, some of the key findings include: Both the Chinese government and the universities in the collaboration consider quality assurance as a top priority in building the branch campuses. They wanted to maintain standards for the practice or performance of the international branch campus to meet its mission and purpose. Meanwhile, academic freedom has been a major concern in building such collaborations. Findings from this study reveal that the understanding of academic freedom was different in Chinese and European perspectives. There are restrictions in Chinese policies and practices about academic freedom. How to deal with these restrictions and maintain the standard of academic freedom could be an important factor for foreign institutions to consider when collaborating with Chinese universities. Additionally, international branch campuses in China reflect the reconciliation of the tensions and differences between Chinese and British higher education systems. The development of international branch campuses represents China’s efforts to integrate what is international and what is indigenous to China. The British branch campuses in China offer a unique model of internationalization, which points to a hybridized approach to internationalization in China and beyond. This study is a timely and relevant exploration on the development of international branch campuses by focusing on British universities in China. On the policy level this study will inform higher education policies in China as well as in other countries by illustrating the opportunities and challenges different stakeholders have faced within these British branch campuses in China. In terms of practice, this study builds on the policy implications by contributing to an understanding of China’s changing position on the higher education stage as well as revealing implications for European universities considering similar joint programs.

References

References Altbach, P. G. (2009). One-third of the globe: The future of higher education in China and India. Prospects, 39(1), 11-31. Crotty, M. (1998). The Foundations of Social Research: Meaning and Perspectives in the Research Process. London: Sage. De Wit, H. (2011). Globalisation and internationalisation of higher education. RUSC: Revista De Universidad y Sociedad Del Conocimiento, 8(2), 241-248. Ennew, C. T. & Yang, F. (2009). Foreign Universities in China: A case study. European Journal of Education, 44 (1), 21-36. Harvey, D. (2005). A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford University Press. Marginson, S. (2011). Higher education in East Asia and Singapore: Rise of the Confucian model. Higher Education, 61, 587-611. Marginson, S. (2013). The changing geo-politics of creativity: Rise of the post-Confucian university. In M. A. Peters, & T. Besley (Eds.), The creative university (pp. 9-32). London, UK: Sense Publishers. Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Mok, K. H. (2005). Riding over socialism and global capitalism: Changing education governance and social policy paradigms in post-Mao China. Comparative Education, 41(2), 217-242. Mok, K. H. (2008). When socialism meets market capitalism: Challenges for privatizing and marketizing education in China and Vietnam. Policy Futures in Education, 6(5), 601-615. Onsman, A. (2012). Recognizing the ordinances of heaven: The role of Confucianism in higher education management in the People’s Republic of China. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 34 (2), 169-184. Stake, R. E. (2005) Qualitative case study. In N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook Of qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (4th Ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.

Author Information

Jing Xiao (presenting / submitting)

University of Saskatchewan

Educational Administration

Saskatoon

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