Education Institutions In China Research Articles

Financing university sustainability initiatives in China: actors and processes

Purpose This paper aims to study the mechanism of how the public universities have funded the campus sustainability projects in China, by identifying key actors and examining the processes. Design/methodology/approach Besides a review of campus sustainability initiatives at higher education institutions in China, the case of Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE) is selected to provide an empirical understanding of the campus sustainability management in a typical university. Findings The paper points to dominant roles played by the state ministries in financing university conservation programs and the absence of a national policy framework and low sustainability proactiveness in a majority of higher educational institutions. It argues that more discretionary power and more policy deliberations are needed for the transformation. Research limitations/implications Universities in China vary distinctively in status, operations and performance. In terms of campus sustainability management, the case of CUFE is highly representative as it shares more common features with universities that develop in a routine manner. Practical implications With the financial support from government agencies, the campus conservation-oriented projects have been conducted and financially supported in hundreds of pilot universities, but failed in diffusing to more universities. This study identifies the barriers and challenges. Social implications An in-depth understanding of the working mechanism in financing university sustainability initiatives will promote a discussion on China’s policymaking process and will provide useful insights regarding its future policy options. Originality/value China has conducted nationwide conservation-oriented campus constriction for almost a decade and many universities increase their investment in campus facilities and their operations; however, there is a lack of understanding of the rationale of the funding models and how they have been implemented.

Does Environmental Education Matter? Evidence from Provincial Higher Education Institutions in China

Environmental education pedagogy is divided into two categories: teacher-driven pedagogy and student-driven pedagogy. Their impacts on the environmental awareness of college students are analyzed using the propensity score matching method. The analysis results for 485 survey data points from college students show that both of these two pedagogies influence college students’ environmental awareness positively, and the effect of student-driven pedagogy is higher. The conclusion provides insight for the further development of college students’ environmental education.

RETRACTED: Construction of a performance evaluation system for private higher education institutions in China based on balanced scorecard

Private higher education has become an indispensable part of Chinese higher education currently. Compared with government funded education, private higher education institutions lack a performance evaluation system that accords with their characteristics and strategic requirement of development. The performance evaluation of private higher education institutions is constructed creatively by using the balanced scorecard, a systematic performance evaluation tool guided by strategic objectives. The system can enhance the core competence of private higher education institutions and boost healthy development of private higher education institutions.

Fueling knowledge management processes in Chinese higher education institutes (HEIs): the neglected mediating role of knowledge worker satisfaction

PurposeConstructed upon knowledge-based view, the study examines the influence of internal marketing on knowledge management processes and the indirect association of knowledge management processes with organizational performance through mediating role of knowledge worker satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a sample frame of 536 academic and administrative employees from higher education institutions in China; structural equation modeling was performed using Smart PLS 3.2.8.FindingsThe outcome reveals that internal marketing has a significant impact on knowledge management processes. The results revealed a direct insignificant impact of knowledge management processes on organizational performance; the study found full mediation of knowledge worker satisfaction on the linkage between knowledge management processes and organizational performance.Practical implicationsOutcomes of this research strengthen the universities’ experience of knowledge management and recommend how academics and administrators of higher education institute can value knowledge worker satisfaction, which in turn improves organizational performance.Originality/valueAlthough, there is an increased significance of knowledge management in higher education institutions, there is a lack of research that examines the enabling factors and outcomes of knowledge management practices. The present study is one of the first studies to ascertain the relationship of internal marketing, knowledge management processes, knowledge worker satisfaction and organizational performance. This is one of the initial research studies that not only empirically examines the interrelationships among these variables but also enlightens insights into the current literature by instantaneous investigation of the mediating role of knowledge worker satisfaction.

“Do you eat dog meat and monkey? . . . I didn’t know anything about China back then”: Problematising Chinese heritage students through the lens of critical interculturality

Universities throughout the world contain people of Chinese heritage studying, researching or working in higher educational institutions. This paper offers a case study example from a higher education institution in China in analysing the fluctuating identity positions of Chinese heritage students. From a critical intercultural perspective, the study explores Chinese heritage students’ reflexivity about perceptions of their own Chineseness and foreignness. The paper argues against labeling or categorizing Chinese heritage students as local or international students as the notions are biased insofar that they negate the possibility for identity. Thus, a critical intercultural lens is used as a way to problematise a deeper engagement into dialogues about the self and the other. The paper also problematises the implications the study has for teacher education in terms of attempting to move beyond essentialist logics and practices in how Chinese heritage students are understood and researched.

Performance evaluation and enrollment quota allocation for higher education institutions in China

Higher education has always played an important role in promoting economic and social progress. With the rapid development of economy, China's higher education has entered a new stage and made a series of extraordinary achievements. However, the uneven development of higher education has become a critical factor restricting China’s overall progress. In this paper, we propose Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach to evaluate the performance of higher education resource utilization from the perspective of provincial level. In addition, we assess productivity changes of each province with the help of Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI). Further, by considering the enrollment quota as a special kind of resource, we construct a more reasonable allocation scheme, while keeping the total number of newly added enrollment quota unchanged in the next year. Finally, according to the results, some suggestions are put forward to help the Chinese government better solve the unbalanced development of higher education among provinces.

Влияние Н. М. Сокольского на ранний китайский балет

The article discusses N. M. Sokolsky’s impact on the early Chinese ballet. He created the ballet troupe “Russian Ballet in Shanghai” thereby contributing to the spread of classical dance throughout China. The paper also mentions a pleiad of the talented Chinese artists - N. M. Sokolsky’s disciples - who made a great contribution to the development of the national dance culture. It is noted that Sokolsky’s initiative changed aesthetic perception of Shanghai public, accelerated spread of the western dance culture in China and strengthened its impact on the professional community. Relying on memoirs of Sokolsky’s disciples, the researcher examines principles of his pedagogical work in the Central Academy of Drama (the first higher theatrical education institution in China). Finally, the author draws conclusion about Sokolsky’s impact on the early Chinese ballet.

중국 디자인 인재양성을 위한 창의적 인성 교육 방안

In terms of design education, majority of education institutions in China have adopted cramming method of education for a long period of time and does not proactively utilize the creative design education method of the West. This study aims to propose creative character education measures based on academic theory consideration concerning character and talented people in order to identify measures for revitalizing creative design education equipped with upright character. Daniel Pink suggested 6 conditions of future-type of talented person and proposed creative character education measures of design education required in the current era by analyzing the arts and culture education in Canada, Finland and UK. In such process, it implies how import the national policies are for creative character education and in addition, demonstrates the effect of design education on a nation's economic effects and cultural status. On the basis of this research, it is urgent to change the stagnation of China design education, which is limited to imitating developed countries' educational models. In order to make full use of the following six theoretical conditions of humanistic creative design education, it is important to apply flexibly the six conditions of Branding, Storytelling, Communication, Thinking, Experience and Value to teaching. This is a showcase of the new methodology of China design education and provide a new methodology of China design education.

НАСЛЕДИЕ СЯО ЮМЭЯ: ПУТИ ОСВОЕНИЯ ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЙ МУЗЫКИ

The relevance of this topic is linked to the need to understand the way in which Asian countries develop theoretical musicology in active cross-cultural communication. This work examines Xiao Youmei (1884–1940), one of the most outstanding representatives of Chinese music culture in the first half of the XXth century. His contribution to Chinese music education and science include the organization of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music (1927), the upgrading of national musicology and the development of the first textbooks on music theory and history for training specialists. Of particular importance is Xiao Youmei's educational activities, related to the study of European music and the definition of the main directions in its research. The article mainly discusses the methods used by the Chinese musicologist in introducing European music to the students of the first music educational institutions in China. Theoretical and historical problems of European music are taught in Xiao Youmei’s textbooks: "Essays on the History of Western Music" (1920–1923), "General Musicology" (1928), "Harmony" (1932). They were distinguished by the following features: an overview principle of the presentation of the material, an expansion of the range of languages used by the term authors, several musical examples and a lack of scientific resources, which is explained by the stage of origin of the music educational system and scientific platform in China in the first decades of the XXth century. One of the main features of the content expressed in Xiao Youmei's textbooks is the correlation between various parameters of Chinese and European music. The paper provides examples illustrating the method of using the notions of one thinking system to explain the other (in the field of harmony, instrumental science). It is explained by the transitional stage in the formation of Chinese musicology — from the old system of notation to the new one.

Why are Chinese university teachers (not) confident in their competence to teach? The relationships between faculty-perceived stress and self-efficacy

This study explored the relationships between university teachers’ perceived stress and their self-efficacy beliefs, and the differences in the relationships across teachers from different tiers of institutions. A sample of 2758 teachers from 25 higher education institutions in China participated in the study. This study shows that stress from organisational inadequacy and new challenges were negatively associated with self-efficacy. Although stress from financial inadequacy and undesirable student quality were positively related to self-efficacy, the effect sizes were very small and have no practical significance. The results of multi-group analysis revealed significant differences in the relationships between perceived stress and self-efficacy beliefs among teachers from different tiers of institutions. These results provide some implications for improving university teachers’ self-efficacy.

The SOR (stimulus-organism-response) paradigm in online learning: an empirical study of students’ knowledge hiding perceptions

ABSTRACT Even though existing studies have shown the positive effects of social network sites (SNSs) on learning behaviors and outcomes, how SNS can cause learners to develop negative perceptions about their learning activities is still understudied. Here we report a one-of-a-kind study that examines the negative impact of privacy concern on students’ learning behaviors online while using SNSs. Based on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) paradigm, our study focuses on how privacy concern develops knowledge hiding perceptions of the learners, thereby affecting their online collaboration. Further, our study also explores the moderating role of perceived supervisory support between the relationship of privacy concern and knowledge hiding perceptions. Participants in the study were 282 students pursuing their studies in several higher educational institutions in China. Our findings show that two types of privacy concern (abuse of knowledge and unauthorized access to private data) can positively influence students’ knowledge hiding perception, which subsequently can negatively affect their participation in online collaborative learning. On the other hand, perceived supervisory support only moderates the relationship between privacy concern about abuse of knowledge and knowledge hiding perceptions. Based on these findings, we draw practice implications for supervisors and students in Universities.

International Muslim Students

In recent years there has been an increase in the enrollment of Muslim international students in higher education institutions in China. This research provides a brief overview of the issues that international Muslim students face during their campus life, such as adopting a new culture, lack of understanding from the broader university community, poor cultural or religious-responsive education, lack of accommodation for religious practices, and social isolation. This qualitative study also highlights some information about the unique needs of the Muslim students on campus and identifies areas for improvement. To overcome these issues, specific practical suggestions are given to the university administration, faculty, and staff to meet the needs of Muslim students, not only academically, but also socially and culturally.

An efficiency analysis of higher education institutions in China from a regional perspective considering the external environmental impact

Higher education plays a significant role in economic growth and social development. However, the uneven development of higher education in China has become an important factor restricting its overall progress. Traditional data envelopment analysis (DEA) models used by previous studies are deterministic and susceptible to the impacts of measurement errors and the omission of unobserved but potentially relevant variables, which we referred to as environmental variables latter. To address both of these drawbacks, we develop and implement a three-stage DEA model to examine the efficiency of China’s mainland 31 provinces’ Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in 2016, which fills the gap in the efficiency evaluation of HEIs in all provinces of China. The “real” efficiency about management performance of each province’s HEIs is obtained and decomposed after the impacts of environmental variables and random errors are eliminated. Lastly, relevant policy suggestions are given on how to improve the efficiency of each province’s HEIs.

Psychometric evaluation of undergraduate student nurses' learning perceived needs in disaster nursing: Two cross-sectional studies

BackgroundDisaster nursing education is a necessity for nurses and students to improve their disaster relief competencies. Determining undergraduate student nurses' learning perceived needs for disaster nursing can help improve curricula construction. In China there is currently no valid instrument available for the evaluation of influencing factors. A disaster nursing course content system was developed using the Delphi method in 2011. However, this system was unformed and lacked psychometric evaluation. ObjectivesTo adapt the disaster nursing course content system into an instrument, to evaluate its psychometric properties, and to investigate undergraduate student nurses' learning perceived needs for disaster nursing. Design, settings and participantsTwo cross-sectional studies were conducted in public higher education institutions in China. In the first study, a total of 1714 undergraduate student nurses were recruited in May to October 2016; in the second study, 68 were recruited in May 2019. MethodsThe instrument was adapted through literature review, face validity and pilot testing in preliminary studies. The construct validity and reliability of the instrument were tested using exploratory factor analysis, parallel analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency reliability and test-retest reliability. ResultsThe exploratory factor analysis and parallel analysis extracted a three-factor solution comprising 19 items that accounted for 71.69% of the total variance, including discipline introduction, skills and knowledge in disaster relief, and disaster management. The fit indices indicated a good fit. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability was good, as indicated by a Cronbach's alpha of 0.89 and an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.87. ConclusionThe Learning Needs for Disaster Nursing questionnaire exhibited good psychometric properties, thereby proving itself a valuable instrument for evaluating learning perceived needs in undergraduate student nurses.

Is Shared Governance Feasible in Public Higher Education Institutions of China?

Economic development and rapid changes in technology have considerable impact on higher education in China. To prepare skilled highly-educated workforce and meet the demand for research development and productivity, higher education institutions in China are under a great pressure of adapting and implementing organizational change (Li et al. 2011). This paper starts with an overview of the higher educational transformations in China in the past decades. Then the author assesses the shared governance practice in the U.S. and discusses the potential and limitations for China to adopt shared governance in the near future.

Three Phases of De Facto Quasi-Decentralization of Higher Education in China Since 1949

This study concentrates on the three phases of China’s de facto higher education quasi-decentralization since 1949 and center-local relations during each of the phases. The three phases are: (1) the phase of the late 1950s and early 1960s, when provincial-level control was enhanced; (2) the phase of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when “independent colleges” and people-run institutions were established; and (3) the present phase which is ongoing since the mid-2000s, when elite Sino-foreign joint institutions (e.g., NYU Shanghai) and young elite research institutions (e.g., ShanghaiTech and Westlake University) were approved. To investigate the diversification and proliferation of higher education institutions in each phase, a theoretical framework has been constructed based on Zheng’s (De facto federalism in China: reforms and dynamics of central-local relations, World Scientific, Singapore, 2007) argument of China’s de facto federalism. As macro-level contexts, China’s principal philosophies of higher education development and the interrelations between China’s higher education system and the outside world during each phase have been briefly reviewed. It suggests that local governments and higher education institutions in China may attempt to play more active roles in promoting de jure higher education decentralization.

Digital Transformation Challenges: a Case Study Regarding the MOOC Development and Operations at Higher Education Institutions in China

As development and operation of the massive open online courses (MOOCs) involve multiple stakeholders to work in cooperation, this paper inquired two key stakeholders in the MOOC development, teaching, and operation: administrators and faculty in 50 higher education institutions in China. We sought the experiences and expectations from MOOC administrators and faculty. The result showed that the government and institutions held either sole or joint leadership in MOOC development and operation. Although colleges and universities in China have established certain mechanisms to develop and operate MOOCs, they faced challenges and issues such as insufficient technical support, inadequate curriculum/instructional design training, and a lack of national curriculum/instructional design and development standards as well as platform standards. In the end, the paper provided some suggestions for improving the development and operation of MOOCs in China.

Towards mutuality in modernizing Tibetan higher education institutions in China

ABSTRACTThis paper applies the key principles of mutuality, and knowledge categorization, along with Bernstein’s notions of classification and framing of knowledge, to analyze the transition of Tibetan traditional knowledge into the modern university. This paper presents an action research along with an anecdotal reflection based on the author’s personal experience gained through nine years of teaching and research. The author not only traces challenges and contradictions that he had encountered as a testimony, but also analyzes the published history of curriculum and institutional change at the Northwest University for Nationalities as a document analysis. The author has conducted informal interviews and formal dialogue with five former colleagues over the last two years. This paper comprises an introduction, a critical application of knowledge categorization, classification and framing of knowledge, an overview of the Northwest University for Nationalities, a critical personal experience, knowledge categorization, and China’s minority universities, and a conclusion.

Principles for responsible management education in 2068

The authors explore the potential relevance of the United Nations initiative Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) in 50 years’ time, including whether, and how, the six Principles on which it is based will change in any way.More than 10 years’ after the launch of PRME, the need to address sustainability in management education is perhaps becoming even more acute, in part due to indirect and contextual issues, including those relating to the environment and geopolitics, and in part due to more direct factors, such as the trends in artificial intelligence. In this context, the authors consider whether PRME might still exist in 2068 and, if so, what it might look like. The research is based on semi-structured discussions, based on the seven questions approach, involving the authors and participants who were senior managers, academics and students based in PRME signatory higher education institutions in China and/or had academic expertise in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The principal results are the imagined institutional, educational, and occupational changes that may have an impact on the future of PRME. The main conclusions are an ongoing investigation of the ‘wicked problems’ as identified in the findings.

Cooperation between Russia and China in the Creation of Network Universities and Joint Educational Institutions

The article examines such forms of educational cooperation between Russia and China as participation in the activities of the SCO and BRICS Network Universities and the creation of joint educational institutions. The authors have carried out an analysis of educational models of the SCO University and determined the role of the basic Russian and Chinese universities in the implementation of the priority areas of training specialists for the SCO member countries. Educational models, priority training areas planned for implementation at the BRICS Network University, as well as the universities – members of the BRICS branch of the Russian and Chinese sides have been described. The paper dwells on the issue of joint educational institutions in China: the definition of joint institutions used in Chinese regulatory documents has been given, a statistical analysis has been carried out of China’s joint institutions created together with foreign universities. The educational models of four joint educational institutions of Russia and China operating on the territory of the People’s Republic of China are studied. The conclusion was made about the role of Russia and China in the development of the world educational space and the prospects for cooperation between the two countries in creating joint educational institutions.