DOCSLIB.ORG

A Case Study of One Confucius Institute

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Case Study of One Confucius Institute View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ASU Digital Repository A Case Study of One Confucius Institute: A China-U.S. University Synergistic Collaboration by Mengying Li A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Approved February 2012 by the Graduate Supervisory Committee: Alfredo G. de los Santos Jr., Co-Chair Terrence Wiley, Co-Chair Gustavo Fischman ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY May 2012 ABSTRACT Universities have been increasingly engaged in international collaborations with peer institutions overseas. In recent years, Confucius Institutes have emerged as a new model of collaboration between American universities and Chinese universities. In an attempt to identify factors contributing to successful international university collaborations, this study used the case study method and focused on one Confucius Institute between MMU, an American University, and ZZU, a Chinese university, and intended to identify factors leading to the success of the MMU-ZZU Confucius Institute collaboration. The study investigated the MMU-ZZU Confucius Institute collaboration within the framework of the MMU- ZZU institutional partnership. Based on data collected from the institutional documents, interviews, site visits and news reports, this study examined the experiences and perceptions of the university's stakeholders involved in creating and sustaining this particular Confucius Institute, including stakeholders at the program level, at the college level, and at the institutional level both at MMU and ZZU. Using the glonacal agency heuristics framework, the MMU-ZZU Confucius Institute collaboration was a result of joint forces of stakeholders at the program level, at the college level, and at the institutional level from ZZU and MMU. Stakeholders, no matter what level they are and which institution they are affiliated with, had to navigate through the significant differences between them to develop synergy to be successful. Synergy, including vertical synergy developed among stakeholders within each institution and horizontal synergy developed among stakeholders between institutions, turned out to be critical to the i success of the MMU-ZZU CI. The study concluded that synergy in leadership, organizational contexts, stakeholders' resources, and the synergy in the MMU- ZZU Confucius Institute collaboration and the MMU-ZZU institutional partnership, led to the success of the MMU-ZZU Confucius Institute collaboration. ii DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my mother Tie Yang and father Wuqin Li, who have sacrificed so much to give me the opportunity to go to college and to pursue graduate study in a foreign country. I can never repay them for what they have taught me – to work hard, to believe in myself, to care for others, to be optimistic, and to be grateful. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Dr. de los Santos for his unwavering support in the progression of my work. Without the support, guidance, and invaluable suggestions from him, this dissertation would never have been completed. I am so grateful to him for having graciously taken over the role as my chair. He has patiently worked with me through all the twists and turns involved in a project of this type. He is extremely helpful not only with his precious international experience but also with intellectual wisdom that has inspired the final shape of this dissertation. My genuine appreciation also goes to Dr. Wiley, who has helped me tremendously in my professional and personal life. He opened the door for me to scholarship. It was under him that I published my first English article and made my first conference presentation. I still recall when my fellow students and I thanked him for taking us to the conference. He simply replied “If you really want to thank me, pass down this tradition to the next generation”. He is a role model as an excellent scholar, mentor, advisor, and good person. He has nurtured my professional and personal growth over the years and has always been there to help ever since I arrived at ASU. He is a mentor more than in the past years of my doctoral study. His scholarship, leadership and warm personality will be a permanent inspiration to my life. I want to thank Dr. Fischman for his constructive comments, his kind support, and for the manner in which he contributed key inputs that helped me iv organize the main ideas in my dissertation. He is very helpful not only with his knowledge in international higher education but in sharing his reading resources. I have benefited from other professors and staff at ASU and would like to extend my sincere gratitude to them: Drs. Caroline Turner, Joe Tobin, and Robert Fenske. Special thanks to my supervisors Mariko Silver and Stephen Feinson for their support for my doctoral study. In addition, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the participants of the study for their generosity in sharing their time and perspectives with me. Lastly, I sincerely thank my family for their love and support throughout this process. Thanks to my mom and dad for their unconditional love and unwavering faith in me over the past many years. Thanks to my husband Feng and parents-in-law for their support and help to take care of my son Eddie and my daughter Ella. Without them, I would not have gone so far in this program. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... xvi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. xvii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1 Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 Background ......................................................................................... 1 Problem Statement .............................................................................. 2 Research Questions ............................................................................. 4 Significance of the Study .................................................................... 6 Overview of the Methodology ........................................................... 9 Delimitations ..................................................................................... 10 Definitions of Terminology .............................................................. 11 Organization of the Dissertation ....................................................... 14 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................... 16 Introduction ....................................................................................... 16 The Glonacal Agency Heuristics ...................................................... 16 Definition .................................................................................. 18 Reciprocity ........................................................................ 20 Strength .............................................................................. 21 Layers and conditions ....................................................... 23 Spheres .............................................................................. 24 vi CHAPTER Page Stakehodlers .............................................................................. 25 Rationales .................................................................................. 26 Success factors .......................................................................... 26 Challenges ................................................................................. 27 Summary ................................................................................... 28 A Glonacal Agency Heuristic Perspective: Higher Education in China and the U.S. ........................................................................... 29 The global level ......................................................................... 29 The national level ...................................................................... 26 The institutional level ............................................................... 31 Internationalization ........................................................................... 34 International University Collaborations ........................................... 36 Definitions ................................................................................. 37 Stakehodlers .............................................................................. 39 Rationales .................................................................................. 42 Success factors .......................................................................... 44 Challenges ................................................................................. 45 Hanban and the MMU-ZZU CI ........................................................ 47 Hanban ...................................................................................... 47 The Confucius Institute Project ................................................ 48 Confucius Institutes .................................................................. 49 Application ........................................................................ 49 vii CHAPTER Page Supervision ........................................................................ 51 Operation ..........................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • What Determines China's Allocation of Confucius Institute
    What Determines China's Allocation of Confucius Institute: Educational, Political, or Economic Interest? Jun Xiang∗ Wei-hao Huangy Abstract In recent years, an increasing number of scholars have devoted attention to China's expanded soft power. Among these scholars, many have examined China's establish- ment of Confucius Institutes around the world. However, despite the ample scholarship on this topic, a comprehensive theoretical and empirical analysis of the determinants of China's allocation of Confucius Institutes is missing in the existing research. This study fills this important gap. We argue that China's allocation of Confucius Institutes is driven by its educational, political, and economic interests altogether. In addition, we provide arguably the first large-N empirical assessment that includes all countries from 2004 to 2014. The findings demonstrate that educational, political, and economic interests coexist when China decides the allocation of Confucius Institutes. ∗Assistant Professor, Economics and Global Affairs, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, Email: [email protected] yPh.D. Candidate, Division of Global Affairs, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, Email: [email protected] 1 Introduction The rise of China has attracted a great deal of scholarly attention in recent years. For example, in observing China's significantly expanded economic and military power, scholars have extensively debated whether a rising China poses a threat to international security (e.g., Gurtov and Hwang 1998; Rapkin and Thompson 2003; Christensen 2006; Fravel 2010; Xiang, Primiano and Huang 2015).1 In addition, an increasing number of scholars have devoted attention to China's increased soft power (e.g., Ding 2008; Nye 2008; Paradise 2009; Yang 2009; Zhu 2010; Gilley 2011; Li and Worm 2011; Nye 2013).
    [Show full text]
  • Asian Studies in the Arab States of the Gulf: Challenges and Potential
    The Newsletter | No.72 | Autumn 2015 The Focus | 39 Asian Studies in the Arab states of the Gulf: challenges and potential on East Asia, covering China, Japan and Korea and the This is a preliminary exploration into the state of Asian Studies in the Arab states of Newly Industrializing economies. The UAE University in Al Ain also offers a minor in Korean language. Following the course the Gulf. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates structure of North American universities, many of the public universities in the region have introduced general education are the six countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): a regional programs, designed to generate a higher global awareness. Many of these programs involve Asia, but more specialized bloc formed in 1981 on the basis of geographical contiguity for economic, technical, courses on Asian regions are still rather limited. The absence of advanced courses or programs on East Asia, social and cultural cooperation. They share not only a common religious and linguistic South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia in the Gulf univer- sities does not indicate a lack of awareness of the importance heritage, they are also endowed with hydrocarbon resources that have fueled rapid of the emergence or re-emergence of (specific parts of) Asia. Japan and the Republic of Korea have already made significant economic growth and modernization. impressions insofar as their popular cultures are concerned. Many academic institutions in the region celebrate Japan day. Habibul Haque Khondker At Zayed University, there are Japanese Clubs and Korean Clubs initiated by the students who partake in various Japanese cultural activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Corrupting the College Board
    n exchange for generous Chinese government funding, the College Board has given China strategic access to American K-12 education. Since at least 2003, the College Board has sponsored Confucius Institutes at K-12 Ischools, served as a recruiter for Chinese government programs, and helped the Chinese Communist Party design and gain control over American teacher train- ing programs. This report details the College Board’s corruption by the Chinese government and outlines key policy changes to protect and restore the integrity of the American Corrupting the education system. College Board Confucius Institutes and K-12 Education Rachelle Peterson, a senior research fellow at the National Association of Scholars, is also the author of Outsourced to China: Confucius Institutes and Soft Power in American Higher Education (2017). Rachelle Peterson September 2020 Corrupting the College Board Confucius Institutes and K-12 Education A report by the Cover Design by Chance Layton 420 Madison Avenue, 7th Floor Interior Design by Chance Layton New York, NY 10017 © 2020 National Association of Scholars Corrupting the College Board Confucius Institutes and K-12 Education Authored by Rachelle Peterson Senior Research Fellow Introduction by Peter W. Wood President, National Association of Scholars Cover Design by Chance Layton Interior Design by Chance Layton © 2020 National Association of Scholars About the National Association of Scholars Mission The National Association of Scholars is an independent membership association of academics and others working to sustain the tradition of reasoned scholarship and civil debate in America’s colleges and univer- sities. We uphold the standards of a liberal arts education that fosters intellectual freedom, searches for the truth, and promotes virtuous citizenship.
    [Show full text]
  • Outsourced to China: Confucius Institutes and Soft Power in American Higher Education | 9
    OUTSOURCED TO CHINA Confucius Institutes and Soft Power in American Higher Education A REPORT BY THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCHOLARS April 2017 RACHELLE PETERSON © 2017 National Association of Scholars ISBN: 978-0-9986635-1-7 Cover image: XiXinXing/Shutterstock, edited ABOUT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SCHOLARS Mission The National Association of Scholars is an independent membership association of academics and others working to sustain the tradition of reasoned scholarship and civil debate in America’s colleges and universities. We uphold the standards of a liberal arts education that fosters intellectual freedom, searches for the truth, and promotes virtuous citizenship. What We Do We publish a quarterly journal, Academic Questions, which examines the intellectual controversies and the institutional challenges of contemporary higher education. We publish studies of current higher education policy and practice with the aim of drawing attention to weaknesses and stimulating improvements. Our website presents a daily stream of educated opinion and commentary on higher education and archives our research reports for public access. NAS engages in public advocacy to pass legislation to advance the cause of higher education reform. We file friend-of-the-court briefs in legal cases, defending freedom of speech and conscience, and the civil rights of educators and students. We give testimony before congressional and legislative committees and engage public support for worthy reforms. NAS holds national and regional meetings that focus on important issues and public policy debates in higher education today. Membership NAS membership is open to all who share a commitment to its core principles of fostering intellectual freedom and academic excellence in American higher education.
    [Show full text]
  • Confucius Institute and China's Cultural Diplomacy
    Australian Journal of Science and Technology ISSN Number (2208-6404) Volume 2; Issue 3; September 2018 Original Article Confucius institute and china’s cultural diplomacy: A case study of confucius institutes in Malaysia Xia Nan1*, Yang Yanan2 1School of International Education, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, Hebei, China, 2Department of Social Science, Chengde Medical University, Chengde, Hebei, China ABSTRACT On November 21, 2004, the first Confucius Institute was set up in Seoul, South Korea. With the rapid growth of the economy and the enhancement of comprehensive national strength of China, Confucius Institute has enjoyed substantial growth. Until 2017, China has set up over 525 Confucius Institutes and 1113 Confucius Classrooms around the world to promote its language and culture. In Malaysia, the first Confucius Institute was set up in University of Malaya. The development of Confucius Institute raises a series of basic questions. First, what are Confucius Institutes and what are their purpose and function? Second are Confucius Institutes tools of China’s cultural diplomacy? Thus, this study seeks to answer these questions. To aim these questions, it describes the most common concepts which are related with Confucius Institutes including soft power, public, and cultural diplomacy. Furthermore, it investigates the Confucius Institutes using Confucius Institutes in Malaysia as a case study. This paper concludes that the set and propaganda of Confucius Institute in line with China and Malaysia interests, and it promotes the mutual understanding and friendship of the two countries. The objective of Confucius Institutes is to promote the communication of multicultural. Confucius Institutes are the tools of China’s cultural diplomacy rather than the conspiracy.
    [Show full text]
  • China's Rise As a Geoeconomic Influencer: Four European
    ASIA PROGRAM CHINA’S RISE AS A GEOECONOMIC INFLUENCER: FOUR EUROPEAN CASE STUDIES BY PHILIPPE LE CORRE NON-RESIDENT SENIOR FELLOW IN THE EUROPE AND ASIA PROGRAMS, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE NOVEMBER 2018 ASIA FOCUS #93 ASIA FOCUS #93 – ASIA PROGRAM / November 2018 ver the past decade, China has become central to the world economy. Building on its economic successes, it is becoming increasingly central in world politics. O China is also now more ambitious, aiming to establish itself as a regional as well as a global power. In his October 2017 report to the Chinese Communist Party’s 19th Congress, President Xi Jinping stated that by 2050, China will have “become a global leader in terms of composite national strength and international influence.”1 Despite a growing internal debate about the country’s international positioning in the context of taking a confrontational tone with the United States, Xi believes he has the power to realize these ambitions. In June 2018, he chaired an important foreign policy meeting in Beijing, which reaffirmed the notions of a foreign policy with Chinese characteristics,2 “diplomacy of socialism with Chinese characteristics,”3 and redefined the concept of a “global community of common destiny.”4 China’s rise has been driven by economic development, starting with the launch almost exactly forty years ago of Deng Xiaoping’s Open-Door policy, which made China the economicOn the world powerhouse stage, China it is hastoday―not become just a strong domestically, player in but such in mostinstitutions parts of as the the world. United Nations and the World Bank.
    [Show full text]
  • The Case of Confucius Institutes
    On Partnerships with Foreign Governments: The Case of Confucius Institutes This report was prepared by the Association’s Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure in June 2014. Globalization has brought new challenges for the protection of academic freedom and other faculty rights. In the operations of North American universities in other countries, administrators often refer to local customs, practices, and laws to justify practices that the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) would not tolerate on North American campuses. In 2009, our two organizations adopted a joint statement—On Conditions of Employment at Overseas Campuses—setting forth appropriate employment standards for overseas campuses of North American universities and stating our commitment to see that those standards are met. Globalization has also meant that university administrators have welcomed involvement of foreign governments, corporations, foundations, and donors on campuses in North America. These relationships have often been beneficial. But occasionally university administrations have entered into partnerships that sacrificed the integrity of the university and its academic staff. Exemplifying the latter are Confucius Institutes, now established at some ninety colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.1 Confucius Institutes function as an arm of the Chinese state and are allowed to ignore academic freedom. Their academic activities are under the supervision of Hanban, a Chinese state agency which is chaired by a member of the Politburo and the vice-premier of the People’s Republic of China. Most agreements establishing Confucius Institutes feature nondisclosure clauses and unacceptable concessions to the political aims and practices of the government of China.
    [Show full text]
  • The Effect of Pinyin in Chinese Vocabulary Acquisition with English-Chinese Bilingual Learners
    St. Cloud State University theRepository at St. Cloud State Culminating Projects in TESL Department of English 12-2019 The Effect of Pinyin in Chinese Vocabulary Acquisition with English-Chinese Bilingual Learners Yahui Shi Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/tesl_etds Recommended Citation Shi, Yahui, "The Effect of Pinyin in Chinese Vocabulary Acquisition with English-Chinese Bilingual Learners" (2019). Culminating Projects in TESL. 17. https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/tesl_etds/17 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of English at theRepository at St. Cloud State. It has been accepted for inclusion in Culminating Projects in TESL by an authorized administrator of theRepository at St. Cloud State. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Effect of Pinyin in Chinese Vocabulary Acquisition with English-Chinese Bilingual learners by Yahui Shi A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of St. Cloud State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in English: Teaching English as a Second Language December, 2019 Thesis Committee: Choonkyong Kim, Chairperson John Madden Zengjun Peng 2 Abstract This study investigates Chinese vocabulary acquisition of Chinese language learners in English-Chinese bilingual contexts; the 20 participants in this study were English native speakers, who were enrolled in a Chinese immersion program in central Minnesota. The study used a matching test, and the test contains seven sets of test items. In each set, there were six Chinese vocabulary words and the English translations of three of them. The six words are listed in one column on the left, and the three translations were in another column on the right.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Diplomacy and Social Capital in China
    LIANG XU! PhD Researcher in Lancaster University, UK [email protected] ! Research Field: Cultural Diplomacy and Its Role in Improving International Social Capital of China !Cultural Diplomacy and Social Capital in China ! !1.The Concept of Cultural Diplomacy In the classical sense, diplomacy can be defined as the substance, aim and at- titudes of a states’s relations with others, diplomacy is one of the instruments employed to put these into effect. It is concerned with dialogue, and negotia- tion and in this sense is not merely an instrument of a state, but also an institu- tion of the state-system itself. “Cultural diplomacy” is often seen as one di- mension or branch of public diplomacy, encompassing a range of instruments such as arts, education, language, sports and religion. The concept was famous- ly defined by political scientist Milton Cummings as “the exchange of ideas, in- formation, values, systems, traditions, beliefs, and other aspects of culture, with the intention of fostering mutual understanding.” Today, public and cul- tural diplomacy alike are seen as important elements in the arsenal of “soft power.” The term, which was coined by Harvard professor Joseph Nye, can best be understood as “the ability to affect others to obtain the outcomes one wants through attraction rather than coercion or payment,” with the latter being characteristics of hard—economic and military—power. In short, soft power is “attractive power.”(the diplomat, 2013) ! Cultural diplomacy, as a type of public diplomacy and soft power that includes the "exchange of ideas, information, art and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual understanding." (Waller, 2009) The purpose of cultural diplomacy is for the people of a foreign nation to develop an understanding of the nation's ideals and institutions in an effort to build broad support for economic and political goals.
    [Show full text]
  • Soft Power, Confucius Institute and China's
    Kajian Malaysia, Vol. 39, No. 1, 2021, 55–76 SOFT POWER, CONFUCIUS INSTITUTE AND CHINA’S CULTURAL DIPLOMACY IN MALAYSIA Ngu Ik Tien1* and Ngeow Chow Bing2 1Department of Chinese Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA 2Institute of China Studies, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA *Corresponding author: [email protected] Published online: 30 April 2021 To cite this article: Ngu Ik Tien and Ngeow Chow Bing. 2021. Soft power, Confucius institute and China’s cultural diplomacy in Malaysia. Kajian Malaysia 39(1): 55–76. https://doi.org/10 .21315/km2021.39.1.3 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.21315/km2021.39.1.3 ABSTRACT The point of departure in this study is to assess the effectiveness of China’s cultural diplomacy in Malaysia by looking at the employment of three main strategies and its limitations. The study utilises the methods of interview and empirical case study by firstly, giving a detailed look into the Kong Zi Institute (Confucius Institute) in Malaysia, and secondly, investigating some rarely-noticed diplomatic undertakings from the provincial or city governments of China. While the Confucius Institute and some image-building efforts represents the aspect of China’s central government’s soft power policy in Malaysia, the Chinese officials from local governments tend to focus on cultural and economic initiatives with the ethnic Chinese social organisations in Malaysia. After examining the Kong Zi Institute and discussing China’s provincial-local governments’ cultural outreach activities, the third aspect that this article examines is the narrative of Chinese Dream propagated by the Chinese officials in Malaysia.
    [Show full text]
  • Agreements Establishing Confucius Institutes at US Universities
    United States Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional Requesters February 2019 CHINA Agreements Establishing Confucius Institutes at U.S. Universities Are Similar, but Institute Operations Vary Accessible Version GAO-19-278 February 2019 CHINA Agreements Establishing Confucius Institutes at U.S. Universities Are Similar, but Institute Operations Vary Highlights of GAO-19-278, a report to congressional requesters Why GAO Did This Study What GAO Found Confucius Institutes are partnerships According to the Chinese Language Council International, also referred to as between Chinese entities and schools Hanban, Confucius Institutes are intended to promote Chinese language and in other countries, arranged and culture in foreign countries. Agreements between Hanban and U.S. colleges and funded in part by Hanban, which is universities (which GAO refers to as U.S. schools) to establish Confucius affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Institutes are generally similar to one another, though institute operations vary in Education. There are more than 500 practice. GAO reviewed 90 agreements and found they describe generally Confucius Institutes worldwide and 96 similar activities, funding, and management. For example, the institutes primarily located at colleges and universities in receive funding from Hanban and the U.S. school, and do not receive direct U.S. the United States as of December federal funding. GAO also examined the agreements for language on application 2018. Some researchers, government officials, and others have raised of school polices to the institutes, curriculum, and confidentiality, among other questions about whether the institutes things. One-third of the agreements explicitly addressed how U.S. school policies are sources of undue Chinese apply to institutes, and a few addressed curriculum.
    [Show full text]
  • Globalizing China: Confucius Institutes and the Paradoxes of Authenticity and Modernity
    Volume 17 | Issue 9 | Number 2 | Article ID 5280 | May 01, 2019 The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus Globalizing China: Confucius Institutes and the Paradoxes of Authenticity and Modernity Jennifer Hubbert Jennifer Hubbert between China’s soft power policy intentions and the effects of those policies in practice. Confucius Institutes, the language and culture programs funded by the Chinese government, China in the World brings original, long-term have been established in more than 1,500 high ethnographic research to bear on how schools and colleges worldwide since their representations of and knowledge about China debut in 2004. A centerpiece of China’s soft are constructed, consumed, and articulated in power policy, they represent an effort to encounters between China, the United States, smooth China’s path to superpower status by and the Confucius Institute programs enhancing its global appeal. Yet Confucius themselves. It moves a controversial topic Institutes have given rise to voluble and beyond the realm of policy making to examine contentious public debate in host countries, the mechanisms through which policy is where they have been both welcomed as a implemented, engaged, and contested by a source of educational funding and cultural multitude of stakeholders and actors. It enrichment, and feared as spy outposts, provides new insight into how policy actually neocolonial incursions, and obstructions to works, showing that it takes more than academic freedom. China in the World turns an financial wherewithal and official resolve to anthropological lens on this highly visible and turn cultural presence into power. The chapter controversial globalization project in an effort presented here is adapted from China in the to provide fresh insight into China’s shifting World.
    [Show full text]