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The Evolution of Chinese Higher Education Institutions and Policies Between 1990 to 2019

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The Evolution of Chinese Higher Education Institutions and Policies Between 1990 to 2019 The Evolution of Chinese Higher Education Institutions and Policies between 1990 to 2019 The far-reaching impact of internationalization as a norm Abigail Bernet Two-year Political Science MA programme in Global Politics and Societal Change Department of Global Political Studies Course: Political Science Master's thesis ST631L (30 credits) Spring 2020 Supervisor : Corina Filipesc u Abstract The internationalization of Higher Education has caused a sweeping global shift of policies for governments and Higher Education institutions alike. This thesis aims to examine the case of China, and the three-decade evolution of internationalization as an influential norm, guiding the creation of comprehensive policies and plans through a multi-stage process. By examining the actors, motives and mechanisms behind Chinese Higher Education policies between 1990 and 2019, the impact of norm cascade and ultimate internationalization are revealed. The building and diffusion of internationalization as a norm includes the prioritization of global university rankings in addition to the increasing spotlight on research within the Higher Education sector. Constructivist theory was selected as the Theoretical Framework and employs concepts including norm-building and diffusion. This qualitative case study will examine the policies and rationales for the implementation of education initiatives as encouraged by leading actors and agents and the subsequent successes and obstacles from adoption to full implementation. Keywords: China, Content Analysis, Higher Education, Internationalization, Norms, Research Universities, University Rankings, Word count: 18,524 words 1 Table of Contents 1. Introduction 4 1.1 Purpose 5 1.2 Background on Higher Education in C hina 6 1.3 Relevance to Global Politics 7 1.4 Structure of the thesis 9 2. Literature Review 10 2.1 Chinese Higher Education 10 2.2 Internationalization 12 2.3 Norms 16 2.4 Summary 18 3. Theoretical Fra me wo rk 19 3.1 Constructivist Theory 19 3.1.1 Defining a Norm 20 3.1.2 Norm-Building and Norm Diffusion 21 3.1.3 Internationalization vs. Globalization 23 4. Methodology 24 4.1 Research Design: Qualitative Case Study 24 4.2 Data Sources and Collection 25 4.3 Analysis of Data: Qualitative Content Analysis 27 4.4 Period of Analysis 29 4.5 Delimitations and Limitations 29 5. Analysis 30 5.1 Emergence 31 5.1.1 Emergence of Rankings 33 5.1.2 Emergence of Research 36 5.2 Cascade 37 5.2.1 Cascade of Rankings 38 5.2.2 Cascade of Research 39 5.3 Internalization 41 5.3.1 Internalization of Rankings 42 2 5.3.2 Internalization of Research 44 6. Closing Discussion and Future Outlook 44 7. Bibliography 48 3 1. Introduction The globalization of Higher Education (HE) has opened the doors to the sharing of knowledge and research as well as the competition for faculty and tuition-paying students. In the wake of globalization, national governments, and Higher Education institutions (HEIs) around the world have embraced various components of internationalization to survive and thrive in a growing knowledge-based economy. While internationalization is broad in nature, it has been defined as the decisions actors make through policies and practices to “cope with the global academic environment” (Altbach and Knight 2007: 290-291). One country that has invested heavily in policies that prioritize internationalization among HEIs is China. In fact, the Chinese Ministry of Education (MoE) is responsible for “one of the largest sustained increases of investment in university research in human history” (H. Zhang et al. 2012). The topic of internationalization of HE is of special interest to me as an international student studying at Malmö University. The ability to pursue a degree abroad, in my native tongue is proof of the hold globalization and internationalization have had on universities and academia as a whole. More recently, my involvement in HE has evolved to working in International Admissions at Florida International University. Now more than ever, I see firsthand the pressure HEIs are under to compete nationally and internationally for talented students and professors. Additionally, the incentives behind high standings in HE rankings and research output are increasingly relevant. In fact, internationalization has created a “market-style competition” (Mohrman 2013: 727) that has formed amongst universities and HE systems worldwide as they compete for faculty, students, funding and even prestige. China has seen large waves of its own post-secondary population choose to pursue degrees in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia rather than remain in their home country (Choudaha and van Rest 2018). HEIs are compelled to match the behavior and accolades of its competitors by conforming to “appropriate standard[s] of behavior” (Finnemore and Skinnik 1998: 891) as dictated by norms in the HE sector. In spite of this, the spread of internationalization as a norm-building process and its acceptance and implementation pose questions for the future leaders and players in the field of HE. 4 As macro-based persuasion and operations encourage HE policies and implementation, the Chinese HE system becomes more globally competitive (Wang 2014; Li and Xu 2016 cited Li 2018: 31-32). Over the past three decades, from 1990 to 2019, the Chinese government has set forth aggressive goals to improve its HE standing in the world and offer distinguished universities with opportunities to participate in cutting-edge research. Some argue this is a form of mimicry of Western education models (Hayhoe 1996 cited in Wu 2019: 83) and that Westernization is the key to the spread of international norms, especially in HE. Regardless of the norm source, the Chinese government has not shied away from admitting the urgency “to improve [its] national power and competitiveness” (China Education and Research Network 2004) and further develop its “global competitive edge” (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China 2010). 1.1 Purpose Previous research in the field of HE has studied the relation to internationalization including China specifically. However, research has largely been attributed to the influence of norms being dictated by “Western academic norms and values” (Rhoads et al. 2014: 177). The purpose of this thesis is to determine which actors have stood to gain from the implementation of internationalization in Chinese HE and how that has shaped their behavior. Moreover, how said actors have attempted to assert their influence in the norm-building process, and how these norms are applied will be examined. In particular, two aspects of internationalization will be explored. The first is the growing importance of scoring high on international HEIs rankings. The second includes the spotlight on research output as a way of meeting ranking criteria. Finnemore & Sikkink have defined norms as “a standard of appropriate behaviour for actors with a given identity” (1998: 891). As Neumann (2013) notes, some actors respond to norms without even realizing there are norms in place. On an individual or day-to-day basis, HE administrators, faculty and students may not see the direct diffusion and emergence of norms. However, three decades worth of educational policies, plans and reports demonstrate the long-term evolutio n of the internationalization of China’s HE system. Simply put, this thesis attempts to answer the following research question: How has internationalization influenced actor behavior in the building and diffusion of norms in Higher Education in China between 1990 and 2019? 5 1.2 Background on Higher Education in China Since the fourth century BCE, Chinese rulers and people have invested time, money and interest into education (Wu and Zha 2018: 1). This vast span of time includes a wide spectrum of changes of perspectives and policies. In modern history, one of the most significant periods for Chinese HE evolution has been the nearly thirty year span from 1990 to 2019. During this time China has embraced a more open identity and its HE sector has joined the rest of the world grappling with the impact and swift influence of globalization. The 3,000 HEIs which offer tertiary education programs and degrees with China (Wang, 2009 cited in Frezghi and Tsegay 2019: 644) have been largely guided by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the MoE in China. Furthermore, government reports show that China cites its success as the world’s second largest economy to education which has played “a pivotal role in bringing about this unprecedented economic miracle in human history” (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, 2018a). Since 1985, the year when China published its first landmark policy in education after the “Cultural Revolution” (CPC CC 1985), the Chinese government has demonstrated an increasing awareness of the importance of HE development and internationalization (Wu, 2018: 84). Chairman Mao Zedong along with the CCP implemented the first of a long series of ‘Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development’ often referred to simply as the ‘Five-Year Plans’ (Wu, 2018: 84). The first Five-Year Plan began in the 1950’s, but it was not until the early 1990s, during the period of China’s Eighth Five-Year Plan, that the promotion of “outward-oriented” internationalization through HE took effect (ibid). For this reason, 1990 was selected as a relevant starting point for this thesis. Prior to this time period, internationalization in China largely referred to students and faculty being sent abroad rather than foreign students and faculty going to China for academic purposes (Huang 2007: 7). Historically and culturally, China has been described as “inward-orie nted ” as well as micro- focused, opposed to HE competitors, like the US, that are described as “outward-oriented” and macro-focused, essentially the exact opposite (Wu and Zha 2018). However, as can be seen in China’s Five-Year Plans and landmark policies, reforms and outlines regarding education, its HE sector has steadily transformed from “inward-oriented” to more “outward-oriented” (ibid.).
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