This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from Explore Bristol Research, http://research-information.bristol.ac.uk Author: Lo, William Yat Wai Title: The implications of university rankings for Taiwan's higher education General rights Access to the thesis is subject to the Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International Public License. A copy of this may be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode This license sets out your rights and the restrictions that apply to your access to the thesis so it is important you read this before proceeding. Take down policy Some pages of this thesis may have been removed for copyright restrictions prior to having it been deposited in Explore Bristol Research. 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The Implications of University Rankings for Taiwan's Higher Education William Vat Wai Lo A dissertation submitted to the University of Bristol in accordance with the requirements for award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law School for Policy Studies March 2012 Word count: 65,775 Abstract University rankings have become increasingly popular in recent years. The prevalence of league tables has intensified discussions about performance and competition in the higher education sector, including that of Taiwan. Rankings and the many related phenomena, like increased competition among institutions and systems, the pursuit of research excellence as well as the call for internationalisation and building world­ class universities, have come into the centre of the discussion. This thesis adopts a qualitative case study approach to provide a systemic delineation and interpretation of the implications of the ranking movement for Taiwan's higher education. It reviews the literature on different theories concerning the global transformation of higher education. It also gives basic information on Taiwanese higher education. Based on the literature reviewed, the thesis develops a four-dimensional framework for the analysis of the ranking phenomenon in Taiwan. The first dimension aims to look into how university rankings have impacted on Taiwan's higher education based on empirical findings from five Taiwanese public universities. The second dimension examines how Taiwan can use rankings to promote its interests in global higher education. The third and fourth dimensions focus on the connection between rankings and power in higher education. They show how the ranking phenomenon can be read and explained through theoretical lenses from ecological and geographical perspectives. In regard to ecological perspective, the empirical evidence suggests that the influence of rankings varies throughout the academic hierarchy in Taiwan. The theoretical analysis then illustrates the link between the ranking phenomena and the power structure in academic hierarchy. As for the geographical perspective, while the empirical analysis is based on data from Taiwan, the theoretical analysis offers important insights for us to understand the changing global landscape of higher education and its implications for higher education in the East Asia region. 2 Acknowledgements I could not have completed this thesis without the support and guidance of many people. I take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to those who accompanied, inspired and guided on this long journey. I want to express my love and gratitude to my parents who made numerous sacrifices to ensure that I finished my study. They knew little about, but were supportive throughout the ups and downs of my doctoral student life. I would also like to thank my brothers for all their support over the past six years. I am very grateful to Prof. Ka Ho Mok for his guidance. I have known Ka Ho since I studied my bachelor's degree at City University of Hong Kong. During the years at CityU and later at the University of Bristol, I had the privilege to work closely with him. As my supervisor, he directed my attention to higher education studies and gave me the freedom to pursue my own way. His influence was much stronger than he might have realised. I sincerely thank my supervisors, Dr. Misa Izuhara and Prof. Ray Forrest, who took up the duty of supervising my project after Ka Ho left Bristol. Their critical comments and questions undoubtedly helped to improve this dissertation. I am especially thankful for Misa's continuing support during the final stages of the project. I would also like to recognise my fieldwork respondents in Taiwan who shared their time, thoughts and insights with me as I conducted my fieldwork. Special thanks are extended to Dr. David Jp, Dr. Hao-Chieh Chiu, Dr. Sheng-Ju Chan, Dr. Shih-Jiun Shi. Prof. Tien-Hui Chiang and Prof. Yeun-Wen Ku for provision of contacts in some of the sampled universities. I want to express my gratitude to Eric Poon. Andy Chan. Raymond Wong. Rachel Fong. Zebin Huang. Rita Tsai. Wen-Wen Lin. Paul Morrissey and Li Wang for their friendship. During this project. they gave me encouragement, assured me of the worthiness of my efforts .. Notwithstanding all these generous assistances. the usual disclaimers apply; any errors and omissions in this work are entirely my own. 3 Author's Declaration I declare that the work in this dissertation was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the University's Regulations and Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes and that it has not been submitted for any other academic award. Except where indicated by specific reference in the text, the work is the candidate's own work. Work done in collaboration with, or with the assistance of, others, is indicated as such. Any views expressed in the dissertation are those ofthe author. SIGNED: DATE: 23rd September 2011 4 Contents Notes on Usage 9 List of Tables 10 List of Figures 11 List of Abbreviations 12 Chapter 1: Introduction 14 1.1 Statement of the Problem 15 1.2 Research Objectives 17 1.3 Theoretical Orientation and Framework 18 1.4 Methodology 21 1.5 Organisation of the Thesis 22 Chapter 2: Theorising University Rankings 24 2.1 Introduction 24 2.2 Contextual Theories 24 2.2.1 Transnationality in Higher Education 25 2.2.2 Neoliberalism in Higher Education 27 2.2.3 Heterarchical Governance in Higher Education 30 2.2.4 The Ecology of Higher Education 32 2.2.5 The Geography of Higher Education 35 2.3 Definitions and Characteristics of University Rankings 37 2.4 Four Dimensions of University Rankings 44 2.4.1 University Rankings as a Technology 44 From an Ecological Perspective 44 From a Geographic Perspective 49 2.4.2 University Rankings as a Concept 52 From an Ecological Perspective 53 From a Geographic Perspective 55 2.5 Analytical Framework 59 2.6 Conclusion 60 Chapter 3: Taiwan's Higher Education in Context 61 5 3.1 Introduction 61 3.2 Social Transformation in Taiwan 61 3.3 A General Picture of Higher Education in Taiwan 67 3.3.1 History and Basic Orientation 67 3.3.2 Regulation 68 3.3.3 Funding 69 3.3.4 Provision 70 3.4 Reforms and Transitions since the 1990s 72 3.4.1 The Return of Autonomy and Decentralised Governance 73 3.4.2 Promoting Institutional Integration and Inter-institutional Collaboration 76 3.4.3 Promoting Performativity Culture 78 3.4.4 Role Differentiation and Funding Concentration 81 3.4.5 Launching Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities 84 3.5 Conclusion 86 Chapter 4: Methodology 88 4.1 Introduction 88 4.2 Research Approach and Setting 88 4.3 Research Methods 92 4.3.1 Literature Review and Documentary Analysis 92 4.3.2 Interview 94 4.4 Data Analysis 96 4.5 Research Ethics 97 4.6 Limitations 98 4.7 Conclusion 99 Chapter 5: Dimension 1: Influence of University Rankings on National Policy, University Governance and Individual Behaviours 100 5.1 Introduction 100 5.2 Impacts on Policies and Systemic Arrangements 100 5.2.1 Resource Allocation 100 5.3 Institutional Responses to University Rankings 107 5.3.1 Quality Assurance 107 5.3.2 Competition 112 6 5.4 Reactions and Reflections of Faculty Staff and Students 118 5.4.1 Research versus Teaching 118 5.4.2 Students' Choice 123 5.5 Conclusion 125 Chapter 6: Dimension 2: National Interests in University Rankings and the Global Landscape of Higher Education 128 6.1 Introduction 128 6.2 The Use of University Rankings in Promoting Taiwan's Interests 128 6.2.1 University Ranking as a Governing Tool 129 6.2.2 University Ranking as a Zoning Technology 135 6.2.3 University Ranking as a Mechanism of Agenda Setting 141 6.3 Conclusion 144 Chapter 7: Dimension 3: Manifestations of the Normative Power of University Rankings 146 7.l Introduction 146 7.2 Normative Power: An Approach 146 7.3 Struggling between Love and Hate 151 7.3.1 "Love" 151 The Way ofAchieving Pride 151 Competitive Disposition 155 7.3.2 "Hate" 158 The Target ofAnger 159 Habitus Fragmentation 161 7.4 Conclusion 164 Chapter 8: Dimension 4: Openness and Closeness of University