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China has witnessed the emergence and rapid development of private higher education in the past three decades. As private higher education gradually takes on a more significant role in the Chinese educational system, due to the inability of the government to accommodate the growing demand for higher education, educational reform, influenced by the success of private higher education, will inevitably affect the quality and quantity of education overall.

This chapter focuses on several aspects of this development: the growth of private higher education in China, issues of finance and access, its relationship to the national system and to government policy, issues of ownership and the autonomy of private higher education, as well as the advantages and challenges of Chinese private higher education and the larger significance of its emergence in China. This study concludes that with proper management private colleges and universities will benefit from and contribute to Chinese society through multiple roles and responsibilities at their mature stage.

This general review paper aims to examine the special features of Chinese private higher education institutions (HEIs), discuss the challenges that Chinese private HEIs face, and explore what is needed for the further development of Chinese private higher education.

The paper takes the form of a general review and comparison.

Specifically, Chinese private higher education is characterized by volatile development that is easily affected by government policy inconsistencies. Today's private higher education faces serious challenges, including perceived low quality and low reputation, fierce competition within the private sector, and with the public sector and international forces, and difficulties in recruiting students. To facilitate the further development and improvement of Chinese private higher education, it is crucial to have a mature and stable education policy‐making process that involves multiple stakeholders, to provide substantive government support, and to establish a quality assurance system.

Chinese private higher education has experienced both unprecedented rapid growth and significant fluctuations in the last three decades, and is now facing serious challenges to its further development. Some of these challenges are common for private higher education worldwide, while some are unique to China. By focusing on these challenges, this paper probes the fundamental questions about the nature of private higher education, examines the role it plays in the process of modernizing developing countries, identifies the major obstacles that private higher education faces, and explores how these obstacles can be overcome.

This chapter integrates current Chinese education reform into the unique socioeconomic context of China in a transitional time and explores the complexity of education decentralization in China through an in-depth analysis on changes in education finance, administration, and curriculum development. Mark Hanson's theory of education decentralization is cited to build a conceptual framework for examining education decentralization in China. Previous studies, government documents, laws, and regulations related to the current wave of Chinese education reform are reviewed to capture a true picture of education decentralization in China. In investigating the background, actual actions, and motive of the current Chinese education reform, the chapter demonstrates that the on-going Chinese education reform is moving toward a centralized decentralization. Linking education with the unified national goal of economic modernization, the paradoxical mixture of centralization and decentralization is a strategic means to avoid loss of centralized control. Literature on decentralization reform in Chinese education primarily concentrates on changed Chinese education policies in the reform. This chapter places the focus on the contextual factors that shape the decentralization trend in current reform.

The goal is to explore the role of international education in a developing country's nation building in a mostly indigenous process.

This study reviews China's history of international education set in the larger context of different nation building tasks in the past two centuries.

The unique case of China with dramatic ups and downs in national fortunes in the past two hundred years serves to show that an open attitude to and an active engagement in international education are contributing factors for national prosperity. The case of China also serves to show that a self-determined agenda is of paramount importance in international education as a tool for nation building.

Few studies so far have paid attention to the specific relationship between the internationalization of higher education and nation building, so the topic of the paper is an important one and a necessary addition to the existing literature. What has been the role of international education in China's national transformation? What contributions has international education made to China's achievement of nation building goals at different stages of this transformation process? What implications can other developing nations draw from China's case with regard to the role of international education in nation building? These are the questions the researchers hope to answer in this study.

The study aims to trace the history of Chinese education in Macao in the first half of the 20th century, emphasizing macro- and meso-level political influences.

The paper reviews published works including official documents, rare books, newspapers, etc. and provides a three-part analysis: first, discussion of the colonial Government's education policy during the early 20th century and the establishment of the Chinese Educators' Association of Macau (CEAM); second, contextualization of the major upset and change in educational policy during the Sino-Japanese War (World War II in Asia); and third, considering the reinstatement of laissez-faire education policies regarding Macao's Chinese community and the CEAM's shifting political loyalties in the post-war period.

The colonial Government created a vacuum into which both the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) muscled, seeking to manipulate education from across the border via control of the CEAM. Mainland China's shifting political landscapes thus significantly altered the political orientation of the CEAM, especially around 1949. Soon afterward, various Catholic and other schools withdrew from the CEAM, primarily separating Chinese schools in Macao into blue (Catholic et al.) and red (pro-CCP) camps.

The paper reviews Macao Chinese education history from 1914 to 1949 while providing better comprehension of an analogous situation in neighboring Hong Kong.

Following the Olympic Games of 2008 and the World Expo in 2010, many Westerners have increasingly begun to pay attention to China; a country which combines ancient history with modern economic achievements. As a consequence there has been renewed interest in the West in learning about Chinese language and culture. Confucius education schools have even begun to spring up round the world, with the intention of promoting interest in Chinese language and cultural influences. The purpose of this paper is to focus on a community‐based Chinese culture education institution, in a provincial city in New Zealand, to understand the issues and risks of operating a cross‐cultural education institution business in a foreign country which is physically distant from China and to identify barriers which need to be overcome in order to run such an institution more effectively.

This research used a single site case study research design. Qualitative in‐depth interviews were used to develop an understanding of the rich, complex and idiosyncratic nature of human phenomena. In total, ten interviews were conducted with the Principal, Board members, teachers, local students of Institute A, students' parents (both Chinese and New Zealand), and institutional “outsiders”.

It was found that Institute's management team preferred the traditional Chinese educational methods which conflicted with ways used in the local (New Zealand) teaching system. It also found that the current management style conflicts with the professional style of organization management. The management team had a chaotic management and operational style, while lacking basic knowledge of the principles of effective administration concepts.

Identifying the risks and issues associated with the operation of a community‐based cultural education institution outside China will assist managers to understand the potential for cross‐cultural clashes between their belief in the principles of traditional Chinese education systems and the fit with the local culture. The finding of this study, in identifying the specific issues in relation to operational and professional modes of management, should assist managers to put into place an administrative system which is sufficiently flexible to accommodate both perspectives.

Although formerly a bi‐cultural nation, New Zealand has increasingly become a multicultural society. Interest in Chinese language and culture has also been fuelled by New Zealand's shift in immigration policy from 1974 (to a skills based rather than an ethnicity policy). This study is a first attempt to evaluate the efficacy of a Chinese community‐based educational institution in New Zealand.

The purpose of the paper is to conceptualize international students’ perception on the internationalization of higher education in China and identify some challenges faced by some of the higher educational institutions (HEIs) in their internationalization practice.

This study utilized the qualitative research method, specifically, the researchers employed structured interview for investigation. The population of this research includes 15 international students and five Chinese professors teaching in BNU. Participants’ responses were categorized to provide a better understanding of the subject of study.

This study identified some push-pull factors that influenced international students’ decision making to pursue their studies in China. Some of the push factors identified include the high cost of graduate education, unavailability of some academic courses in some students’ home countries, international exposure, and unemployment, whereas the pull factors identified constitute scholarship opportunities, an alliance between BNU and others foreign universities, global job opportunity, universities’ prestige, and ranking, Chinese history and culture, and technological advancement. Finally, the challenges discovered are professors and students’ relationship, language barrier, separation of international and Chinese students, and lack of internship opportunities.

This study provides an in-depth understanding of the case presented and has outlined some key areas to be improved in the internationalization process of Chinese HEIs. Further studies in this area are encouraged to critically analyze foreign faculty members’ experiences and contributions to Chinese internationalization of HE process in different institutions and provide a substantial framework to help mitigate some of the challenges that will emerge.

This research collated and addressed the lived experiences and perception on matters relevant for international practices by Chinese HEIs. Researchers have explained the assumptions and theory used in this study to better understanding the issues that emerged.

This paper aimed to explore the development of distance education (DE) in Chinese higher education as well as the three significant themes: accessibility, quality and equity in Chinese DE and the performance of these three themes in Chinese DE.

Document analysis was used as the major research method in this study to examine the development and challenges in terms of accessibility, quality and equity in Chinese DE. In this study, national-level official policy documents and reports from the Chinese government were collected and analyzed. Also, scientific articles from CNKI were analyzed to find out the evolution of the Frontier topics on Chinese DE in accessibility, quality and equity.

There are three major findings. First, the Chinese government has shown its positive attitude toward DE in higher education. Second, compared with the other two themes: quality and equity; the number of articles in the accessibility of DE was lower than the other two themes and the problems of accessing online courses were insufficiently caused by two reasons due to lack of basic ICT literacy and poor Internet infrastructure. Third, there was a gap between Chinese policies and research articles mainly because of the unbalanced development of accessibility in policy management and research articles.

Although this paper has summarized the development of the DE in Chinese higher education, it was clear that accessibility, quality and equity were three critical issues in DE. However, there are still other essential factors that contribute to the development of DE that requires further investigation, such as learner satisfaction, different features of learning platforms and instructional strategy.

The findings of this paper can be used to identify the attitude toward the DE of the Chinese government. Besides, the accessibility could be a research and practical focus for Chinese DE in the future.

This study showed some significant policies released by the Chinese government toward DE in higher education and revealed the achievements, trends and challenges in the accessibility, quality and equity of Chinese DE.

Since the 1980s, and especially after China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1991, international educational collaborations have developed in China. Spurred by economic, cultural and educational factors, joint programs have become an essential supplement to Chinese education. Despite the obvious and diverse benefits brought about by joint programs, various challenges arise. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the benefits and challenges generally and then in a more targeted way through the lens of one Sino‐Australian partnership.

This paper uses a case study of one joint Australia‐China program to explore the development, benefits and challenges of joint programs in China and suggest how to improve the overall quality of the joint programs which will further international collaboration of educational institutions in China.

Joint programs are a strategic component of the expansion and globalization objectives of the Chinese government. They offer more opportunities for Chinese students to receive an overseas education, enhance the research profile of Chinese universities and promote new ways of teaching and learning. For the Australian government, transnational education and the model of joint programs are helping to build Australia's research reputation, develop alternative teaching and learning ideas and promote global citizenship. Challenges include linguistic issues, financial problems, inefficient management, program assessment, qualifications, skills of teaching staff and different ways of thinking.

Enhancing pedagogical quality within a business paradigm is a unifying imperative.

The paper presents a new case study analysis for joint program educators and decision makers.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a micro historical account of the work of a key Chinese educational reformer, Tao Xingzhi (1891–1946), who transformed educational ideas from John Dewey to effect social and cultural change in 1920s–1940s China.

This paper examines English and Chinese language sources, including Tao’s poetry, to present a fresh analysis of Tao’s epistemological life history. It draws upon transnational historical approaches to chart the multidirectional circulation of progressive education philosophies around the globe. It also explores some conceptual dimensions of Chinese historical thinking and historiographical strategies.

Tao Xingzhi engaged in critical intercultural knowledge exchange in implementing educational reforms in China. He blended and critiqued Chinese and Deweyian educational philosophies to create unique educational reform, which involved reversing some of Dewey’s approaches as well as adapting others.

This paper foregrounds Tao Xingzhi’s agency in transforming some of Dewey’s ideas in the Chinese context and challenges studies that adopt an “impact-response” approach to Tao’s contribution, which suggest a one-way flow of knowledge from a “modern” West to a “traditional” China. It brings hitherto unexplored Chinese language sources to an English-speaking audience, particularly Tao’s poetry, to gain new historical insights into Tao’s educational reforms. It contributes to transnational understandings of the multidirectional flows of knowledge about Progressive educational philosophies around the world.