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1 – 10 of 682This study aims to fill this research gap by providing a comprehensive exploration of the transnationalization of higher education in China and Asia, with a particular focus on…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to fill this research gap by providing a comprehensive exploration of the transnationalization of higher education in China and Asia, with a particular focus on how institutions maintain quality assurance and how student learning experiences are reported.
Design/methodology/approach
The transnationalization of higher education involves educational programs and services provided by institutions or universities in a country other than their home country where students from diverse countries are trained. The goal of transnational education is to offer higher education to students who face obstacles in physically entering the host country of a transnational program, encourage globalization, enhance cross-cultural communication and improve the quality of education by expanding students' learning opportunities, providing diverse educational experiences and elevating academic standards. The transnationalization of higher education has become a crucial endeavor in Asia, especially in countries such as China, Malaysia and Singapore, where rapid economic development and globalization have prompted the need to evolve into knowledge-driven economies to meet the increasing demand for higher education. The factors driving the expansion of transnational higher education in China and Asia include the desire for top-quality education, the allure of international students, the establishment of worldwide collaborations and aspirations to be recognized as centers of academic distinction. The rapid expansion and increasing importance of transnational higher education has underscored the vital role of quality assurance. To guarantee educational quality, maintain institutional reputation and improve overall student outcomes, several agencies and frameworks have been established to uphold international standards.
Findings
Based upon extensive literature reveiw and case analysis, our findings indicated the quality assurance assessment varies and is primarily influenced by host countries and provider polices. However, students in transnational higher education programs report satisfaction with their experienes and the quality of their programs, which tends to meet their expecations.
Originality/value
This study presents the first comprehsensive literatrue rewiew and case analysis of how transnational higher education in China, Sinapore, Malaysia and Vietnam uphold quality assurance and report students learning experiences. Additionally, the findings highlight why future researceh on this topic is crucial and why forestering colloboration among countries in Asian regions is imporant in term of growing geo-politics.
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This study aims to unravel the tensions and convergences between market-oriented neoliberal education and state-serving transnational higher education (TNHE) practices through an…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to unravel the tensions and convergences between market-oriented neoliberal education and state-serving transnational higher education (TNHE) practices through an infrastructural lens within the broad context of post-pandemic geopolitics.
Design/methodology/approach
The study utilizes a case study approach, with a diverse array of data collection methods, including observations, interviews and review of material/online documents issued by the TNHE-related institutions and the Chinese Ministry of Education.
Findings
The study identifies three findings: (1) Re-articulation of transnational infrastructures, valuing ‘glocal' education and casting immobility as advantageous yet quasi-mobile; (2) Infrastructural tensions arising from stakeholder contests over program control and (3) Infrastructural dialectics, illustrating how promised (im)mobility becomes a tightly regulated academic journey due to institutional constraints and conflicts.
Research limitations/implications
The findings elucidate the dynamic interplay between international education and TNHE amidst neoliberal pedagogical trends and pandemic-driven geopolitical shifts in China. While the interplay showcased a notable effect on Chinese students' (im)mobility during the pandemic, more empirical research is needed to understand international student (im)mobility issues in the post-pandemic era.
Originality/value
This study explores the infrastructural intersections between international and transnational education during the unprecedented Covid-19. Findings may provide a reference for policymakers and practitioners to strategize the “glocal” approach to international/transnational education in China after the pandemic.
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Nian Ruan and Jingran Yu
Through a case study of a recently established but rapidly growing research-intensive university in China, this study explores how transnational joint doctoral programs are…
Abstract
Purpose
Through a case study of a recently established but rapidly growing research-intensive university in China, this study explores how transnational joint doctoral programs are strategically instrumentalized to overcome policy restrictions on postgraduate degree accreditation. It utilizes the cumulative (dis)advantage theory as the analytical lens. This study investigates the innovative, bottom-up initiation of transnational higher education tailored to the development goals of the university and this region, thus providing an alternative perspective for the dominant top-down discourse on transnational higher education research in China.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employs a qualitative case study design that incorporates semi-structured interviews and document analysis to investigate the examined university’s joint doctoral programs.
Findings
The study examines how, through its transnational joint doctoral programs, the case university actively accumulated the advantages of recruiting excellent research students, cultivating the public’s confidence and deepening international collaboration. These advantages created a virtuous circle, which further reinforced each other and accelerated the university’s development. The disadvantages include power disparities between the case university and its partners, students’ study discontinuity because of temporal and spatial division and the challenges of co-supervision. Accordingly, the university implemented counterstrategies such as adopting a differentiated stance with varying partners, offering flexible administrative and management supports and aligning differently with various supervisors’ collaboration styles.
Originality/value
This study presents innovative institutional strategies in the Greater Bay Area of China to pursue rapid development and internationalization through transnational higher education programs. It also strives to illuminate the significant role of transnational higher education in facilitating experimental governance with Chinese characteristics.
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Higher education institutions have a critical role in creating and disseminating the knowledge required to address the complex global challenges faced by global society, as…
Abstract
Purpose
Higher education institutions have a critical role in creating and disseminating the knowledge required to address the complex global challenges faced by global society, as summarized in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This role of higher education is linked with the concept of internationalization, which has recently been called upon to help contribute to tackle the global challenges and meet the SDGs, particularly through more attention to “Internationalization at Home” (IaH). This paper aims to examine the role of higher education in addressing the SDGs, especially with respect to the links between IaH and the SDGs.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study of the International Campus of Zhejiang University (iZJU) is conducted to illustrate how iZJU, which is a pioneer of “Internationalization at Home” and an exemplar of sustainable campus in China, contributes to the value of the SDGs and makes an impact.
Findings
The authors examine the practice of IaH at iZJU in the dimensions of organization, curriculum, people and campus, and the authors find evidence from the iZJU model in addressing the value of the SDG4, 6, 7, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17.
Originality/value
First, the authors contribute to the literature on the role of higher education in addressing the SDGs, especially with respect to the links between IaH and the SDGs. Second, the authors contribute to the IaH literature by examining IaH from a Chinese perspective, as there has been little exploration of what IaH means beyond the European context. Third, the authors build on the analytical framework in the IaH literature in the dimensions of organization, curriculum and people and extend with a new dimension of campus. Fourth, the authors show that IaH is a comprehensive approach to include both curriculum internationalization and campus internationalization.
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Key to transnational higher education (HE) cooperation is building trust to allow for seamless recognition of studies. Building on the Tuning Educational Structures initiative…
Abstract
Purpose
Key to transnational higher education (HE) cooperation is building trust to allow for seamless recognition of studies. Building on the Tuning Educational Structures initiative (2001) and lessons learnt from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)-Assessment of Learning Outcomes in Higher Education (AHELO) feasibility study, this paper offers a sophisticated approach developed by the European Union (EU)-co-financed project Measuring and Comparing Achievements of Learning Outcomes in Europe (CALOHEE). These evidence the quality and relevance of learning by applying transparent and reliable indicators at the overarching and disciplinary levels. The model results allow for transnational diagnostic assessments to identify the strength and weaknesses of degree programmes.
Design/methodology/approach
The materials presented have been developed from 2016 to 2023, applying a bottom-up approach involving approximately 150 academics from 20+ European countries, reflecting the full spectrum of academic fields. Based on intensive face-to-face debate and consultation of stakeholders and anchored in academic literature and wide experience.
Findings
As a result, general (overarching) state-of-the-art reference frameworks have been prepared for the associated degree, bachelor, master and doctorate, as well as aligned qualifications reference frameworks and more detailed learning outcomes/assessment frameworks for 11 subject areas, offering a sound basis for quality assurance. As a follow-up, actual assessment formats for five academic fields have been developed to allow for measuring the actual level of learning at the institutional level from a comparative perspective.
Originality/value
Frameworks as well as assessment models and items are highly innovative, content-wise as in the strategy of development, involving renown academics finding common ground. Its value is not limited to Europe but has global significance. The model developed, is also relevant for micro-credentials in defining levels of mastery.
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Peter Bannister, Elena Alcalde Peñalver and Alexandra Santamaría Urbieta
This purpose of this paper is to report on the development of an evidence-informed framework created to facilitate the formulation of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI…
Abstract
Purpose
This purpose of this paper is to report on the development of an evidence-informed framework created to facilitate the formulation of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) academic integrity policy responses for English medium instruction (EMI) higher education, responding to both the bespoke challenges for the sector and longstanding calls to define and disseminate quality implementation good practice.
Design/methodology/approach
A virtual nominal group technique engaged experts (n = 14) in idea generation, refinement and consensus building across asynchronous and synchronous stages. The resulting qualitative and quantitative data were analysed using thematic analysis and descriptive statistics, respectively.
Findings
The GenAI Academic Integrity Policy Development Blueprint for EMI Tertiary Education is not a definitive mandate but represents a roadmap of inquiry for reflective deliberation as institutions chart their own courses in this complex terrain.
Research limitations/implications
If repeated with varying expert panellists, findings may vary to a certain extent; thus, further research with a wider range of stakeholders may be necessary for additional validation.
Practical implications
While grounded within the theoretical underpinnings of the field, the tool holds practical utility for stakeholders to develop bespoke policies and critically re-examine existing frameworks.
Social implications
As texts produced by students using English as an additional language are at risk of being wrongly accused of GenAI-assisted plagiarism, owing to the limited efficacy of text classifiers such as Turnitin, the policy recommendations encapsulated in the blueprint aim to reduce potential bias and unfair treatment of students.
Originality/value
The novel blueprint represents a step towards bridging concerning gaps in policy responses worldwide and aims to spark discussion and further much-needed scholarly exploration to this end.
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Phuong Minh Luong, Ly Thi Tran, Huyen Thanh Nguyen, Yen Thi Hai Tran, Giang Hoang Dang and Toan Van Vu
This article reviews the intercultural adaptability (IA) development models for students in South Korea and China in response to the growing internationalisation of higher…
Abstract
Purpose
This article reviews the intercultural adaptability (IA) development models for students in South Korea and China in response to the growing internationalisation of higher education. The article provides significant implications for Confucian heritage culture (CHC) countries and others that wish to enhance in higher education.
Design/methodology/approach
This scoping review systematically investigates the literature on different IA development strategies for students in higher education across these two Asian countries.
Findings
South Korea has promoted the self-growth model reflected in internationalised programmes such as English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI), an international learning environment with an increasing number of international students and student exchange programmes. Through these initiatives, domestic students’ identity and intercultural learning dynamics are enriched in an intercultural learning environment. Meanwhile, China has adopted the “Outward-oriented” higher education internationalisation model to attract international students to study in Chinese universities and entice Chinese returnees through its International Talent Training Programmes. In this strategy, international students are exposed to Chinese language and cultural knowledge development programmes, and Chinese students are motivated to learn the English language and cultures through interactions with their international peers.
Originality/value
Student IA development models in CHC countries remain underexplored. This article responds to the need of higher education institutions in Asian countries that wish to access and learn from effective IA models from other CHC countries. The study makes a valuable contribution by putting forward significant recommendations for developing students’ IA in CHC countries.
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Christopher Ziguras, Dennis Murray and Phil Honeywood
The article examines the ways in which professional associations representing those working in international education are able to shape national systems and thereby change the…
Abstract
Purpose
The article examines the ways in which professional associations representing those working in international education are able to shape national systems and thereby change the ways in which the country engages internationally. This is particularly significant for Australia, which has one of the world’s most internationalised higher education systems.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents a case study of the International Education Association of Australia, which since 2004 has played a central role in shaping international education policy and practice. It provides an insider account of three authors who have held senior roles in the Association, drawing on first-hand knowledge of institutional history.
Findings
The case study illustrates the ways in which the Association’s professional development, research and policy advocacy activities have helped to broaden Australia’s engagement in international education from a narrow commercial focus. The resulting deeper engagement with a broad range of issues associated with international engagement, including student welfare, outbound mobility, curriculum, migration and transnational education, has transformed policy and practice in Australia.
Originality/value
Although international education is coming to play an increasingly significant role in many systems, little has been written about the role of professional bodies in influencing the character and quality of international engagement. This paper makes a valuable contribution by demonstrating the practical measures that can be employed by international education professional bodies to strengthen public diplomacy and the social licence for global engagement.
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Beatrice Avolio and Jorge Benzaquen
Internationalization has been a paramount objective for higher education institutions (HEIs) for decades. However, the landscape of education underwent significant transformation…
Abstract
Purpose
Internationalization has been a paramount objective for higher education institutions (HEIs) for decades. However, the landscape of education underwent significant transformation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to altered contexts, challenges and opportunities for HEI internationalization. This paper aims to critically evaluate the dimensions of internationalization strategies in HEIs and the opportunities within each dimension. Adopting a reflexive approach, the study focused on non-Western HEIs, recognizing the diverse approaches to internationalization within higher education contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology, this paper covered 74 articles published in Web of Science database from January 2019 to December 2023.
Findings
The study organized dimensions related to internationalization strategies in non-Western HEIs, offering a comprehensive framework comprising six dimensions: students, programs, faculty, research, international ventures and other sources; and nine internationalization facilitators: international partnerships, funding, government education, international policies, technology, internationalization culture, diversity and inclusion, staff competence and attitude, student/faculty engagement, intercultural experience and satisfaction, English as a medium of instruction (EMI), and knowledge transfer mechanisms. Furthermore, the study delineated strategies within each dimension and highlighted prevalent performance indicators utilized by HEIs.
Originality/value
The study’s primary contribution is a conceptual framework designed to assist HEI directors and academics. This framework delves into dimensions, strategies and indicators of internationalization particularly relevant in the post-pandemic era.
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