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This paper contends that the inclusion of meso- and micro-level perspectives has been under exploration in the study of the internationalization of humanities and social sciences, in particular, in a state-mandated system where policy interventions in higher education and knowledge production have typically been aligned with state construction and national development. It argues that institutional and individual responses to state policies on the internationalization of humanities and social sciences should be investigated due to their respective roles in policymaking and implementation. It has, therefore, retrieved recent and historical policy documents during the post-WTO period and collected empirical data from two Chinese universities. A constructivist-interpretivist qualitative approach and a qualitative case study strategy were adopted for this investigation. Based on an in-depth analysis of the empirical data, this paper reveals the gap between the macro-level ambition of achieving outward-oriented diffusion of innovations and the local-level realities, as well as institutional dilemmas and conflicts in facilitating the internationalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At this stage, there is a big gap between the cognition and practice of smart devices in universities and the theoretical development of universities. Theoretical and practical scientific research on university wisdom factors from the perspective of wisdom culture education can sort out the essential attributes of university wisdom in terms of actual practice and appearance and give references for the development of university theory and within the field of wisdom practice. In the age of the information explosion, modern education is developing toward an intelligent system approach. In this cultural education environment, universities in China are paying close attention to the construction of smart schools. Among them, the national Ministry of Education policy document emphasizes the construction of "intelligent education demonstration parks" and promotes the construction and implementation of smart campuses in all aspects. Given this, the paper takes university culture education as an example and explains how to build smart classroom teaching to promote the development of modernization and intelligence in China's education and improve its quality of teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the relationship between the student-supervisor relationship (SSR) and postgraduate students' subjective well-being. Based on a longitudinal survey of Beijing college students, the present study suggests that in China, the SSR is a supervisor-centred, top-down hierarchical relationship. The reciprocity level of the SSR is positively related to the students' subjective well-being. The trust level of the SSR also has a positive relationship with students' subjective well-being; improving the trust level may also mitigate the possible negative implications of the low level of reciprocity in the relationship. The present study further reveals that it is more difficult for first-generation students to establish sound SSR than non-first-generation students. Additionally, a good SSR is more important for first-generation students' positive well-being. The findings provide implications for educational practices on how to improve postgraduate students' subjective well-being by improving the SSR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents new evidence on how enrollment expansion affects higher education access and production with a focus on social inequality and institutional stratification. From 1999 to 2012, the world's largest higher education expansion happened in China that annual college enrollment dramatically increased from 1,083,600 to 6,888,300. We evaluate this exogenous, unprecedented policy using nationally representative student-level survey data and newly available confidential institution-level data. Enrollment expansion, which reduced per-student resources, negatively impacted college quality as measured by value-added on graduates' employment and earnings. The inequality in access between high- and low-SES students and the stratified production between college institutional tiers persisted during expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical ideas about globalization and internationalization of higher education emphasize the tension among different ideologies of higher education. According to literature, a competition among states, economy, knowledge, and status generates this tension to drive higher education development. This theoretical understanding not only shapes our global imaginations but also permeates the organizational behavior of universities. In this paper, we focus on the institutional logics that motivate universities in Kazakhstan to engage with China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). We investigate the ways that Kazakhstani higher education interprets and responds to China's vision of a global order. Based on interviews conducted at 10 higher education institutions (HEIs) in Kazakhstan, we argue that Kazakhstan's engagement with the BRI circumvents the cultural connectivity and global cooperation that are embraced by Chinese policy discourse and perpetuated by academic literature. Rather, institutional leaders in Kazakhstan operate with a utilitarian logic that seeks revenue generation, links with industry, and opportunities for students in employment and further education. The pursuit of these strategic outcomes demonstrates a bilateral engagement with China rather than the multilateral cooperation envisioned by policymakers. In a higher education system dominated by the state, the institutions in our study exhibit partial agency to accrue pragmatic benefits rather than concede to isomorphic pressures or mimic internationalization from neoliberal contexts. The discrepancy between policy discourse from China and policy reception in Kazakhstan raises questions about the rhetoric of a multipolar global order and the realities of international cooperation in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, universities in the People's Republic of China have notably progressed in international rankings. Most of the existing literature interested in this development describes the adoption of university rankings in China as a recent import of a global institution, and as being driven by a governmental agenda that seeks to bolster the country's competitiveness and overall status on the world stage, including in the academic realm. The wider domestic environment that determines Chinese universities' participation in the global ranking competition is usually left out of the picture. As this article demonstrates, university rankings and other performance indicators have been an organic part of Chinese science and higher education policy and a prominent element in state-directed national reform and development planning processes since at least the 1980s. In addition to the crucial role of the state and a lack of university autonomy, what further distinguishes the case of China from other countries in the rankings is a strong and accepted tradition of utilizing quantification, competition, and rating as political tools. Another reason, we argue, why Chinese universities were able to insert themselves into the ranking race relatively seamlessly and with some quick successes. Yet, after decades of following so-called "Western" standards and indicators for academic performance and reputation evaluation, domestic policy is changing again and taking a seemingly nationalist turn which may bring about some changes in the practice and significance of university rankings in China—and potentially beyond, as we discuss in conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there are some researches conducted about students' conceptions of technology, little research has been conducted to reveal the primary school students' conceptions concerning technology in China. This research investigated Chinese primary school students' (aged 9–12) conceptions of technology as regards their understanding of (a) the concept of technology, (b) the impact of technology on human life and nature, and (c) the relationship between technology and science. Phenomenography as the methodological framework was adopted for this study. A total of 63 primary school students were chosen as participants in the study to probe their conceptions about technology through picture/photo eliciting activities, and semi-structured, personal interviews in a website video format. It is found that the primary school students defined technology from diverse perspectives, including the dimensions of its attributes, production, operation and use, function, with most of them regarding technology as a double-edged sword. It is also found that they lack a comprehensive and rational understanding of the concept of technology and cannot understand the relationship between science and technology properly. This study contributes better to understanding primary school students' conceptions about technology in mainland China and beyond, thus providing an empirical basis for improving technology education policy, curriculum, instruction, and assessment in the future for China and other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1994, the education policy goal for the Chinese government was that the education expenditure as a share of GDP should be at least 4% of GDP. However, this educational policy goal has not been achieved until 2010. Another relevant social issue was related to teachers' pay: there were 168 strike and protests occurred in almost every part of China from 2014 to 2015. In this article, we examine the impact of fiscal centralisation policies have on China's educational spending and teachers' salary. We use a county-level panel data for period of 2001 to 2005 and apply a quasi-experiment. This study finds evidence that fiscally-centralising policies, exemplified by the Corporate Income Tax Reform passed in 2002, are one of the determinants that lead to less education expenditures and subsequently affect teachers' merit salary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To relieve young children of a burden and to encourage informal literacy practices such as shared book reading, the Chinese Ministry of Education implemented an early education policy that forbids the teaching of formal literacy (e.g., Chinese character recognition and Pinyin) as well as more ambitious literacy teaching practices (e.g., Teaching English as a Second Language—ESL) in kindergartens. Yet, little is known about the extent to which formal or ambitious literacy education is endorsed by low socioeconomic status (SES) and highly anxious parents who usually rely on classroom education as the great equalizer for their children. Neither do we know about the relationship between parental endorsement on these advanced learning goals and parents' informal home literacy practices (e.g., shared book reading). This study intends to address this dearth in the literature by applying structural equation modeling to a sample of 4395 middle to low SES parents in China. Our findings show that, contrary to the policy makers' expectation that downplaying Chinese word recognition and ESL would encourage informal literacy practices, highly anxious Chinese parents are motivated by their children's Chinese word recognition to engage in shared book reading with their children. Without this motivator, highly anxious parents would read to their children even less. In comparison, calm parents were more likely to be motivated by their children's ESL learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2010s witnessed unparalleled policymaking and development in international higher education in China. Whilst research has shed light on the broader historical spectrum of China's international higher education policies, few studies have focused exclusively on those of the 2010s. This study builds upon the theoretical perspectives of wenjian zhengzhi and institutional logics to offer a timely and comprehensive analysis of the dynamics between Chinese policies on international higher education, practices of higher education institutions, and macro-societal orders. It examines two research questions through in-depth analysis of policy documents and scholarly literature: what institutional logics underpin China's international higher education policies of the 2010s? How have Chinese higher education institutions negotiated multiple and sometimes competing institutional logics in response to these policies? Findings show the ways that the state, market, corporation, profession, and community logics are embedded in the international higher education policies of the 2010s. Two specific areas of HEI practices are discussed to illustrate how higher education institutions blend and negotiate the competing logics in a search for compatibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating world-class universities (WCUs) has recently become a significant policy and practice in higher education in China under the Double World-Class Project. However, some negative effects have encouraged decoupling from the policy goals. To identify the reasons, we conducted policy document analysis and purposive interviews at three elite universities, focusing on financial funding, discipline development, and human resources. First, the uneven funding plans by central and local governments shape non-competitive environments for universities, hindering the dynamic adjustment of the Double World-Class Project. Second, universities have closed or merged programs in weak academic disciplines to gain legitimacy and stability in conformance to WCU guidelines. Last, as a result of the unbalanced development of universities in east, middle, and west China, universities in the west are facing a serious brain drain. To achieve a higher level of performance, an increasing number of 'shadow academics' are being recruited by Chinese universities. These decoupling responses and manipulative strategies result from the dominating constituent in WCUs, ambiguity in policy contents, hierarchical control systems in higher education, and uncertain environments for universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]