The internationalization of Chinese higher education can be traced back almost two centuries. In 1840, following the defeat of the Chinese Empire in the Opium Wars, China was introduced to the concept of modern western education. Chinese higher education started in 1912, with one university and 94 professional staffs. Involvementing inthe World War II against Japan with Japan slowed the development of higher education institutions until 1949. By 1949, there were only 205 colleges and universities with a total of 116,504 students. Since 1949, Chinese higher education shifted its attention of the system from the U.S. American model to the Soviet model. Enrollments grew rapidly;. In 1960, the system had its peak with almost one million students.
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In China, collectivist cultural beliefs and values were espoused from top government offices. Modern Chinese culture can be characterized by two parallel mainstream philosophies: Confucianism and Communism. Both philosophies promote the mindset that education is a societal duty with both private and public benefits (Liu, 2012). Confucianism has encouraged submission to social hierarchy in Chinese society for the purposes of “harmony and prosperity” (Chow, 1996). At the same time, Communism, which partially integrates Marxism, promotes the idea of civic engagement. These influences have been found to cause difficulties for individuals to accomplish their own self-achievement, and instead reinforces “meritocratic elitism” (Liu, 2012, p. 650). Under these conditions, Chinese culture has become “goal-oriented, emphasizing doing and results” (Liu, 2012, p. 650). At the same time, the neglect of a critical orientation has become one of the biggest issues in Chinese education. The most direct consequence is that graduates may lack critical thinking capabilities and many education leaders are more focused on short-term gains than concerned with long-term transformation of the education system and creating transformative educational outcomes for students …show more content…
Student mobility in China can be examined by looking at three main trends: 1) the increasing outflow of Chinese students for foreign degrees; 2) the increasing inflow of international students to attend Chinese universities in China; and 3) the increasing return of foreign-trained Chinese students who may work or continue studying in Chinese universities (Pan, 2010). Between 1978 and 2013, 3,058,600 Chinese students studied overseas, which makes China the largest export country of international students in the world (Neubauer & Zhang, 2015). In 2013 alone, there were 413,900 Chinese students studying abroad (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China,
In China, collectivist cultural beliefs and values were espoused from top government offices. Modern Chinese culture can be characterized by two parallel mainstream philosophies: Confucianism and Communism. Both philosophies promote the mindset that education is a societal duty with both private and public benefits (Liu, 2012). Confucianism has encouraged submission to social hierarchy in Chinese society for the purposes of “harmony and prosperity” (Chow, 1996). At the same time, Communism, which partially integrates Marxism, promotes the idea of civic engagement. These influences have been found to cause difficulties for individuals to accomplish their own self-achievement, and instead reinforces “meritocratic elitism” (Liu, 2012, p. 650). Under these conditions, Chinese culture has become “goal-oriented, emphasizing doing and results” (Liu, 2012, p. 650). At the same time, the neglect of a critical orientation has become one of the biggest issues in Chinese education. The most direct consequence is that graduates may lack critical thinking capabilities and many education leaders are more focused on short-term gains than concerned with long-term transformation of the education system and creating transformative educational outcomes for students …show more content…
Student mobility in China can be examined by looking at three main trends: 1) the increasing outflow of Chinese students for foreign degrees; 2) the increasing inflow of international students to attend Chinese universities in China; and 3) the increasing return of foreign-trained Chinese students who may work or continue studying in Chinese universities (Pan, 2010). Between 1978 and 2013, 3,058,600 Chinese students studied overseas, which makes China the largest export country of international students in the world (Neubauer & Zhang, 2015). In 2013 alone, there were 413,900 Chinese students studying abroad (Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China,