When state centralism meets neo-liberalism: managing university governance change in Singapore and Malaysia

With strong intention to enhance the global competitiveness of their university systems, both the Singapore and Malaysia governments have introduced reforms along the lines of ideas and practices embedded in neo-liberalism. In the last decade or so, we have witnessed reforms being introduced to the higher education sectors in these Asian states, particularly when corporatization and incorporation strategies are adopted to transform national/public universities. With particular reference to how academics evaluate the impact of the reforms on their academic life, this article reports and analyses findings generated from campus visits and field interviews conducted in Singapore and Malaysia from 2007 to 2009. Although the senior management of corporatized/incorporated universities in these Asian states has been given more discretion to decide how to operate their universities, most of the front line academics that we interviewed have not experienced major differences in university governance after the reforms took place. Instead of feeling ‘emancipated’ and ‘empowered’, many academics feel more pressures and control from the university administration and government ministries. Despite the fact that both the Singapore and Malaysia governments have tried to embrace the ideas and practices of ‘neo-liberalism’ to transform university governance, academics still see the state’s reluctance in withdrawing from steering/controlling higher education development. Such observations clearly reflect the ‘clash’ of two major governance philosophies, namely, ‘state centralism’ and ‘neo-liberalism’. In short, this article critically examines how far the proposed university governance reforms by adopting the corporatization/incorporation strategies have actually transformed university management and academic life style in Singapore and Malaysia.     

The imagined and the real: identifying the tensions for academic identity

Changes within the higher education sector have had significant effects on the identity of the individual academic. As institutions transform in response to government‐driven policy and funding directives, there is a subsequent impact upon the roles and responsibilities of those employed as educational professionals. Academic practices are changing as multiple roles emerge from the reshaping of academic work. Institutional pressures to produce specific research outputs at the same time as teaching and undertaking managerial/administrative responsibilities are creating tension between what academics perceive as their professional identity and that prescribed by their employing organisation. Reconciling this disconnect is part of the challenge for academics, who are now seeking to understand and manage their changing identity. Narratives obtained from research in a university with a polytechnic background and an institute of technology (aspiring to be a university), provide some subjective reflections for examining this issue.     

Increasing the impact of a Master’s programme on teacher leadership and school development by means of boundary crossing

In this case study, we investigate how the development and impact of teacher leadership through a Master’s programme can be supported by a design that encourages boundary crossing activities between schools and universities. The case study focuses on 42 experienced teachers from three vocational colleges who were promoted to senior teacher positions and participated in a Master’s programme. Through individual and focus group interviews, data were collected on how boundary crossing activities can connect professional development and school development, and on favourable conditions for effective boundary crossing. The study shows that strategic alignment and shared ownership between university and school, a collective approach with multiple participants from one school, and the use of boundary objects, created the conditions through which the Master’s programme could serve as a catalyst, stimulating innovation of work practices and development of new leadership practices. The leadership of the senior teachers initiated a development process that shifted from formally mandated forms of leadership to more culturally embedded forms of leadership. This case study leads to a new understanding of design criteria for Master’s programmes and boundary objects that can support the process of developing teacher leadership within schools by facilitating boundary crossing between university and school.     

山西大同大学学生人际关系困扰调查研究

采用郑日昌等人编制的《大学生人际关系综合诊断量表》对山西大同大学200名在校大学生进行调查研究。结果表明：（1）从总体上看,山西大同大学学生人际关系基本正常,但也存在一定程度的人际困扰;（2）性别、是否正在恋爱等因素对大学生的人际关系均产生重要影响,女大学生的人际困扰程度高于男大学生,恋爱大学生的人际困扰程度高于非恋爱大学生,农村大学生高于城镇大学生;（3）不同年级大学生人际困扰程度由高到低的顺序是：大二、大四、大三、大一;不同专业大学生人际困扰程度由高到低的顺序是：文科专业、理科专业、心理专业。     

A Journey towards Collaborative Culture Development: How to Be Weightless Despite Academic Gravity

In science, gravity refers to the universal force of attraction acting on and between all matter. No one on earth can escape the force of gravity. In a similar vein, the stringent requirements of publications, research grants, and research output in the academic world can be metaphorically described as “academic gravity,” the force of which pushes university academics to struggle and strive in pursuit of excellence just to survive in the changing landscape of higher education governed by neo-liberalism and managerialism. This article describes the journey of a junior academic staff member in an Asian university as he coped with various difficulties in establishing a collaborative culture in his department (i.e., the Faculty of Education). Working with a senior colleague (Sunshine-mother hereafter) in the same department, Author 1 began to recognize the importance of collegial collaboration in teacher education generally and in his academic life specifically. However, although he tried his utmost to develop a culture of collaboration amongst his colleagues, he struggled to cope with the tension and stress exerted by academic gravity (i.e., publication production and the pursuit of tenure). Drawing on data collected from a teaching development project and adopting a reflective autobiographic approach, this article delineates the collaborative relationship between Author 1 and Sunshine-mother, exemplifying the important roles that coaching and a free rein (i.e., weightlessness) play in the development of junior teacher-educators under the strong pressure of academic gravity.     

The Comprehensive Mental Health Treatment of Chinese International Students: A Case Report

Chinese international students make up the largest number of international students in the United States. They face many stressors that may impact their mental health, such as language barriers, social isolation, academic and financial pressures, and acculturation stress. Yet, there is limited guidance on case conceptualization and treatment models for Chinese international students in university counseling center settings. We present a case report of a 19-year-old, first-year, female undergraduate student from China to illustrate a comprehensive approach for the mental health treatment of Chinese international students. Based on our understanding of the interaction between the student and her influencing environment from a multicultural and ecological vantage point, we intervened on a systems level to achieve a favorable outcome. Our interventions included a multidisciplinary team approach with a student-centered perspective, and advocacy on an individual and organizational level. We conclude with suggested guidelines for the treatment of Chinese international students.     

个体和社会环境因素对大学生创业意向的影响

本文采用对西安市9所不同类型高校2010名大学本科毕业班学生调查所得数据,分析了个体和社会环境因素对大学生创业意向的影响。研究表明:①大学生具有较强烈的创业意向;②大学生的创业态度、感知的主观规范、创业自我效能、创业能力和创业经历等个体因素对其创业意向具有显著的直接或间接影响;③创业阻力这一社会环境因素对大学生的创业意向具有显著、直接的消极影响;④与社会环境因素相比,个体因素对学生创业意向的解释力更大。在此基础上,本文提出了激发大学生创业意向的若干建议。     

How Do Academic Departments Impact Student Satisfaction? Understanding the Contextual Effects of Departments

Using multilevel modeling to analyze survey data from more than 1,300 alumni from a large research university, this study examines the impact that academic departments have on student satisfaction and development. Controlling for individual characteristics, we found that characteristics of departments such as faculty contact with students, research emphasis, and proportion of female undergraduates had a significant impact on satisfaction with education in the major and the perceived impact that college had on skill development.     

Dimensions of higher education and the public good in South Africa

The focus is on the micro-possibilities of student capabilities formation as the end of public-good higher education, rather than on a systems or organizations approach more commonly found in discussions of the public good and higher education. This does not discount other valuable public-good ends. Using South Africa as a global South context, a capability-based approach to the public good of higher education is proposed for its humanizing ethic, attention to fair opportunities, and participation in terms of what students are able to do and to be in and through higher education. A capability frame is complemented by thinking about decoloniality and epistemic justice to help identify central higher education capabilities. The three proposed intersecting capability dimensions are as follows: personhood self-formation, epistemic contribution, and sufficiency of economic resources, intended to guide university practices and policy interventions in the direction of the public good. By populating the space of the public good with capabilities, a shift is made away from micro-economics which see the public good as a reductionist space of commodities and human capital development. Higher education is rather understood as having both instrumental and intrinsic value, generating an alternative logic to that of neo-liberalism, and an individualist ontology of competition and untrammeled markets. The pressures of the global context are acknowledged so that the public good is understood as both “ideal-aspirational” but also “practical-feasible” in the light of local South African conditions. An expanded capability-based framing would contribute to reducing higher education inequalities as a public-good and public-accountable contribution by universities.     

大学生的心理压力及调适

压力是个体的一种身心紧张状态,在大学生成长的过程中会遇到许多压力。面对压力时大学生会产生生理、心理和行为上的种种反应,他们对大学生的影响是双重的。面对压力,大学生心理调适的科学方法有许多。     

Generational perceptions of promotion and tenure expectations by faculty in a striving university: A quest for legitimacy?

Striving universities seek to gain prestige in the academic market. One characteristic of striving universities is a change in the faculty reward system. In this study, we examined historical promotion and tenure criteria in five disciplinary units at one striving university and then conducted interviews with senior faculty and recently tenured faculty in each unit to better understand the striving dynamics at play. Findings demonstrated that pressures to seek legitimacy were a result of the faculty themselves, the institution’s desire to gain legitimacy through an increased research profile and the disciplinary ties outside the university.     

Praxis,educational development and the university sector in Australia

In this article, we utilise recent theorising on praxis and educational development to explore how academics in universities can foster public, institutional and more personal development, even as they are challenged by what are sometimes described as more ‘managerial’ and ‘neoliberal’ conditions. The research draws upon a variety of sources of data, including publicly available correspondence on the university sector in Australia, interviews with colleagues, and personal reflective journals. These data reflect three instances of educational praxis development in the Australian university context, and at three scales/levels: nationally; unit-wide (university/faculty/institute); and sub-unit/individually. The findings reveal such development in the form of: academics using mainstream media to inform the general public about the nature of university industrial relations and funding at a national level; junior and senior academics collaborating and engaging in mentoring practices to build institutional research capacity at a university/institutional level; and, individual academics meeting to develop individual teaching practice. Through explicating the characteristics and value of educational development for and as praxis, we provide resources for hope for better understanding how the work of universities, including their broader mission to inform the public, might be enacted more educationally.     

Impact of Universities' Promotional Materials on College Choice

ABSTRACT

A major promotional tactic for higher education marketers is the use of printed promotional materials to recruit freshmen students. These promotional materials range from full color glossy brochures to simple letters on university letterhead. They are sent to students during their junior and senior years in high school.

The research reported in this article attempted to provide in-depth information on the impact of these promotional materials through the use of student focus groups. Students from a large, southern metropolitan university were asked about the impact of these promotional materials on their college choice decision. The students provided detailed suggestions on the ways to improve the method of distribution, graphic design, and content of the materials.     

试论大学管理的新取向

在经济全球化的今天,伴随着新自由主义以及新公共管理思潮的盛行,传统的高等教育管理已经面临挑战,以市场为导向的管理对于高等教育的发展日益重要。借鉴西方发达国家高等教育管理的成功经验,论文主要从市场营销、投资管理和筹款管理三个方面对于目前大学管理中这种新取向进行了初步探讨。论文认为,随着高等教育领域生源竞争以及资金竞争的进一步加剧,我国大学也必须注意借鉴其他非营利组织在市场营销、投资管理与筹款管理方面的有益经验,重构我国现有的高等教育管理体制。     

A solution‐focused model for improving individual university teaching

Universities commonly use individual teaching development as one of a suite of strategies to improve teaching and learning outcomes. This paper outlines an individual teaching development programme based on the tenets of solution‐focused brief therapy (SFBT). The programme was trialled with a senior lecturer of a large third‐year subject in an Australian university. The approach resulted in evidence of positive changes in teaching. The potential and wider application of this approach is considered.     

新课程背景下普通高中学生综合素质评价的研究与构想

学生综合素质评价是本次基础教育课程改革提出的一个新命题。广东省作为实验普通高中新课程的首批省份之一,对普通高中学生综合素质评价的评价内容、评价方式、评价主体、评价结果的呈现及应用等问题进行了研究,在遵循发展性原则、主体性原则,导向性原则、差异性原则、操作性原则的基础上,提出了初步的构想。评价内容包括模块修习记录、基本素质评价、实验操作考查、信息技术等级考试,以班级为单位成立评价小组,采用质性评价和量化评价相结合的评价方法,评价结果以写实性文字记录在普通高中学生电子档案中,作为学生是否毕业的依据和高校招生录取的重要参考。     

Raising retention rates towards achieving vocational and career aspirations in Pacific communities

ABSTRACT

There is a need for culturally relevant and appropriate retention programs within a climate of ever-increasing neo-liberalism that is seeking to change the very nature and underlying rationale of higher education. This article is posited alongside the reflections of past and current university students, who highlight various socio-economic and socio-cultural pressures which affect their ability to maintain engagement within tertiary institutions in which they strive to study. Pressures include the neo-liberal ideology of unfettered individualism within a higher education setting, which seeks to make the university a competitive producer of ‘consumers’ rather than life-long learners who serve and benefit their families and wider communities through knowledge creation and critical application. The article also highlights key factors that may assist in the retention of students from Pacific communities in Australia. This includes the need to create a collective voice, the ability to have staff who exercise culturally appropriate support and understanding, opportunities to develop greater sense of belonging and connection to University spaces that create an engagement within a cultural context, support to manage conflicting expectations and priorities, ability to inspire and effect change in others through maintaining study commitments, and the need to work to still support educational costs and family.     

Ideologies,strategies and higher education development: a comparison of China’s university partnerships with the Soviet Union and Africa over space and time

University partnerships have been a key dimension of higher education development. Based on documentary analysis and empirical data, this study compares two distinctive models of university partnership experienced by China, first as a recipient with the Soviet Union in the 1950s and later as a provider with African countries in the 2000s. The different modalities of China’s university partnerships are analysed in the changing contexts of a shift from the political ideology of socialism to the current global context of neo-liberalism. The article looks critically at how Chinese universities have utilised their earlier experience of development under Soviet influence in their current approach to internationalisation, taking China’s on-going 20?+?20 University Partnership Scheme with less developed countries in Africa since 2010 as an example. The intention of this article is to reflect deeply on the policy implications of China’s experience in transforming its position from a recipient into a provider of university partnerships. Finally, the article also looks at the Confucian mission of the Chinese University 3.0 and the possibility of fostering multilateral university partnerships for international development in the context of globalisation.     

A countrywide study on factors influencing the public relations practice in higher education in Taiwan

This countrywide study was conducted to determine what organizational and individual factors have a significant impact on the performance of public relations (PR) practice in higher educational institutions in Taiwan. In this study, a purposive sampling of 600 administrative staff whose jobs involved university PR was employed, and 301 effective questionnaires were recruited, yielding a 50% valid rate. Thirteen organizational and five individual factors were retrieved from the researcher’s prior qualitative research on the university PR practice to examine the PR performance in this study. Through a stepwise regression analysis, the findings indicated four organizational factors and one individual factor were significantly predictive of the performance of educational PR practice at the .05 and .001 levels. Further, organizational factors were found as having a greater influence than individual factors on the educational PR performance in this study.