Singapore international education hub and its dilemmas: the challenges and makings for cosmopolitan learning

ABSTRACT

Higher education in Asia is massifying at an exceptional pace and scale. In this paper, I ask how practices and discourses which inform the internationalization of Singapore’s higher education can provide opportunities for developing cosmopolitan learning that it claims to provide. Cosmopolitan learning is closely related to cross-border student mobility and plays an important role in shaping the international students’ identities, aspirations and worldviews. Based on a recent study in Singapore of a group of international students from various parts of Asia and Europe, this paper attempts to bring the theoretical and grounded realities of cosmopolitan learning in an Asian context into the fore. The aim of the paper is to provide a useful frame for rethinking the purpose of international education for cosmopolitan learning in an increasingly interconnected world that is strewn with ambivalence, and what that means in the context of Singapore as an erudite nation-state critical to building Asian education hub aspirations.     

Massification,diversification and internationalisation of higher education in China: Critical reflections of developments in the last two decades

Against the context of higher education expansion initiated in 1998, this Special Issue sets out to critically examine the major developmental trends in higher education in China. The present article sets out the broader policy context for the Special Issue with particular focus on reviewing the rapid expansion of higher education in the last two decades. More specifically, this article discusses the higher education development trends in China through the massification, diversification and internationalisation processes in transforming the higher education system. This article also highlights the major arguments of the articles being selected for this Issue.     

The legacy of Cold War anti-racism: a genealogy of cultural distance in the internationalisation of higher education

ABSTRACT

In this article, we develop a genealogy of international education studies’ tenets of culture shock and skills deficit. To trace their emergence, we map the discursive shifts which underpinned cultural anthropology’s involvement in the administration of US colonial, domestic, and international affairs respectively in the early 1900s and 1950s. These shifts are concomitantly linked to the formation of the field of intercultural communication, of which popularisation in the form of Hofstede model of “cultural distance” has structured international education when turning from a Cold War tool of total diplomacy to an export industry. Taking the development of international education in Australia as a case study, we demonstrate how the shifts in the disciplinary fields aforementioned are best understood as an anti-racist strategy, which mobilisation of the concept of culture has led to the paradoxical evacuation of the heuristic of race from the lexicon of intercultural contact between “Asian” international students and presumably white host institutions.     

Becoming an independent field: Societal pressures, state, and professions

This paper inquires about the conditions that enable the rise of new applied undergraduate fields in American universities and colleges. After identifying high-growth fields since 1950, the paper traces their professional development from an embryonic stage until universities and colleges started offering bachelor’s degrees in those fields. The experiences of the six fields of this study show that although pressures for academic differentiation were evident, governmental intervention was ultimately crucial. Qualitative evidence indicates that the independence of a new field hinges on the interaction of four factors: societal pressures, state intervention, academic resourcefulness of the field, and professional institutional processes.     

高等教育转型发展:基于国际比较的视角

我国高等教育转型发展势在必行。借鉴发达国家高等教育转型经验,我国高等教育应建立多样化的高等教育系统、改善高等院校的管理方式和增强高校办学自主权以及建立"产学研用"为一体的教育教学模式。     

Quality issues in the internationalisation of higher education

Although the quality issue has become a central preoccupation inother domains of higher education, current internationalisation policiesand practices in higher education have developed without much concernfor quality assurance. The central thesis of this paper is that we havecome to a point in the development of higher education whereinternationalisation policies and practices face the limits of theirdevelopment unless the quality challenge is addressed in all itsconsequences. The paper first provides an overview of contemporary formsof and recent developments in internationalisation in higher education.From more or less `traditional' forms such as student and teaching staffmobility, internationalisation policies and practices nowadays move intoactivities such as exporting higher education via branch campuses andinstitutional co-operation, developing transnational university networksand virtual delivery of higher education, and the harmonisation ofhigher education systems. In these recent developments several issuesand challenges arise, which in one kind or another have direct links tothe quality challenge. The quality of internationalisation policies andpractices itself is an important problem, but of more importance are theissues of the recognition of foreign diplomas and degrees and therecognition of credits and credit-transfer. This paper takes a criticalstance towards for example the ECTS, which tries to solve these issueswithout much concern for quality. The way out lies in an integration ofinternationalisation policies and general quality assurance practices atinstitutional and policy levels.     

Experimenting with internationalisation in troubled times: the critical case of Turkish higher education

ABSTRACT

For the last couple of years, Turkey has been experiencing difficult times resulting from the recent domestic coup attempt, refugee crisis and terrorist attacks from neighbouring countries, and the following political conflicts around these issues with the United States and Europe. This article investigates challenges and strategies of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Turkey with recent uncertainty in the free movement of students and academics in internationalisation process. Applying a qualitative critical case study, the research was carried out in four HEIs leading in internationalisation. The findings indicated that political instabilities both at the national and international levels brought several challenges for HEIs related with their internationalisation efforts in terms of security, image, and ethnic tension. Additionally, it is found that HEIs adapted to the new realities and developed several strategies to overcome these challenges such as marketisation and networking. Implications are made regarding neo-liberal influence and segmentation around class and religion.     

Learning from dilemmas: teacher professional development through collaborative action and reflection

This article aims at describing and analysing the interpersonal and intrapersonal dilemmas experienced by a group of five university teachers as they engaged in collaborative inquiry, including the ways in which teachers managed these dilemmas and how this contributed to their professional development. The results are based on qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews, working sessions, participant observation and teacher narratives. Our findings illustrate how interpersonal and intrapersonal dilemmas co-occur when teachers engage in collaborative inquiry. Working together towards shared goals brought to the surface differences in beliefs and expectations that generated conflict and tension, which sometimes interfered with teachers’ willingness to work together. At the same time, introducing changes to their teaching practice – a major goal of inquiry communities – challenged teachers to question and revise their personal beliefs about teaching and learning, thereby triggering intrapersonal dilemmas. Our findings also confirm the key role of critical reflection for bringing these dilemmas to the surface and benefiting from the opportunities they provide for learning and change. Areas that warrant further exploration to better understand the dilemmas within inquiry communities and how to support teachers in handling them are discussed.     

高职教育教学质量评价若干问题探析

高职教育教学质量评价，是对高职教学工作达到教学目标的程度做出价值判断。搞好教学质量评价的关键是确定科学合理的评价指标体系，而指标是构成指标体系的基本要素。本在深入分析高职教育培养目标、质量观、教学质量评价特点和意义的基础上，对高职教育教学质量评价的若干问题进行了探讨和分析，旨在为构建高职教育教学质量评价体系提供理论依据。     

国际高等教育质量评估发展的新特点、影响及启示

当前,在国际高等教育质量评估发展中,呈现出实行分类评估、调整不同评估主体职能分工、赋予高等院校以质量保障的主要权责、重视资源使用效率以及学生学习成效、注重定性描述信息等新特点。为深化高等教育改革,我国的高等教育质量评估宜突出评估工作的针对性和适应性,发挥各类主体的创造性,增强高校质量保障的主动性,加大对内部质量保障措施、学习效果以及投入成效的评估力度,提高评估工作的规范性和透明度,完善评估专家的选拔、培训与考核制度和健全对评估工作的评估、评估成效反馈的机制。     

高校实现从"又快又好"到"又好又快"发展的若干思考

高校从"又快又好"到"又好又快"发展,是贯彻落实科学发展观,实现高校全面协调可持续发展的关键。文章主要阐述了高校实现"又好又快"发展,必须做到坚持育人为本,创新人才培养模式;坚持人才为本,创新队伍建设模式;坚持依法治校,创新高校管理模式;增加教育投入,创新高校发展模式的观点。     

Becoming real: adult student impressions of developing an educational researcher identity

This study investigated the inner experiences of adults learning to become educational researchers. Through narrative analysis of doctoral students’ tales of memorable early encounters in conducting research, insight was gained into the self-questioning tension, conflict, and drama often experienced. A discussion about how to utilize students’ reflective writings to provide appropriate developmental support in doctoral programmes is provided.     

高等教育大众化理论的全面认识及其启示

全面认识高等教育大众化理论，必须把握该理论的“四个统一”，即“量”与“质”的统一，“量变”和“质变”的“同步性”与“非均衡性”的统一，“普适性”与“国别性”的统一，“稳定性”与“发展性”的统一。形成对高等教育大众化理论的全面认识，能为推进我国高等教育大众化进程提供许多有益的启迪。     

跨文化教育视角下我国高校国际学生辅导员的角色定位与能力构建

国际学生教育本质上是一种跨文化教育。跨文化性、个体差异显著性、涉外性与专业分散性构成了我国高校国际学生事务的特性,对国际学生辅导员的角色与能力提出相应要求。跨文化教育视角下,我国高校国际学生辅导员承载着跨文化交际者、跨文化教育者、跨文化管理者与跨文化研究者的角色,应具备由跨文化交际能力、跨文化教育能力、跨文化管理能力与跨文化研究能力等四个维度构成的跨文化能力。     

论科学发展观指导下的高等教育质量观

高等教育质量是高等教育活动满足社会需要的程度。高等教育质量观是人们在特定社会历史条件下的高等教育价值选择,是对于高等教育质量高低、优劣的系统看法。随着社会进步、高等教育发展和人们认识的变化,高等教育质量观也在发展变化。根据科学发展观对高等教育的新要求,应树立科学的高等教育质量观。科学的高等教育质量观具有促进人的全面发展、满足社会需要、符合办学定位、相对性等内涵。     

高等教育国际质量保证和认证的模式

在高等教育国际化的今天,各国政府、团体或者学校都寻求一个广泛认可的高等教育质量保证和认证模式。本文对Dirk Van Damme提出的四种模式做了介绍和评价。即1从现有的国家质量保证和认证系统和机构中分离出来并加强它;2促进跨境质量保证和质量保证及认证的双边认可;3．在国际和全球层面制定质量保证和认证机构的后认证;4建立国际质量保证和认证机制。我们需要根据现实情况来参与高等教育国际质量保证和认证,保护高等教育各利益相关人的权益。完善自己的认证系统。     

高等教育质量保障运动的发展态势:比较的视野

质量保障是高等教育改革与发展的中心议题。高等教育质量保障的走向是:高等教育质量保障模式趋向融合与稳定,在外控与自律之间寻求一种平衡状态;高等教育质量保障纳入法制轨道,组织机构健全规范,运转协调;在注重高校办学特色的基础上,更强调质量标准化;高等教育质量保障的国际合作步伐加快。     

努力培养适应现代化建设和国际竞争的高素质劳动者

由我国高等教育的发展态势、国家建设和国际竞争的形势,强调高等教育要努力培养适应现代化建设和国际竞争的高素质劳动者。提出把大学本科教育主要定位为高素质劳动者的培养,而不是高级研究人才的培养,避免高等教育脱离国家人才需求的现实,浪费大量教育资源。     

The Graduate Course in Pedagogy: Survey of Instructors of College Pedagogy in the United States and Canada

Although numerous universities offer graduate students opportunities to develop their teaching, few studies probe the credit-bearing graduate course in college teaching. A survey of 105 instructors of graduate pedagogy courses in the US and Canada explored their preparation, professional appointments, students, and assignments. Results showed diverse institutional units offer college pedagogy courses, which are taught by instructors with substantial preparation, most frequently to multidisciplinary groups from diverse majors. Many instructors assign teaching statements, though specifics differ. Comparison to the authors' earlier case study reveals an emerging, recognizable, and international course type that coheres in structure, timing, and at least one key assignment. The ubiquity of college pedagogy courses recommends substantial institutional investment, scholarly analysis, and professorial discussion to align them with the contemporary goals and standards of graduate education.