Hantian Wu | Zhejiang University (original) (raw)

Papers by Hantian Wu

ECNU Review of Education

It seems obvious that "comparative investigation is of little value if it serves documen... more It seems obvious that "comparative investigation is of little value if it serves documentation only," while "its significance lies in informed interpretation of the interplay between context, policymaking and opportunities for fulfillment" (King, 2000, p. 268). In this sense, Max Weber's understanding that "the purpose of comparative study is the explanation of a given historical problem" (1968, p. xxxi) limits the role of comparative education studies. Although Marc-Antoine Jullien, the so-called "founding father" of comparative education, first used the term "comparative education" in his Esquisse et Vues Préliminaries d'un Ouvrage sur L'éducation Comparé published in 1817, comparative education as a modern discipline emerged

Journal of Studies in International Education, 2022

Mainland China's domestic academic literature on foreign issues can be regarded as a referenc... more Mainland China's domestic academic literature on foreign issues can be regarded as a reference for its policymaking since the early stages of the “Reform and Opening Up”. This investigation constructs a multi-theoretical framework for examining and interpreting mainland China's domestic academic narrative surrounding higher education internationalization in foreign countries/regions. Taking an academic journal data-based approach, it presents the findings and further discusses China's domestic disciplinary culture in the field of international higher education studies, as well as the possible impact of such narratives on its practices.

East-West Crosscurrents in Higher Education, 2021

China’s Outward-Oriented Higher Education Internationalization, 2021

As mentioned in the introductory chapter (Chap. 1), China's approach to "outwardoriented" higher ... more As mentioned in the introductory chapter (Chap. 1), China's approach to "outwardoriented" higher education (HE) internationalization for the purpose of enhancing its international status and worldwide influence contains three major dimensions: (1) cultural diplomacy programs such as the Confucius Institute (CI) program, (2) HErelated international development aid towards developing countries, and (3) HE-level international student recruitment strategy and activities. Each of these three dimensions has been researched in previous studies. Following previous perspectives and findings, this chapter provides the main background of the research focus of this book, while introducing different viewpoints from relevant studies. It particularly includes the studies conducted by scholars in Mainland China, who are both policy recipients and researchers of China's HE internationalization. Through reviewing previous studies, this chapter attempts to explain the present situation of China's cultural diplomacy, the tradition and development of China's international aid in HE, as well as the enormous changes China has brought about in international student recruitment. It also attempts to identify the gaps between what is happening currently and previous studies, also what this book seeks to contribute. A more detailed discussion of the present situation and challenges of China's "outward-oriented" HE internationalization will be presented in Chap. 5 of this book (Understanding Three Dimensions of China's "Outward-Oriented" Higher Education Internationalization: Challenges and Suggestions). 2.1 Studies on China's Cultural Diplomacy and Its Implementation Through Higher Education Compared to its significant progress in economic development, it is obvious that China's efforts in cross-cultural communication have not yet achieved desired results (Shen, 2013). Most people in the rest of the world are not well informed about China's

This chapter describes the details of the empirical inquiry and the findings gathered through qua... more This chapter describes the details of the empirical inquiry and the findings gathered through quantitative survey data analysis. As explained in Appendix A, an exploratory survey of international graduate students in English instruction programs in education-related majors in three Chinese universities has been conducted to analyze their attitudes towards China’s “outward-oriented” higher education (HE) internationalization approach, especially the dimension of international student recruitment. Quantitative analysis has been conducted on the survey data based on Holmes’s four-pattern taxonomy for analyzing contextual features, which includes normative patterns, sociological laws, national conditions, and deep cultural roots. (Qualitative data has been collected and analyzed as a supplement [see Chap. 7]).

The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.

This study investigates China’s present situation of shifting from a mainly inward-oriented highe... more This study investigates China’s present situation of shifting from a mainly inward-oriented higher education internationalization to a more balanced approach, and the existing gaps between China’s goals of using outward-oriented higher education internationalization to enhance its international influence and status in the world knowledge system, also the challenges it faces in the response to this approach. According to a new typology proposed by the author, “outward-oriented higher education internationalization” refers to the process of exporting/introducing domestic knowledge, culture, higher education models and norms, and educational philosophies to the world through higher education internationalization primarily for the sake of enhancing worldwide influence. This study examines the three major dimensions of China’s outward-oriented HE internationalization: 1) Cultural diplomacy based on Sino-foreign higher education collaboration (i.e. the Confucius Institute program), 2) int...

Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory, 2018

Comparative and International Education, 2017

This study investigates the development of higher education in India and China over three time pe... more This study investigates the development of higher education in India and China over three time periods: that of colonial India and semi-colonial China, that of the Cold War during which India was “non-aligned” and “new China” embraced Communism, and the period after India’s neoliberal economic reforms and China’s “reform and opening-up”. Our study focuses on the second period when the rationales for post-independent higher education policies were intimately connected to sovereignty. A historical cross-comparative analysis is being employed to discern similarities and differences between India’s and China’s development of higher education systems. The purpose of our study is to contextualize the sociopolitical philosophies that guided the development and transformation of higher education systems in India and China with reference to their vision as non-Western civilizations. We utilize this historical analysis to discuss whether India and China will remain peripheral in the global sy...

ECNU Review of Education, 2019

Purpose: This research is an exploratory narrative inquiry into reflections of three Chinese inte... more Purpose: This research is an exploratory narrative inquiry into reflections of three Chinese international undergraduate students in a Canadian university, University S, which reveals participants’ entire decision-making processes as potential international undergraduate students. Design/Approach/Methods: A two-dimensional analytical framework has been constructed. One dimension is based on three phases of the entire decision-making process: the phases of deciding whether or not to study abroad, selecting destination countries, and choosing target institutions. The second dimension is based on three kinds of hypothetically proposed environmental factors within each phase: policy factors, (family and regional) socioeconomic factors, and information factors. First-hand data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted based on the analytical framework. Findings: This article suggests that both policymakers in the source country (i.e., China) and university administrator...

ECNU Review of Education, 2020

Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 2018

This study investigates China's international student recruitment strategy and policies as a dime... more This study investigates China's international student recruitment strategy and policies as a dimension of its present approach of using higher education internationalisation for soft power and image enhancement. An exploratory survey of international graduate students in English instruction programmes in education-related majors in three Chinese universities has been conducted to analyse their attitudes towards China's approach. Quantitative analysis has been conducted on the survey data based on Holmes's fourpattern taxonomy for analysing contextual features, which includes normative patterns, sociological laws, national conditions, and deep cultural roots. Qualitative data have been collected and analysed as a supplement. This study attempts to reveal the relations between international students' source-country contextual features, identified based on Holmes's taxonomy, and their attitudes towards China's approach in international student recruitment. Policy suggestions are provided based on these findings.

Higher Education Policy, 2019

This study concentrates on the three phases of China’s de facto higher education quasi-decentrali... more This study concentrates on the three phases of China’s de facto higher education quasi-decentralization since 1949 and center-local relations during each of the phases. The three phases are: (1) the phase of the late 1950s and early 1960s, when provincial-level control was enhanced; (2) the phase of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when “independent colleges” and people-run institutions were established; and (3) the present phase which is ongoing since the mid-2000s, when elite Sino-foreign joint institutions (e.g., NYU Shanghai) and young elite research institutions (e.g., ShanghaiTech and Westlake University) were approved. To investigate the diversification and proliferation of higher education institutions in each phase, a theoretical framework has been constructed based on Zheng’s (De facto federalism in China: reforms and dynamics of central-local relations, World Scientific, Singapore, 2007) argument of China’s de facto federalism. As macro-level contexts, China’s principal philosophies of higher education development and the interrelations between China’s higher education system and the outside world during each phase have been briefly reviewed. It suggests that local governments and higher education institutions in China may attempt to play more active roles in promoting de jure higher education decentralization.

Higher Education, 2018

This paper investigates China's present approach of using "outward-oriented" higher education int... more This paper investigates China's present approach of using "outward-oriented" higher education internationalization for status and image enhancement, and the challenges it faces in the response to this approach. It examines the three major dimensions of China's present approach including its cultural diplomacy based on Sino-foreign higher education collaboration (i.e., the Confucius Institute program), international development aid in higher education, and international student recruitment at the higher education level. The theoretical framework is developed based on neo-Marxist theories of center-periphery model and world system. The concepts of "soft power" and public diplomacy, Knight's argument of "knowledge diplomacy," and Hayhoe's argument about HE-based civilizational dialogue have been used. The paper reviews and analyzes China's strategic plans related to its higher education internationalization, as well as relevant academic and non-academic literature about the three major dimensions of its present approach. Findings reveal that tensions still exist between China's goals and the reality. It suggests that China's approach should be given a neutral and serious assessment.

Higher Education, 2019

Internationalization has become a new landmark of Chinese higher education, measured by indicator... more Internationalization has become a new landmark of Chinese higher education, measured by indicators such as personnel mobility, number of offshore/joint programs, and international publications. Chinese universities have moved from isolation to the forefront of internationalization in a short timeline and amid the dramatic expansion of Chinese higher education to a mass system since the late 1990s. This has set the context of the internationalization discourse. At the same time, Chinese upper-and middle-class families increasingly choose not to send their offspring to Chinese universities, but rather to study abroad. These developments add up to a puzzle as to how internationalization has helped lift the standards of Chinese higher education. Drawing on the glonacal agency heuristic, resource dependency theory, and the Ethical Internationalism in Higher Education (EIHE) perspective, this paper utilizes the case study of two Chinese universities to address such two research questions: (1) How have Chinese universities managed to rise so dramatically in terms of internationalization? and (2) Why do they embrace internationalization so enthusiastically and how does this benefit them?

ECNU Review of Education

Journal of Studies in International Education, 2022

East-West Crosscurrents in Higher Education, 2021

China’s Outward-Oriented Higher Education Internationalization, 2021

Encyclopedia of Educational Philosophy and Theory, 2018

Comparative and International Education, 2017

ECNU Review of Education, 2019

ECNU Review of Education, 2020

Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 2018

Higher Education Policy, 2019

Higher Education, 2018

Higher Education, 2019

International Status Anxiety and Higher Education: The Soviet Legacy in China and Russia, 2018

Since the 1990s, China's higher education (HE) system has set ambitious goals to simultaneously p... more Since the 1990s, China's higher education (HE) system has set ambitious goals to simultaneously push for rapid enrollment growth, create new governance structures, and build world-class universities. The aggregate enrollment in the HE sector grew from 3.4 million in 1998 4 to 36.5 million in 2015. The number of institutions increased from 1,022 to 2,852 in the same time span, or by 2.8 times. Now China's HE stands out as the world's largest system, and a large proportion of high school leavers in the country are able to continue their education at the tertiary level, formerly a privilege for the very few. In the meantime, the Chinese government has been making large investments in elite universities (e.g., Projects 211 and 985) to raise some universities and programs to a world-class level. China's HE has exhibited systemic transformations since the early 1990s, and this chapter aims to shed new light on the dynamics and drivers behind these changes. Specifically, we address two research questions: (1) What caused these changes in Chinese higher education -given their breadth and depth? And (2) Were these changes driven by internal motives or external forces -given their efficiency and impacts? Moreover, at the institutional level, the transformation and development of specific Chinese HE institutions (HEIs) in the past two decades tends to reflect the

Academic experiences of international students in Chinese higher education, 2020