Research On International Education Exchanges: Challenges And Responses

China's international education exchanges have been developed over 160 years. The history can be traced back to the year of 1847, when Yung Wing, the first Chinese overseas student, adventured his journey across the Pacific Ocean to North American Continent, studied in Yale University, the United States of America. This journey can be regarded as the starting point of China' international education exchanges. From then on, 160 years witnessed the ups and downs of this movement. Till today, the Chinese mainland central government sends the overseas students abroad on an unprecedented scale. In the year of 2007 alone, there are 67,723 Chinese overseas students enrolled in the American higher education institutes. By the year of 2007, the number of Chinese overseas students on a world wide level has reached more than 1.21 million in total.China's international education exchanges have broadened the ranges from the single form of sending and accepting overseas students to the activities involved in national foreign affairs, constituting the fundamental intergradient in promoting national soft power. At the dawn of the 21^st century, China's international education exchanges have developed into the emerging forces in foreign affairs of Chinese government: actively taking part in the cooperation with international organizations, consolidating and broadening the education exchanges with developing countries, recovering and reconstructing the strategic partnership with Russia and so on. Meanwhile, Chinese higher education institutes have taking proactive role in the process of internationalization and globalization: undertaking wide-range of cooperation with foreign higher education institutes, especially with the developed western countries, introducing the highly-qualified education resources, collaborating with domestic and abroad enterprises, jointly engaged in research development and innovation, toning with the national agenda of scientific and technologic development, promoting the transformation from a major country in manufacturing and labor-force to the major power in innovation and human resources. With the prosperity of Chinese mainland economy and national citizens, the number and quality of the self-supported Chinese overseas students has surpassed the previous standards, the choices of target countries has been expanded, with the result of the fact that the self-supported Chinese overseas students have grown up into a booming force in promoting the Chinese national culture.However, the issue of international education exchanges is more than complicated, especially in the specific era of China's peaceful development which attracts the world-wide spotlight. The study on China's international education exchanges is far more than the viewpoint of national stands. With the purpose of studying the Chinese national strategic goals, the research on this issue calls for the all-range perspectives rather than simply analyzing the historical process of China's international education exchanges, which embodies the introduction of western countries' experiences and reference to the relevant countries' lessons. Based on this knowledge, the dissertation with the perspective of "strategic interactive" is exploring the historical movement and future development of China's international education exchanges. The author focus on the viewpoints of Chinese scholars as well as the western, especially consulting the standpoints of American and Japan national strategic policies, and the lessons drawn from the India higher education are also highly valued. Therefore, the dissertation is analyzing the different values involved in China's international education exchanges from the following aspects.Chapter I Introduction put forward the edging issues faced with by China's international education exchanges in the 21^st century. The three connections of concepts are brought forward: peaceful development and "China's threat" made in China and created by China, Cultural identity and cultural assimilation. The three relations listed above consist of the context of dissertation. With the purpose of clearly identifying the key viewpoints relevant to the international education exchanges, the concepts of "knowledge capital", "attachment theory", "security dilemma", "soft power" and "cultural competence" are clearly defined. In the part of literature review in Chapter I, the author categorizes the values into political value, cultural value, economic value, scientific and technological value, educational value, which provides the theoretical basis for the Chapter II.Chapter II Values and Orientation of Values in International Education Exchanges specify the functions of five orientations of values in educational exchanges. In this chapter, the author focuses on the driving force of educational exchanges in the national long-term strategic development agenda with the international perspectives. The viewpoints of western scholars, especially the scholars specialized in the field of political science are widely consulted in the study. Generally speaking, "strategic significance" predominate the process of international education exchanges.Chapter III Experiences in International Education Exchanges are drawn from the United States of America, Japan and India. International education exchanges in America are now in the matured state after 60 years of development. When we study this issue in America, a large number of researches address the economic benefits. However, since the end of WWII, the invaluable benefits of international education exchanges to America are the activities that serve the national interests of America. American international education exchanges function as the "reaper" in attracting and maintaining the elite intellectuals from the other countries, work as the "seeding machine" in educating the future leadership of other countries, and serve as the "disseminator" in publicizing American ideology and values. Japan, as a defeated country after the WWII, rose up rapidly in 20 years since the end of WWII. The facts of Japan's participating in the international community in such a short-period of time attribute to a series of education exchanges policy put forward by Ministry of Education in Science and Culture. In 1980's, Japan made a great leap into the economic major power, trade surplus existing between Japan and America. Japanese government took this opportunity efficiently, initiating "100,000 International students by 2000". From the government to grassroots, the official organizations hold hand in hand with private enterprises and local citizens, making joint efforts in attracting the international students to study in Japan. Japan's open door policy has provoked the reform to Japanese higher education, which brought Japan into the community of the major powers in international higher education sectors. Nevertheless, the great accomplishments made by Japan are at the expensive costs, such as waste of national education resources and bankruptcy of the off-shore campus. It is worth being studied by Chinese government. If Ministry of Education in Science and Culture in Japan adopted the initiative of "100,000 International Students by 2000" in 1983, Chinese national government adopted the same program named as "120,000 International Students" in 2007. There are 20 years gap between the Japanese and Chinese government. The scenario of current China's international education exchanges resembles the situation in Japan's international education exchanges of 20 years ago. The similar political and economic situation makes the Japan's education exchanges experience valuable to Chinese government. India and China are the only two nations whose ancient civilization remains surviving after thousands of years in Asian-European continent. India and China have maintained the strategic partnership in their respective historical development. Indian international education exchanges are based on the special background. In 1850s, the United Kingdom of Great Britain took India as her colony. In the light of governance of British government, European higher education system was introduced to India domestic market against the Indian national system. The higher education in India development had developed at the cost of sacrifice of national culture till India won the national liberty in 1947. India adjusted her education system after the liberation, but at the cost of split of the country. Since the WWII, India and China's international education exchanges have development in a paralleled state. The number of overseas student originated from India and China have ranked the largest student groups in the United States of America. In the passage of 60 years since 1948, the number of Indian overseas student surpassed Chin's for only two times. Due to the Cultural Revolution in China in 1960s, India took the opportunity and became the one of the largest sending countries of overseas students. At that time China almost broke up the connection with the western world. Since 2001, India ranks the first of original countries in American international students. By the year 2008, the situation of India ranks the first and China takes the second position has remained for 8 years. The reason can be contributed to the consequences generated by Indian educational reform and its international education exchanges. The author takes the Indian education exchanges, especially the higher education, as the cases study, because Indian government is absent in inspecting the international education exchanges, lack of administration, accreditation and evaluation. As a result, "diploma mill", "canned degree" have been prevailing in Indian higher education, accelerating the "brain drain", therefore, the vicious circle restrains India from developing into "first-class higher education quality" in spite of "first-class higher education system". The lessons drawn from Indian higher education provide the virtue cases study to Chinese government. Since the scarcity of the high quality educational resources and the shortage of financial resource alert the Chinese central government reallocate the various resources efficiently, avoiding repeated usage to a less extent, the experience of the relevant countries can help us to reduce the risk and even avoid risk in China's international educational exchanges.Chapter IV Realization of Values in International Education Exchanges is exploring the various interests, the value conflicts and the feature of main value conflicts, providing the theoretical basis for Chapter VI. In this chapter, the author begins with referring to the western scholars' view point on GATS, analyzing the features and conflicts of various values both in importing and exporting countries of educational trade service, further the study in how to resolve the interests conflicts and achieve the two-wins and multi-wins. Following the arguments in the Chapter I, II, III, the author studies the promise and obstacles in the process of realizing the values in international education exchanges: the possibility and potential obstacle in accomplishing the values in knowledge and technology, culture, politics and economy.Chapter V Historical Development of China's International Education Exchanges retrieves the orientation of values in the process of education exchanges on the different political and economic background. The author briefly divides the history of education exchanges into 4 stages. The first stage is the overseas study in Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. This stage is characterized by "Western Doctrine Move Eastern Forward", "Chinese Philosophy as Substance and Western Technology as Function" and "Argument on Substance and Function", which originated from the struggling for the national survival with the spirit of national utility. The second stage is the dawn of the People's Republic of China, and Cultural Revolution. This stage is characterized by political-oriented national interests and priority to ideology, studying Soviet Union comprehensively and almost breaking up the connection with the western world. The third stage is open door to the world at an all-round level. This stage is characterized by addressing study, digesting and absorbing advanced science and technology from the foreign countries, improving national science and technology, fostering the economic development. In short, this state is highlighting the value of national rejuvenation. The fourth stage is starting from the 21^st century. The new millennium witnesses the prosperity of China's international education exchanges activities at an overwhelmingly wide stage. This stage is characterized by the high value given by the national leadership. Chinese central government has signed education exchanges agreements with most of international countries, reinforced the relationship with UNESCO, and recovered the strategic partnership with Russia. The most exciting initiative is promote the national soft power by the means of education exchanges. In 2007, "120,000 International Students Initiative" is carried forward, 25 million dollars are invested in promoting Chinese language on a world-wide level, 100 Confucian Schools, in total, will be open in the world and the number of foreigners studying Chinese is expected to reach more than 100 million. Higher Education in China is assumed new responsibility to challenge the traditional share of international education market.Chapter VI Suggestions to China's International Education Exchanges Policies put forward the developing strategies. Four major suggestions are proposed: the first suggestion is to design the educational exchanges agenda on the top-to-bottom basis, send students in accordance with the national demand and serve the national strategies. In this part, the reasons of "brain drain", "brain overflow" are explored and "brain bank" concept is put forward. The second suggestion is to address the fact that mutual benefit is based on the self-interest and serve the national peaceful development. In this part, multi-facets of interests are analyzed and "counter-balance and replicable nature of interests" concept is proposed. The third suggestion is to set up accreditation and quality assurance system, and to develop quality evaluation system. In this part, the author suggests we should learn the rule and meanwhile learn how to employ the rule. The fourth suggestion is to take various forms to promote soft power.