An Internationally Comparative Study On Transnational Education

Transnational education (TNE) refers to a variety of cross-border education programs or services, in which the learners are based in a country different from the country where the certificate-awarding institution is based. TNE activities not only occur in the field of higher education but also can be oriented towards primary and secondary schools and even kindergartens, but most activities take place in the former, and thus transnational higher education and TNE are basically synonymous. The research subject of this study is transnational higher education, but the term TNE is adopted throughout the dissertation (unless quoting others' research).TNE can be traced back to mid-19th century when The University of London External System, which has been oriented towards off-campus students, conducted overseas examinations in British colonies. However, with the deepening of the globalization process, the rapid development of information and communication technology, the arrival of the era of knowledge economy and lifelong learning, and especially with the intrusion into education territories of for-profit education institutions, companies, professional bodies etc, and also with the emergence of virtual classrooms and web classrooms characteristic of cross-border expansion, TNE has entered a new phase of accelerated development. Another important background for the rise of TNE is that national competition has increasingly shifted from the political and military arenas to competition based on comprehensive strength with economy as the core. The economic function of education—providing high-quality labor force so as to enhance national economic competitiveness—has put into shade the traditional social function of education, and education has demonstrated more attributes of commodities. Particularly in the field of higher education, education commercialization, privatization, and marketization has become a global trend. TNE has been developing against this background of various borders in education increasingly getting blurred.In China, TNE exists mainly in the form of Sino-foreign joint education ventures. Since such joint programs appeared in mid-1980s, Sino-foreign cooperation in operating joint education programs has undergone 3 stages of development: an initiation stage from mid-1980s to mid-1990s; a rapid development stage from mid 1990s to early 21st century; a stage of stable development with normative regulation after the promulgation of "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Chinese-foreign Co-operation in Running Schools" in 2003 and "Implementing Measures of Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Chinese-foreign Co-operation in Running Schools" in 2004. On the one hand, TNE meets consumers' demand for higher education, and plays a certain role in introducing new curriculum and course content and making Chinese higher education more diverse and flexible. On the other hand, fake and cheating TNE institutions come into China together with reliable institutions, seriously affecting the reputation of TNE and the interest of students. Therefore, enhancing the study on the phenomenon of TNE no doubt has practical significance to China.Based on literature review and materials combing, and combining China's practice, this study extracts three interrelated research questions:1) How should the State treat and regulate TNE?2) How should local governments treat, regulate, and attract TNE?3) How should institutions treat, manage, attract and implement TNE?As a popular Chinese saying goes: Know yourself and know the other party, and then you will not be imperiled in any battle. Australia, the UK, the United States, Germany and France are the world's leading exporters of higher education, and also the major source countries from which foreign partner institutions come. A thorough examination on the TNE export of these countries constitutes the first part of the dissertation body. After a detailed analysis on the historical background, status quo, and unique features and characteristics of TNE development in the above-mentioned countries, this study summarizes three models of TNE export:1) Anglo-Australian model: active governmental promotion, aggressive institutions, large scale, relatively good reputation, still having potential for development;2) US model: no governmental promotion, institutions making their own decisions, large in absolute scale but small in proportionate scale, uneven reputation, having great potential for development;3) Germany-France model: initiating governmental promotion, institutions beginning to act, small scale, good reputation, great potentialThe experiences of other TNE importing countries undoubtedly serve a more direct reference function for China. Following the analysis of TNE exporting countries, this study then takes as research subjects Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, which forms four major TNE destination areas together with China, and the Middle East, which is emerging as another hot spot for TNE provision. An in-depth analysis is conducted on the measures these regions have adopted in introducing foreign education, to raise the local higher education capacity, the science and technology level, and economic competitiveness, and even to shift from pure education importing to having both imports and exports, and to become regional education centers. Their enterprising spirit and various innovations, such as Singapore's attracting world-class universities, Hong Kong's consumer-oriented regulation, Malaysia's twinning programs, Dubai's setting up a Free Trade Zone for a cluster of foreign higher education institutions (HEIs), and Qatar Education City's attracting top US universities to set up branch campuses, give us many inspirations. Summing up the practice of TNE importing countries, we can find the following common features:1) Legislate to allow the operation of private HEIs, and regulate TNE with the same legal framework regulating private higher education;2) Compete to become regional education hubs;3) Favour the branch campus model;4) Special Education Zones with a concentrated cluster of foreign education institutions, such as Dubai International Academic City, Qatar Education City, have begun to emerge, and by neibouring research and development sectors, knowledge-based industries, such zones serve as demonstration areas of dynamic and innovative knowledge-based economy.Following respective country studies, this paper goes deeper into the core issues of TNE—sovereignty, external quality assurance, models, and national regulation. After combing concepts of sovereignty and educational sovereignty, and analyzing the potential impact of General Agreement on Trade in Services on the opening of education market, this paper proposes that we had better not get involved in such ideological concepts as sovereignty, but pay more attention to practical problems such as quality assurance and consumer protection. The exploration into external quality assurance mechanisms for TNE takes the biggest space of this dissertation. After a detailed introduction to the two most mature quality assurance mechanisms—the US higher education accreditation system, and the European higher education quality assurance system, this study conducts a review and evaluation on the initiatives and measures concerning TNE external quality assurance at three levels: international organizations, education exporting countries, education importing countries, and draws their common features:1) Quality has become the focal point of TNE;2) The basic requirement on the quality of TNE is to achieve the same level as in the source country;3) It is necessary to consider the local economic, social, cultural, and linguistic environments, and to make proper modifications and adaptations to the TNE curriculum, in order to meet the needs of students and the local community;4) The external quality assurance of TNE is mainly implemented by national quality assurance agencies and international professional bodies, with cooperation and competition coexisting.As for TNE models, this study summarizes the current development status and characteristics of the following models: branch campuses, foreign-backed universities, franchised and twinning programs, corporate universities, virtual and distance education. In the aspect of national macro-management, this study first analyzes the complex relationships of government, society, and educational institutions in TNE, and the TNE management by exporting and importing countries, and then proposes that China should hold an open attitude towards foreign TNE programs, protect the interest of consumers and prevent the entering of institutions not recognized in their home countries. In addition, local areas and HEIs should be allowed to practice and innovate in TNE, to elevate the academic standards through various forms of cooperative education programs, to make China's higher education system draw on others' strong points and better meet the needs of students and the state.Upon completion of country studies and the study on the core issues of TNE, the paper turns its focus back to China, and uses concrete cases to explore TNE practice at both local area and institutional levels. The five case studies concerning improving the local and institutional competitiveness through introducing foreign institutions or programs are as follows:A Special Education Zone exclusively for Sino-foreign joint education institutions—The Nanjing Xianlin International Higher Education Park; A university raising its overall level through comprehensive Sino-foreign joint education ventures—the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology; A foreign university branch campus—the University of Nottingham Ningbo, China;A successful Sino-foreign joint school under a Chinese university—Sydney Instituteof Language and Business, Shanghai University;A successful Sino-foreign joint program—Wenzhou Medical College Sino-US jointPhD program in optometry.In the concluding part of this thesis, the author quotes Karl Popper's open society theory, and proposes that the government should hold a more open attitude towards education, and give local areas and HEIs the autonomy in Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools; quotes Steven N. S. Cheung's local competition theory, and proposes that the local governments should vigorously attract foreign educational resources, and support local HEIs' cooperation with foreign universities; quotes university competition theory, and proposes that HEIs should actively carry out various education cooperation projects in order to enhance their strength and competitiveness. In summary, the author maintains that we should uphold a multi-cultural attitude, welcome the entry of foreign education with an open mind, and strive to make China's education, science and technology enter the top rank through absorption, and integration. And eventually, we have to create high quality knowledge and cultural products and make contributions to the world proportionate to China's population size.