Study On Positioning The Development Of Higher Education Institutions Based On Ecological Theory

The basic connotation, existing problems, and future development for positioning the development of higher education institutions of China were studied through analysis on the structure and function of ecosystem of higher education. As the main body of higher education, higher education institutions should dedicate their efforts in providing services not only for sustainable development of higher education, but also for the progress of social, economic and natural ecosystems. Therefore, the strategic positioning of higher education institutions is of great significance for sustainable development of higher education.Firstly, the positioning of higher education institutions and the relationships between higher education and social-economic-natural sustainability were discussed from the perspectives in theory of ecology and sustainable development. Based on analysis of ecosystem structure, the similarities and differences between natural and higher education ecosystems were examined in an attempt to reveal the functional characteristics of ecosystem of higher education, which is a system featuring ecological succession, regional regime, complexity, stability, self-adaptation, and taking human as the core.Secondly, the ecological principles for accomplishing the sustainable development of society and economy were listed and discussed in the paper, which lay the foundation for further analysis on the structure and function of higher education ecosystem.Lastly, the principles and methods of ecology were used to analyze the present problems confronting strategic positioning of higher education institutions in China, such as role dislocation, structural singularity, functional imbalance, and abnormal size expansion. Then, the basic ecological principles, including integrity, balance between structure and function, connection of diversity and stability, and co-opetition, were applied in studying the positioning of higher education institutions, which provides the theoretic bases for the sustainable development of higher education in China.