A Historical Study Of The Institute Of International Education

One of the most significant characteristics of the American education is the internationalization of higher education. It is mainly reflected in the flow and convergence of intellectuals in the U.S., which greatly contributes to the leading role of U.S. in higher education and academe of the world. The internationalization of American higher education benefits from the robust enterprise of educational exchange in which the Institute of International Education is an active participant. By taking part in educational exchange activities, HE has disseminated the American culture and values to every part of the world, helping strengthening the influence of U.S. around the world. So, as a non-government organization, what kind of role has HE played in the educational exchange activities? What has it experienced during the last century and what were its characteristics? What kind of contributions has it made and how has it managed? At last, what kind of experience can we draw? This thesis studies HE with the aim to solve all those questions above.Also, this thesis uses a series of research methods including literature study, quantitative history and comparative study to examine the background in which HE was established, the development and the role of IIE, and finally its implication for our educational theory and practice.As a direct outcome of the peace movement after World War I, IIE grew up with the internationalizing of U.S. higher education. The tenet of IIE is to promote mutual understanding thus protecting the world peace. However, the idea of "peace" is actually "peace under the leadership of the U.S." which is in accordance with American culture. With such an ambition, HE has worked as an executant of U.S. diplomatic policy in the educational exchange. HE has broadened its global network and has become quite influential in the field of educational exchange. Objectively, HE has made contributions to the development of developing countries and global understanding as well as being in favor of the interest of U.S.. From its achievements, we can see that educational exchange is vital for enhancing a nation's soft power. By comparing with and borrowing experience from the development of IIE, we should lend support to the non-government organizations from various aspects including political, financial and so on, to take the potential of these organizations into full play and take the initiative in the increasingly robust enterprise of educational exchange.The innovation of this thesis is that, on the basis of knowledge about the macro policies and history of educational exchange, the author chooses a specific organization as the object for studying, makes an investigation into the background in which it was established, sorts out the clues of its development, summarizes its historical contributions, analyzes its reasons of success, and offers reference for China.