A Comparative Study Of American Students’ Participation In University Internal Governance

Students’ participation in university governance is not only the need and measure to improve higher education governance in the new era,but also an important trend of the reform and development of higher education in the world.Students’ participation in university governance in the United States has a long history and unique student participation practice.Therefore,the study on the status quo,characteristics and reasons of American students’ participation in governance has certain enlightenment and reference value for improving the level of Chinese students’ participation in governance.Starting with stakeholder theory,the study holds that governance is essentially an institutional arrangement that allows major stakeholders to pursue their own interests,and the needs of relevant stakeholders are met through cooperation and collaboration.From the perspective of stakeholder theory,students are active participants in university governance and play a very important role in university governance.In order to systematically and deeply grasp the participation of students in the governance of American universities,in view of the diversity of the types and levels of American universities,the research object is mainly focused on the type of research universities,with the University of California and the University of Virginia as the main entry points.From the perspective of the practice of students’ participation in internal governance,the two universities have many years of history of students’ participation in governance,always pay attention to students’ subjective status in university governance,and have their own unique practical experience in student participation in governance.Based on the discussion of the internal governance concepts of the two universities,this paper analyzes the formation,development,forms,effects and characteristics of students’participation in governance,so as to better understand the importance and necessity of students’participation in governance.The common point of student participation in governance of these two universities is that the participation of students is relatively independent,and that the participation of students is moderate in content and scope.The reason for the formation of these characteristics lies in the stable institutional guarantees in national regulations and texts,such as university statutes,student manuals,students,academic rights and obligations,which create conditions for students’ participation;In addition,the increasing awareness of student identity in society,universities and students themselves has created the motivation for students to participate in governance,and also provided a good campus environment and cultural atmosphere for students to participate.As a student-oriented place that continuously cultivates talents for the society,the modernization of university governance cannot be achieved without the participation of students.Although the specific background of Chinese and American students’ participation in governance is different,the experience of American students’ participation in governance has certain reference significance for exploring the road of students’ participation with Chinese local characteristics.First of all,in terms of system,education authorities should further improve laws and regulations to ensure students’ right to participate.Secondly,in practice,we should make efforts from multiple angles,change the governance concept,enrich the participation path,and reconstruct the student organization,so as to better play the main role of students.Moreover,from the perspective of students,universities and students themselves should pay attention to improving students’ ability and increasing students’ability to participate.