China's universities:
Are they congenial to a
changing academic profession?
May 1, 2012
• Main drivers
• Evolution of China’s universities
• The changing academy
Drivers
• 33 years of R&O
– Prioritizing economic development
• Global economic competition
– Role of S&T
• Deepening participation in
global community
Changing Drivers of Growth Toward 2050
Low Cost Labor
Drives Growth
1985
Low Cost Capital
Drives Growth
1995
Source: DeWoskin and Stevenson, April 2005.
Low Cost IP
Drives Growth
2005+
4
Drivers (domestic)
• Market of demands
– Knowledge and skills
– Status culture
– State control/social harmony
• Soft skills
• Demography
System evolution
•
•
•
•
•
•
2 million students in 1990
30 million now
2020 – 40%
2050 – 50%
Private universities, about 15 percent of enrollments.
Over three hundred independent colleges, enrolling about
400,000 undergraduates
Evolution
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Elite > mass & WCUs
Consolidation
Governance and finance
Specialized > comprehensive
Selection (exam reform and interviews)
Curriculum
Internationalization
Experimentation
Difficulties
•
•
•
•
•
•
Access & equity
Student engagement
Over administration/governance
Grad unemployment
Attracting returnees
Campus culture
Creating an innovative nation
MEDIUM-TO-LONG TERM
EDUCATION REFORM
PLAN
Strategic
Innovation
Triangle
15 YEAR
MEDIUM-TO-LONG TERM
S&T PLAN 2006-2020
MEDIUM-TO-LONG
TERM TALENT
DEVELOPMENT PLAN
11
2020?
?
 World’s second in scientific publications
• World’s share 1999
– (4.4% in 1999 to 10.2% in 2008)
• Heavy in engineering subjects
– including nanotechnology
%GDP on R&D
•
•
•
•
0.6% in 1995
1.3% in 2005
1.44% in 2007
2.5% by 2020
 Growth of about 20% per year
Rising but…..
• Lion’s share of research funding goes to
flagships universities
• Share of citations
– 4% compared to 30% for US
– 6th in world rankings.
The changing academy
• Academic profession
– with Chinese characteristics
• Expansion - attracting the best
• Culture of the academy
Difficulties
•
•
•
•
•
Salaries
Access
“guanxi” system
Weakness of professional organizations
Tiers and talent flows
– Flow of academic talent to Beijing&Shanghai
The academic profession -- reforms
• Beida
– Addressing: deadwood & inbreeding
– Up or out
– International recruitment
The Second International Survey
Code
Name
GDP/per,
$,2008
GDP/per
rank
Code
Name
GDP/pe
r,$,2008
GDP/per
rank
AR
Argentina
8214
14
AU
Australia
47400
3
BR
Brazil
8197
15
CA
Canada
45428
5
CH
China
3315
18
DE
Finland
51989
2
HK
Hong
Kong
30755
10
FI
44660
6
KR
Korea
19504
12
IT
Italy
38996
8
MY
Malaysia
8140
16
JP
Japan
38559
9
MX
Mexico
10234
13
NO
Norway
95061
1
ZA
South
Africa
5693
17
PT
22997
11
Germany
Portugal
UK
UK
43785
7
US
USA
46859
4
Total samples:24,652
GDP/per capita, gross participation ratio in higher edu., 2008
GDP/per capita,2008,1000USD
100
80
60
30.755
40
20
3.315
0
N O FI
AU U S
CA
DE UK
IT
JP
HK
PT
KR
M X AR
BR
M Y ZA
CH
gros s participation ratio in higher edu.,%,2008
100
80
60
34
40
23
20
0
KR
FI
US
AU
NO
AR
IT
JP
UK
PT
HK
BR
MY MX CH
ZA
DE
CA
Mainland China Higher Education System
Region
31 provinces- 6 regions. 11 provinces in 6 regions are sampled (1/3).
Institutions among 1,867 RHEIs, 691 public full-time 4-year degree level.
among 691: 105 to central, 586 to local. 691 are the target group.
70 institutions (1/10) are stratified sampled by region & affiliation 1:6.
Faculty
1,075,989 (1 million) in 1,867 RHEIs.
603,236 (0.6 million) in 691 P-RHEIs. 0.6 M are the target group.
Structure
of samples
each institution: 60 scholars in 5 disciplines, rank, gender, age……
60 members×70 institutions = 4200 faculty members
Response
Respondents: 3618 of 68 institutions. rate: 86%
Funding
Ford Foundation and HKU
Mainland
Team
H.Shen, Y.Zhou, Y.Zhang, X.M.Zhang, Y.T.Jia, Z.Y.Gu, J.Liu, and
10 Ph.D & Master students, School of Edu., HUST,Wuhan China
Age
30 & below
over 60
31-40
41-50
51-60
60
50
40
30
31
26
20
10
0
AR BR MX ZA MY CH HK KR JP CA US DE IT NO FI PT UK AU
Academic degrees, un-weighted
Terminal degree as doctor,%,un-weighted
doctor
post-doc
100
80
60
40
20
0
AR BR MX ZA MY CH HK KR JP
CA US DE IT
NO FI
PT UK AU
China survey: structure of terminal degrees
China survey: structure of terminal degress,%
60
49
46.3
50
40
26.3
30
26.4
23
17.5
20
7.3
10
4.4
0
all
central
bachelor
master
doctor
local
post-doc
Findings: Top tier/bottom tier
Research Collaboration: Institutional
100
90
78
80
74
62
60
44
Lower 10%
39
40
33
31
20
0
CH
Institutional collaboration
HK
Top 10%
JP
KR
International Research Collaboration
Top tier/bottom tier
100
86
80
Top 10%
60
51
49
38
40
33
20
12
9
8
0
CH
HK
JP
KR
Lower 10%
Perceptions on research and social
responsibility Top Tier/bottom tier
(% of agreement)
100
91
81
84
80
80
69
60
71
58
53
Top 10%
Lower 10%
40
20
0
CH
100
80
60
40
20
0
HK
Social responsibility
JP
KR
Institutional culture: Top tier/bottom tier
80
65
60
64
58
55
54
51
50
47
Top 10%
40
Lower 10%
20
0
CH
HK
JP
Academic freedom
KR
Comparison: Research Activities
HK
CH
a.
49
3
b.
86
28
• Source: CAP 2007
a. Co-authored with colleagues in other countries,
c: Published in a foreign country
Time for student consultation
* Source: CAP 2007 Survey
Mainland
China
Hong Kong
661(21%)
272(42%)
Perception on Teaching
At your institution there are adequate
training courses for enhancing teaching
quality
* Source: CAP 2007 Survey
Mainland China
Hong Kong
898(29%)
307(40%)
Teaching Activities
Mainland China
Hong Kong
Learning in projects/project
groups
834(26%)
458(60%)
Development of course
material
866(27%)
597(78%)
* Source: CAP 2007 Survey
Country
Mass higher Model
education
CHINA
Emergent
State driven
USA
Mature
Market
driven
Congeniality
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Career perspective (B5[4])
Commitment to the profession (D5[5])
Job strain (D5[6])
Job Satisfaction (B6)
Working conditions (B7)
Restrictions (D6[1&2])
Academic freedom (E5)
Organizational culture E4 (2,4,6)
Table 1: Self-Reported Research Productivity (Hong Kong, Mainland China, & the United States)
Country
N
Mean
S.D.
F
df
Scholarly books you authored or co-authored
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
1826
676
1043
.85HH
.48H
.23
2.08
1.01
.56
52.98***
2,3542
Scholarly books you edited or co-edited
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
1826
676
1043
.84HH
.44H
.23
1.82
.85
.92
62.60***
2,3542
Articles published in an academic book or journal
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
1826
676
1043
8.54H
9.55H
4.30
10.15
12.55
7.38
78.12***
2,3542
Research report/monograph written for a funded
project
China
Hong Kong
U.S
1826
676
1043
1.43
1.61
1.21
4.23
3.00
3.69
2.32
2,3542
Paper presented at a scholarly conference
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
1826
676
1043
2.58
7.50HH
5.69H
4.87
9.86
11.18
105.79***
2,3542
Professional article written for a newspaper or
magazine
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
1826
676
1043
.97
2.25H
1.49
5.00
8.35
15.99
4.09*
2,3542
Patent secured on a process or invention
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
1826
676
1043
.30H
.19
7.67E-02
1.19
1.10
.53
15.60***
2,3542
Computer program written for public use
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
1826
676
1043
.33HH
8.14E-02
.10
1.64
.53
.55
16.68***
2,3542
Artistic work performed or exhibited
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
1826
676
1043
.13
.24
1.73HH
1.60
1.43
16.39
11.30***
2,3542
Video or film produced
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
1826
676
1043
6.96E-02
.12
.15
1.66
.61
1.13
1.31
2,3542
Others
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
1826
676
1043
5.64E-02
.63H
.87H
.84
8.70
6.57
8.71***
2,3542
Notes: HH = Research productivity is higher than that of two other system; H = Research productivity is higher than that of one other system; * p<.05; ***p<.001.
Congeniality
• US academics report higher levels than China
• HK academics fall between China&US on most
Research productivity (D4)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Books authored
Books edited
Articles in journals/books
Funded research report
Conference papers
Newspaper/mag. articles
•
•
•
•
•
Patents on inventions
Computer programs
Artistic works
Videos or films
Other
Results (self-reported productivity)
• China academics report higher levels than USA
– Except conference paper + artistic works
•
HK academics report higher levels than both
–
on Articles, research reports, conference papers & newspaper/magazine articles
Table 2: Perceived Congeniality of Work Environment (Hong Kong, Mainland China, & the United States)
Country
N
Mean
S.D.
F
df
This is a poor time for any young person to begin an
academic career in my field
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
3403
787
1146
2.86
3.00C
3.53CC
1.25
1.38
1.23
123.28***
2,5333
If I had it to do over again, I would not become an
academic
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
3416
793
1144
3.69
3.78
4.18CC
1.35
1.23
1.10
61.12***
2,5350
My job is a source of considerable personal strain
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
3436
788
1146
2.41
2.84C
3.06CC
1.17
1.22
1.24
142.76***
2,5367
How would you rate your overall satisfaction with
your current job?
China
Hong Kong
U.S
3515
800
1146
2.47
2.35C
2.31C
.73
.94
.97
18.87***
2,5458
Working conditions in higher education
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
3565
799
1146
2.29CC
3.22
2.82C
1.04
1.14
1.03
308.23***
2,5507
Restrictions on the publication of results from my
publicly-funded research have increased since my
first appointment
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
2620
651
495
3.17
3.54C
3.75CC
1.28
1.22
1.22
57.34***
2,3763
Restrictions on the publication of results from my
privately-funded research have increased since my
first appointment
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
2436
618
452
3.32
3.59C
3.71C
1.24
1.06
1.20
28.37***
2,3503
Good communication between management and
academics
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
3339
775
1127
3.04CC
3.34
3.21
1.24
1.18
1.18
23.60***
2,5238
Collegiality in decision-making processes
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
3287
766
1122
2.95CC
3.26
3.09C
1.23
1.06
1.09
24.45***
2,5172
A cumbersome administrative process
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
3289
766
1120
2.41C
2.20
2.35C
1.18
1.01
1.16
10.04***
2,5172
The administration supports academic freedom
China
Hong Kong
U.S.
3344
780
1110
2.50
2.51
2.37CC
1.15
1.04
1.02
5.97**
2,5231
Notes: CC = Perceived level of congeniality is higher than that of two other systems; C = Perceived level of congeniality is higher than that of one other system; **p<.01; ***p<.001.
• China
Significant results
Congeniality > Productivity
– job satisfaction (positive)
– Increased restrictions on publication of results from publically
funded projects (negative)
• USA
– Poor time for a young academic to begin a career (Negative)
• Hong Kong
–
–
–
–
Job satisfaction (positive)
Collegiality (negative)
Poor time for a young academic (negative)
Increased restrictions on publication of results from publically
funded projects (negative)
Conclusion
• Evolution continues
• Strong areas:
– Traditions
– Talent pool
– Ascending research productivity
• Weak:
– System differentiation
– Lack of research doctorates/overseas returnees
– Governance for creative learning and open access
Thank you
謝謝
Congeniality > Productivity
• job satisfaction
– (positive) CHINA&US
• Increased restrictions on publication of
results from publically funded projects
– (negative) CHINA&HK
• Poor time for young academic to begin career
– (Negative) HK&US
• Collegiality
– (negative) HK
Table 3: Predicting Research Productivity from Perceived Congeniality
(N Mainland China = 1,862; N Hong Kong = 676; N U.S. = 1043)
Research Productivity
China
R2
.02
F
10.34***
7.74***
DfL
2, 1338
4, 552
.10***
.13**
-
-
.12**
-
-.15***
-
β restrictions_publicly
β collegiality
β satisfaction
β poor time
Notes:
L
-.06*
-
Hong Kong
U.S.
.05
.02
-.11*
5.36*
1,356
-.12*
= Listwise cases exclusion was used;
restrictions_publicly = restrictions on the publication of results from my publicly-funded research have increased since my
first appointment;
collegiality = collegiality in decision-making processes;
satisfaction = how would you rate your overall satisfaction with your current job;
poor time = this is a poor time for any young person to begin an academic career in my field;
*=p.<.05; **=p<.01; ***=p<.001.
国际研究合作
你是否与国际同事合作？
International Research Collaboration
Do you collaborate with international colleagues?
Percent
AR
AU
CH
FI
DE
HK
IT
JP
MY
NO
UK
US
Total
47
59
13
70
58
60
59
24
32
67
61
31
45
AR=阿根廷，AU=澳大利亚，CH=中国，FI=芬兰，DE=丹麦，IT=意大利，
JP=日本，MY=马来西亚，NO=挪威，UK=英国，US=美国
过去三年你的著作在国外发表的比例是多少？
国际发表著作情况
International Publications
Which percentage of your publications in the last three years were coauthored with colleagues
located in other countries?
AR
AU
CH
FI
DE
HK
IT
JP
MY
NO
UK
US
Total
9.8
20.3
1.1
25.2
39.5
21.3
14.7
10.0
7.6
26.8
27.4
5.6
15.0
0.0
6.0
0.0
10.0
30.0
10.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
20.0
20.0
0.0
0.0
Arithmetic
Mean
Median
AR=阿根廷，AU=澳大利亚，CH=中国，FI=芬兰，DE=丹麦，IT=意大利，
JP=日本，MY=马来西亚，NO=挪威，UK=英国，US=美国
过去三年你的著作在国外发表的比例是多少？
国际发表著作情况
International Publications
Which percentage of your publications in the last three years were published in another
country?
Hong Kong Ranks #1
AR
AU
CH
FI
DE
HK
IT
JP
MY
NO
UK
US
Total
32.2
45.3
11.7
58.4
61.0
77.9
46.3
25.8
21.2
62.2
37.3
7.6
38.6
10.0
39.0
0.0
70.0
70.0
95.0
40.0
0.0
0.0
75.0
30.0
0.0
20.0
Arithmetic
Mean
Median
香港位居第一
在现在（或过去）一个学年之中，
你的研究经费来自国际组织/团体
额外资助的比例是多少？
来自国际组织/团体的额外资助
External Funding from
International organizations/entities
In the current (or previous) academic year, which percentage of the external funding for your research
came from International organizations/entities?
AR
AU
CH
FI
DE
HK
IT
JP
MY
NO
UK
US
Total
6.7
14.0
4.3
27.3
14.2
4.5
17.1
0.9
5.8
19.7
48.3
63.1
16.3
0.0
0.0
0.0
10.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
10.0
42.5
100.0
0.0
Arithmetic
Mean
Median
在你的课程中，你会强调国际视野或内容
教学的国际化
五分法：1=“非常同意”到5=“非常不同
Internationalization in Teaching
In your courses you emphasize international perspectives or content
[ 5 point scale: 1=“Strongly agree” to 5=“Strongly Disagree”]
Hong Kong Ranks #1
Percentage
AR
AU
CH
FI
DE
HK
IT
JP
MY
NO
UK
US
TOTAL
58
68
67
51
65
72
61
51
60
68
66
53
62
2.3
2,1
2.1
2.5
2.2
2.1
2.3
2.5
2.3
2.2
2.2
2.5
2.3
(responses 1 & 2)
Arithmetic Mean
香港位居第一
现在，你教过的毕业生来自世界各地
五分法：1=“非常同意”到5=“非常不同
教学国际化
Internationalization in Teaching
Currently, most of your graduate students are international
[ 5 point scale: 1=“Strongly agree” to 5=“Strongly Disagree”]
Percentage
AR
AU
CH
FI
DE
HK
IT
JP
MY
NO
UK
US
TOTAL
4
25
10
8
6
14
2
8
11
10
31
6
10
4,4
3.5
4.4
4.3
4.4
3.9
4.6
4.4
4.1
4.3
3.2
4.3
4.2
(responses 1 & 2)
Arithmetic Mean