The changing context and increasing professionalization in higher education have ushered in challenges for liberal arts education worldwide. Situated this discourse in the context of Chinese universities, this paper explores (1) Why do we need a liberal arts education that has been accused of being elitist in the twenty first century? (2) Should…

Learner-teacher relationships have a profound impact on teaching and learning quality with many universities focusing on relationship-rich educational experiences. Engaging students as partners (SaP) has emerged as a way of enhancing learner-teacher relationships with research reporting numerous benefits and challenges. In this article, we address…

Existing academic literature on higher education in China tends to promote an argument that current norms of academic freedom and the broader intellectual-state relationship can be attributed primarily to Chinese political and cultural traditions, particularly Confucian political thought, creating a false dichotomy between 'Western' liberal…

Through a narrative analysis of 33 interviews with Vietnamese early career academics, we explore whether a Confucianist/collectivist academic context in Vietnam has a key influence on academics' identity work, within the embrace of encroaching managerialist practices. We show how these academics from 11 universities negotiated identity alignment…

In this article, we examine how the concept of world-class universities has emerged in Chinese higher education at both the sectoral and institutional level. We examine policy decisions related to creating world-class universities on China's mainland and institutional responses to these policies. We then read these policies through "cultural…

This paper delineates the rise, fall and re-emergence of "tongshi" education in Chinese higher education history, and in doing so hopes to reveal the underlying forces behind the two waves of "tongshi" education and capture their important 'Chinese' characteristics. Based on a comparative-historical examination of the Chinese…

In contrast to the continued decline of liberal arts education in the US, there has been a revived interest in liberal arts education in Asian countries in recent years. Grounded in a comprehensive understanding of the central tenets of liberal arts education in the West, this paper looks into the struggles Asian countries face in their…

Internationalisation facilitated through 'sister' relationships establishes transnational, cooperative partnerships and cultural exchanges between institutions within and between geographic locations. This case study describes the long-term sister city internationalisation partnership between two sister universities, one Chinese and one American,…

This paper is a prolegomena to discussions about a differentiated Confucian MBA curriculum. We draw upon Kant's notion of individual autonomy and our observations of practice to argue that there are three models extant for the MBA degree. One of these, that which emphasizes leadership, holds considerable potential if it develops in the context of…

In 2004 China began establishing Confucius Institutes at universities around the world with the aim of promoting Chinese language and culture. At their peak, more than 100 operated at universities in the United States. Questions surrounding Confucius Institutes have existed since they first began to proliferate, and in 2018 the federal government…

This article examines why universities need either happiness education or religion education. To discuss this study systematically, four research questions are stated. First, what are the concepts of religion and happiness? Second, what is the relation between religion and happiness? Third, why do universities need happiness education or religion…

The historical debate between a liberal orientation of university education and a university education with a more practical orientation has been reproduced by defenders and detractors of the course that is being adopted by the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Instead of resorting to a dichotomous view of these two arguments, this article…

Over the past three decades, the higher education landscape in many Asian countries has witnessed various changes, many of which have resulted from foreign influences and the interactions of local education policy discourse with neo-liberal globalisation, market forces and the demand for a market economy. This article provides nuanced insights…

By 2016, Hanban, a propaganda arm of the Chinese government, had successfully established Confucius Institutes (CIs) at 15% of the largest institutions of higher education, including some of the most prestigious institutions, and in almost every state across the United States. The authors describe in detail the extent of penetration by Hanban and…

Cultural communication is rooted in fusion: multicultural fusion requires that incoming cultures participate in various cultural activities at their place of arrival, such as cementing collaboration with local universities, reinforcing cooperation with local social groups, and strengthening collaboration with civil forces and local governments,…