The discourse regarding globalisation and particularly 'global competition' has appeared in a range of socio-economic areas and higher education is no exception. Global competition has been the policy context in which a range of national excellence initiatives have been developed. These have often involved competitive processes with significant…

Developing a clear and applicable mission statement is essential for business schools to obtain AACSB accreditation, and it is also a core embodiment of their ability to achieve sustained excellence. By the end of 2023, a total of 48 business schools in mainland China have been accredited by AACSB, which has a positive modelling effect on the…

Academic leadership is considered a key factor in university and research institute development. In a competitive environment, the role of academic leadership has become increasingly important. At present, China is committed to building world-class universities and advanced research institutes, while academic leadership is one of the key factors.…

Writing groups have been implemented in higher education institutions in the US, UK and Australia as a means of supporting a writer's productivity (e.g., journal articles or book chapters) as well as developing their soft academic skills (e.g., collegiality). However, writing groups are seldom discussed in the Japanese context. Therefore, this…

This study investigates China's international student recruitment strategy and policies as a dimension of its present approach of using higher education internationalisation for soft power and image enhancement. An exploratory survey of international graduate students in English instruction programmes in education-related majors in three Chinese…

This paper explores how English universities operating in a "quasi-market" are managing the tension between two policy expectations: the first that they should encourage social mobility by widening the social base of their student population; the second that they should compete with other universities to attract students and thereby…

Academic achievement is regarded an indicator of the success of individuals, schools, universities and countries. 'Success' is typically measured using performance indicators such as test results, completion rates and other objective measures. By contrast, in this article we explore students' subjective understandings and constructions of success,…

This study explores responses to rankings from a group of staff working as education partnership facilitators for a professional intermediary organisation, the British Council. The study adopts an activity systems perspective from which to view the contexts in which rankings are encountered and the range of practices used to reduce tensions…

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to ascertain students' perceptions on quality of services provided by private universities in Thailand and Japan and how these affected decisions selecting a university. A comparative study aims to focus on how cultural and economic factors affected their decisions. Design/methodology/approach: Research design…