This paper contributes to the theoretical debate over a global upsurge in higher education (HE) r... more This paper contributes to the theoretical debate over a global upsurge in higher education (HE) regionalisms which pursue different region-building processes and create policy spaces beyond national boundaries. Focusing on the Nordic countries, the paper studies parallel processes of intra-Nordic and European HE and research cooperation. Although individual Nordic countries opt for different kinds of relationships with the European Union (EU), they have participated in the Europeanisation process of HE and research while intensifying their Nordic regional identity. Drawing on spatial logics in European integration and HE regionalism theories, the concept of ‘Nordic added value’ (NAV) and three Nordic flagship programmes, this paper addresses two questions: What are the links and outcomes of parallel regionalising processes of the EU-Nordic and intra-Nordic cooperation in HE and research? How has ‘Nordic added value’ been utilised to strengthen Nordic HE regionalism? The paper argues that spatial logics provide new and holistic understandings of rationales for region-building processes, whereas NAV, being a floating signifier, generates regionalising ideas and functions as a distinctive mechanism of Nordic HE regionalism. Both spatial logics and NAV render opportunities for Nordic regional imaginaries, identity-building and Nordic-EU mutual policy learning.
This paper examines the sources of authority behind the Bologna and ASEM secretariats’ technocrat... more This paper examines the sources of authority behind the Bologna and ASEM secretariats’ technocratic appearance and administrative routines, and argues that they are transnational policy actors in their own right. By drawing on principal-agent theory and the concept of ‘authority’, it offers an alternative framework for understanding the various forms of authority. The case studies generate three important insights. First, it shows how the secretariats derive their authority from the tasks delegated by states, the moral values and social purpose they uphold, and the expertise they possess. Second, it compares how the different governance structures of the Bologna and ASEM education processes impact on the secretariats’ authority. Third, it highlights how the secretariats exercise their respective authorities and exert their discernible influence at different stages of higher education policy-making and region-building processes.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has led the way in constructing the East Asian... more The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has led the way in constructing the East Asian region with China, Japan, and South Korea, and an inter-regional entity with the European Union (EU)— known as the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM). The initial aims were security and trade. Recently, however, higher education has been brought into these regionalising processes, largely as a response to the globalising of neoliberalism. The paper argues that regions are social, economic, and political constructions shaped by both material forces and cultural factors. It emphasises the importance of the latter and explains three mechanisms at work: harmonisation to build intra-ASEAN higher education cooperation; socialisation to create the ASEAN+3 region; and mutual learning to engage with the EU in shaping an ‘ASEM Education Area’. These mechanisms influence the ways in which regional actors form new conceptions of self and other, negotiate norms, and (re)construct their identities and interests, thus creating new forms of cooperation and community. Particularly, mutual learning generates the outcome of a deeper negotiation for an equal partnership between the ‘Asia’ and the ‘Europe’ in ASEM. Hence, higher education regionalism emerges as a way to reposition Southeast Asia.
Leadership and Governance in Higher Education , 2014
For centuries Vietnamese higher education has had vast experience of changing under the influence... more For centuries Vietnamese higher education has had vast experience of changing under the influence of different regimes spanning a colonial society which was transformed into a socialist society and is now a regulated market economy. Since 1986 the Communist Party of Vietnam has introduced the profound socio-economic renovation policy (known as Doi moi), which has brought about major changes in every aspect of Vietnamese society, including higher education.
Since then the country’s higher education has undergone important reforms and significant expansion.
The non-public HEIs came into existence since the 1990s as a result of Doi moi policy, while the majority of public universities were established in the 1950s and 1960s after Vietnam became independent. Using document analysis and information from semi-structured interviews, this chapter aims at giving a brief introduction into governance of Vietnamese higher education system and the current developments.
The current governance model is the results of the three higher education reforms financed by the World Bank between 1998 and 2013. Major structural changes have occurred in three policy areas concerning governance, finance, and quality in Vietnam’s higher education.
The governance reform aims at giving greater autonomy to individual HEIs and introducing measures to create a climate of competition that is supposedly promote improvement. This new form of governance requires institutional capacity and readiness in which most Vietnamese HEIs have deficiencies. The new financing model aims at ‘enhancing transparency, sustainability and effectiveness of HE sector’ in policy language, but in practice ‘sustainability’ of the sector means increase in tuition fees for students. The Bank addresses the tuition fee cap set by the government as limiting the capacity of the system to produce high quality education and research. However, for equity and access, the tuition fee cap is considered necessary. Internal and external quality assurance processes at institutional and programme levels for over 400 HEIs prove to be an extremely costly business. Given the lack of qualified evaluators and accreditors, efforts to quickly increase number of institutional self-evaluation reports and external accreditation may not improve the quality and trust. Teacher professional development and research capacity of HEIs should be given the highest priority and resources.
During the past twenty years the word ‘lifelong learning’ has become a part of the lexicon of hig... more During the past twenty years the word ‘lifelong learning’ has become a part of the lexicon of higher education language in Europe and other parts of the world. But what are the implications for institutional changes when the university sector carries out its lifelong learning mission? What challenges is the internal life of universities facing? Drawing on experiences from the Nordic countries, France, England, China and Australia, this article argues that universities can engage in lifelong learning in at least four ways: 1) train students to develop skills and attributes of lifelong learners; 2) conduct research into lifelong learning and provide knowledge for policy development and practice enhancement; 3) provide lifelong learning opportunities for non-traditional students to increase their access and improve their skills; 4) contribute to the University of the Third Age.
Today the modern Silk Road between Asia and Europe is increasingly welltravelled
in both directi... more Today the modern Silk Road between Asia and Europe is increasingly welltravelled
in both directions by students, academics and policy makers. Over the
last decade the European Union (EU) and the Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN) have been making more attempts to shape this route by
creating an educational partnership through an inter-regional forum for regional
cooperation and policy development: the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM). Beside
economic and diplomatic relations, education has been receiving increasing
attention since the 2000s and has become an important and strategic act of
cooperation by ASEM education ministers. Higher education and lifelong
learning are the main topics for the multi-level dialogues and exchanges of
ideas between the two regions. This paper describes the emergence of this new
inter-regional educational phenomenon and examines its characteristics by
analysing the case of the 10-year-old ASEM Lifelong Learning Initiative.
Furthermore, the paper argues that ASEM education cooperation carries
characteristics of a cultural and associational process, an agenda-setting process,
a policy transfer process, an instrument for intra-regional integration and
building regional identity.
Academic Freedom, Institutional Autonomy, and the Future of Democracy, 2020
Different traditions of knowledge production and variations in history, political cultures, educa... more Different traditions of knowledge production and variations in history, political cultures, educational cultures and state-university relations suggest different interpretations of academic freedom and university autonomy. This paper provides a new perspective and expands the understanding of institutional autonomy and academic freedom by analysing the practices of state interventions and the consequences of neoliberal reforms in East Asian higher education. Our analyses advance two main arguments (1) in East Asia, authoritarianism is not the only threat to institutional autonomy and academic freedom, the application of market fundamentalism in higher education reforms leads to even tougher curbs on them; (2) greater institutional autonomy may not ensure academic freedom at the individual level.
Academic Freedom, Institutional Autonomy, and the Future of Democracy, 2020
Different traditions of knowledge production and variations in history, political cultures, educa... more Different traditions of knowledge production and variations in history, political cultures, educational cultures and state-university relations suggest different interpretations of academic freedom and university autonomy. This paper provides a new perspective and expands the understanding of institutional autonomy and academic freedom by analysing the practices of state interventions and the consequences of neoliberal reforms in East Asian higher education. Our analyses advance two main arguments (1) in East Asia, authoritarianism is not the only threat to institutional autonomy and academic freedom, the application of market fundamentalism in higher education reforms leads to even tougher curbs on them; (2) greater institutional autonomy may not ensure academic freedom at the individual level.
This contribution addresses the complexity in establishing Erasmus Mundus joint master’s
programm... more This contribution addresses the complexity in establishing Erasmus Mundus joint master’s programmes between European and Asian universities. It analyses the rationales of collaboration, governance model, and sustainability of the programmes. It argues that university consortia construct a ‘third space’ where they shift the boundaries between regional, national, and institutional regulatory environments in order to sustain the partnerships and improve learning and teaching experiences.
Academic mobility can contribute greatly to Asia-Europe connectivity in various sectors. The frie... more Academic mobility can contribute greatly to Asia-Europe connectivity in various sectors. The friendship and intellectual capacity created by mobile students and scholars are the key factors to strengthen cultural, scientific, economic and diplomatic ties among ASEM countries. In order to yield such benefits of both intra-regional and inter-regional mobility, and to minimise the adverse effects, ASEM needs innovative policy solutions. This paper argues that education policy-making is value-laden in the sense that values pervade policy processes and policy contents, while values are also justifications for a policy and criteria for evaluating its implementation. Democratic equality, social mobility, and social efficiency are seen as the common values that guide education policies. Academic mobility is understood essentially as a process of individuals’ self-formation and self-cultivation, which impacts on productivity, innovation, and social transformation, including reforming and improving education systems. Academic mobility is a way to achieving social mobility that ought to yield benefits, not only for deserving individuals but also to society as a whole.
The history of Asia-Europe academic exchange and current ASEM policies demonstrate that cross-border academic mobility encompasses different political, economic, and cultural/intellectual interests at regional, national, institutional, and individual levels. This necessitates ASEM education policymakers to work across sectors and consider a variety of inter-related factors that influence patterns of academic mobility, including domestic education provision, economics, demographics, labour market requirements, and immigration policies. It is proposed that ASEM education policies should strike a balance between educational, social, and economic values of mobility to enhance Asia-Europe connectivity in the long term.
The Bologna Process increasingly prioritizes its dialogues and negotiations with regions over ind... more The Bologna Process increasingly prioritizes its dialogues and negotiations with regions over individual countries, thus expanding its outreach to a larger scale. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations - ASEAN and ASEAN+3 - which are developing collective mechanisms for regional harmonization, have become one of the strategic regions for the EU partnerships in higher education. This paper draws on policy diffusion approach in regional studies literature and a constructivist approach to policy movement and mutation in geography to examine how Bologna policies have travelled to ASEAN and transformed their features and effects in the new context. Bringing the theoretical frameworks from political science and geography into higher education studies, this paper attempts to make a novel methodological contribution. Tracing the evolution of the ASEAN regional cooperation in higher education over the last four decades and using first-hand empirical data, this paper argues that although the Bologna Process provides a point of reference for ASEAN, the active construction of an ASEAN regional higher education space in its flexible institutional design can become a model in its own right and potentially provide a useful source for reflecting on European Bologna practices.
Internationalisation of higher education with the establishment of foreign university campus onsh... more Internationalisation of higher education with the establishment of foreign university campus onshore is gaining importance. Chinese and Vietnamese higher education systems are two typical examples of this transformation, although the differences between the two countries are as great as the similarities. Cross-border university campus is a relatively new area of research, many characteristics and models of this form of education export are unexplored. Therefore, this thesis explores the internationalisation of higher education with particular focus on cross-border education in the form of foreign university campuses in China and Vietnam. The thesis addresses three main questions: 1. Why did China and Vietnam engage in internationalisation of higher education in the last decade? 2. On which parameters do the Vietnamese higher education internationalisation strategies differ from those of China given the two countries share many similarities? How can these differences be explained? 3. To what extent does the WTO/GATS Agreement influence cross-border higher education policies and practices in China and Vietnam? Through examining three case studies of foreign university campuses, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology campuses in Vietnam, the University of Nottingham Campus in Ningbo, China and the Sino- Danish Centre for Education and Research in Beijing, China, the thesis arrives at some findings as follows: - Both countries have many reasons to engage in internationalisation of their higher education. Most obviously, it is the demand for national economic growth and competitiveness. Both countries need a more qualified and skilled workforce, and new knowledge in many fields. Higher education is seen as a way to achieve these objectives, especially through international cooperation and cross-border in various forms. • In addition, academic motivations and intellectual stimulation for scholarly exchanges and quality education are also an important reason and a strong driving force for internationalisation strategies of all countries involved, especially the host countries. • It is evident that cross-border education supports mutual understanding and capacity building at both individual and organisational levels. This capacity building, especially in the case of foreign campuses, is becoming a two-way process, which signifies the improvement of educational institutions and individuals in both host and home countries. In short, though at different levels, the two host countries, China and Vietnam, are becoming partners in educational cooperation than just importers of education. • The two higher education systems have different patterns of development, different agendas and different points of departure for internationalisation. China seems to have more to offer to their partners in terms of research capacity and resources, therefore China has more equal decision making power or even takes more control over the partnerships. • Vietnam has shown considerable courage in opening its doors to foreign providers in education services. Its resolve to internationalise its higher education and training is very strong but is clearly hampered by lack of human and financial resources, and long-term strategic plan.
Since its establishment in 1996, trade and investment have been the most developed and substantiv... more Since its establishment in 1996, trade and investment have been the most developed and substantive form of ASEM cooperation. However, the vision and the purposes of ASEM go beyond economic ties. The second decade of ASEM has seen much effort of member countries invested in forging an inter-regional strategic partnership in higher education. The trajectories of this new partnership have many tales, but for the Special Edition ‘The ASEM Education Process at 10’, this article mainly focuses on these questions: ➢ Can education build ASEM? ➢ What does it mean when Asia and Europe engage in education partnership? ➢ How does the ASEM Education Process work in practice?
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is at a critical juncture caused by Washington... more The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is at a critical juncture caused by Washington’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Beijing’s support for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. As the APEC Chair in 2017, Vietnam is urging members to focus on “Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future,” renewing APEC’s agenda, and reaffirming objectives central to its development.
The EHEA’s vision by 2020 is ‘to enhance the quality and relevance of learning and teaching; to f... more The EHEA’s vision by 2020 is ‘to enhance the quality and relevance of learning and teaching; to foster the employability of graduates, to make the systems more inclusive; and to implement agreed structured reforms in all member countries’, whereas the ASEM’s vision is to create a ‘single higher education area linking Europe and Asia’ where ‘mobility of students, teachers, researchers, ideas and knowledge would be the core common goal’. Despite the differences in geographical boundaries, purposes and stages of cooperation, the two groupings share a common feature: ‘creating regions of higher education’. Over the years, these regional spaces have not only influenced policy making at the national level, but also reshaped the landscape of global higher education. This educational regionalism has changed the ways people organise places, spaces and institutions when thinking about higher education.
This paper contributes to the theoretical debate over a global upsurge in higher education (HE) r... more This paper contributes to the theoretical debate over a global upsurge in higher education (HE) regionalisms which pursue different region-building processes and create policy spaces beyond national boundaries. Focusing on the Nordic countries, the paper studies parallel processes of intra-Nordic and European HE and research cooperation. Although individual Nordic countries opt for different kinds of relationships with the European Union (EU), they have participated in the Europeanisation process of HE and research while intensifying their Nordic regional identity. Drawing on spatial logics in European integration and HE regionalism theories, the concept of ‘Nordic added value’ (NAV) and three Nordic flagship programmes, this paper addresses two questions: What are the links and outcomes of parallel regionalising processes of the EU-Nordic and intra-Nordic cooperation in HE and research? How has ‘Nordic added value’ been utilised to strengthen Nordic HE regionalism? The paper argues that spatial logics provide new and holistic understandings of rationales for region-building processes, whereas NAV, being a floating signifier, generates regionalising ideas and functions as a distinctive mechanism of Nordic HE regionalism. Both spatial logics and NAV render opportunities for Nordic regional imaginaries, identity-building and Nordic-EU mutual policy learning.
This paper examines the sources of authority behind the Bologna and ASEM secretariats’ technocrat... more This paper examines the sources of authority behind the Bologna and ASEM secretariats’ technocratic appearance and administrative routines, and argues that they are transnational policy actors in their own right. By drawing on principal-agent theory and the concept of ‘authority’, it offers an alternative framework for understanding the various forms of authority. The case studies generate three important insights. First, it shows how the secretariats derive their authority from the tasks delegated by states, the moral values and social purpose they uphold, and the expertise they possess. Second, it compares how the different governance structures of the Bologna and ASEM education processes impact on the secretariats’ authority. Third, it highlights how the secretariats exercise their respective authorities and exert their discernible influence at different stages of higher education policy-making and region-building processes.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has led the way in constructing the East Asian... more The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has led the way in constructing the East Asian region with China, Japan, and South Korea, and an inter-regional entity with the European Union (EU)— known as the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM). The initial aims were security and trade. Recently, however, higher education has been brought into these regionalising processes, largely as a response to the globalising of neoliberalism. The paper argues that regions are social, economic, and political constructions shaped by both material forces and cultural factors. It emphasises the importance of the latter and explains three mechanisms at work: harmonisation to build intra-ASEAN higher education cooperation; socialisation to create the ASEAN+3 region; and mutual learning to engage with the EU in shaping an ‘ASEM Education Area’. These mechanisms influence the ways in which regional actors form new conceptions of self and other, negotiate norms, and (re)construct their identities and interests, thus creating new forms of cooperation and community. Particularly, mutual learning generates the outcome of a deeper negotiation for an equal partnership between the ‘Asia’ and the ‘Europe’ in ASEM. Hence, higher education regionalism emerges as a way to reposition Southeast Asia.
Leadership and Governance in Higher Education , 2014
For centuries Vietnamese higher education has had vast experience of changing under the influence... more For centuries Vietnamese higher education has had vast experience of changing under the influence of different regimes spanning a colonial society which was transformed into a socialist society and is now a regulated market economy. Since 1986 the Communist Party of Vietnam has introduced the profound socio-economic renovation policy (known as Doi moi), which has brought about major changes in every aspect of Vietnamese society, including higher education.
Since then the country’s higher education has undergone important reforms and significant expansion.
The non-public HEIs came into existence since the 1990s as a result of Doi moi policy, while the majority of public universities were established in the 1950s and 1960s after Vietnam became independent. Using document analysis and information from semi-structured interviews, this chapter aims at giving a brief introduction into governance of Vietnamese higher education system and the current developments.
The current governance model is the results of the three higher education reforms financed by the World Bank between 1998 and 2013. Major structural changes have occurred in three policy areas concerning governance, finance, and quality in Vietnam’s higher education.
The governance reform aims at giving greater autonomy to individual HEIs and introducing measures to create a climate of competition that is supposedly promote improvement. This new form of governance requires institutional capacity and readiness in which most Vietnamese HEIs have deficiencies. The new financing model aims at ‘enhancing transparency, sustainability and effectiveness of HE sector’ in policy language, but in practice ‘sustainability’ of the sector means increase in tuition fees for students. The Bank addresses the tuition fee cap set by the government as limiting the capacity of the system to produce high quality education and research. However, for equity and access, the tuition fee cap is considered necessary. Internal and external quality assurance processes at institutional and programme levels for over 400 HEIs prove to be an extremely costly business. Given the lack of qualified evaluators and accreditors, efforts to quickly increase number of institutional self-evaluation reports and external accreditation may not improve the quality and trust. Teacher professional development and research capacity of HEIs should be given the highest priority and resources.
During the past twenty years the word ‘lifelong learning’ has become a part of the lexicon of hig... more During the past twenty years the word ‘lifelong learning’ has become a part of the lexicon of higher education language in Europe and other parts of the world. But what are the implications for institutional changes when the university sector carries out its lifelong learning mission? What challenges is the internal life of universities facing? Drawing on experiences from the Nordic countries, France, England, China and Australia, this article argues that universities can engage in lifelong learning in at least four ways: 1) train students to develop skills and attributes of lifelong learners; 2) conduct research into lifelong learning and provide knowledge for policy development and practice enhancement; 3) provide lifelong learning opportunities for non-traditional students to increase their access and improve their skills; 4) contribute to the University of the Third Age.
Today the modern Silk Road between Asia and Europe is increasingly welltravelled
in both directi... more Today the modern Silk Road between Asia and Europe is increasingly welltravelled
in both directions by students, academics and policy makers. Over the
last decade the European Union (EU) and the Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN) have been making more attempts to shape this route by
creating an educational partnership through an inter-regional forum for regional
cooperation and policy development: the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM). Beside
economic and diplomatic relations, education has been receiving increasing
attention since the 2000s and has become an important and strategic act of
cooperation by ASEM education ministers. Higher education and lifelong
learning are the main topics for the multi-level dialogues and exchanges of
ideas between the two regions. This paper describes the emergence of this new
inter-regional educational phenomenon and examines its characteristics by
analysing the case of the 10-year-old ASEM Lifelong Learning Initiative.
Furthermore, the paper argues that ASEM education cooperation carries
characteristics of a cultural and associational process, an agenda-setting process,
a policy transfer process, an instrument for intra-regional integration and
building regional identity.
Academic Freedom, Institutional Autonomy, and the Future of Democracy, 2020
Different traditions of knowledge production and variations in history, political cultures, educa... more Different traditions of knowledge production and variations in history, political cultures, educational cultures and state-university relations suggest different interpretations of academic freedom and university autonomy. This paper provides a new perspective and expands the understanding of institutional autonomy and academic freedom by analysing the practices of state interventions and the consequences of neoliberal reforms in East Asian higher education. Our analyses advance two main arguments (1) in East Asia, authoritarianism is not the only threat to institutional autonomy and academic freedom, the application of market fundamentalism in higher education reforms leads to even tougher curbs on them; (2) greater institutional autonomy may not ensure academic freedom at the individual level.
Academic Freedom, Institutional Autonomy, and the Future of Democracy, 2020
Different traditions of knowledge production and variations in history, political cultures, educa... more Different traditions of knowledge production and variations in history, political cultures, educational cultures and state-university relations suggest different interpretations of academic freedom and university autonomy. This paper provides a new perspective and expands the understanding of institutional autonomy and academic freedom by analysing the practices of state interventions and the consequences of neoliberal reforms in East Asian higher education. Our analyses advance two main arguments (1) in East Asia, authoritarianism is not the only threat to institutional autonomy and academic freedom, the application of market fundamentalism in higher education reforms leads to even tougher curbs on them; (2) greater institutional autonomy may not ensure academic freedom at the individual level.
This contribution addresses the complexity in establishing Erasmus Mundus joint master’s
programm... more This contribution addresses the complexity in establishing Erasmus Mundus joint master’s programmes between European and Asian universities. It analyses the rationales of collaboration, governance model, and sustainability of the programmes. It argues that university consortia construct a ‘third space’ where they shift the boundaries between regional, national, and institutional regulatory environments in order to sustain the partnerships and improve learning and teaching experiences.
Academic mobility can contribute greatly to Asia-Europe connectivity in various sectors. The frie... more Academic mobility can contribute greatly to Asia-Europe connectivity in various sectors. The friendship and intellectual capacity created by mobile students and scholars are the key factors to strengthen cultural, scientific, economic and diplomatic ties among ASEM countries. In order to yield such benefits of both intra-regional and inter-regional mobility, and to minimise the adverse effects, ASEM needs innovative policy solutions. This paper argues that education policy-making is value-laden in the sense that values pervade policy processes and policy contents, while values are also justifications for a policy and criteria for evaluating its implementation. Democratic equality, social mobility, and social efficiency are seen as the common values that guide education policies. Academic mobility is understood essentially as a process of individuals’ self-formation and self-cultivation, which impacts on productivity, innovation, and social transformation, including reforming and improving education systems. Academic mobility is a way to achieving social mobility that ought to yield benefits, not only for deserving individuals but also to society as a whole.
The history of Asia-Europe academic exchange and current ASEM policies demonstrate that cross-border academic mobility encompasses different political, economic, and cultural/intellectual interests at regional, national, institutional, and individual levels. This necessitates ASEM education policymakers to work across sectors and consider a variety of inter-related factors that influence patterns of academic mobility, including domestic education provision, economics, demographics, labour market requirements, and immigration policies. It is proposed that ASEM education policies should strike a balance between educational, social, and economic values of mobility to enhance Asia-Europe connectivity in the long term.
The Bologna Process increasingly prioritizes its dialogues and negotiations with regions over ind... more The Bologna Process increasingly prioritizes its dialogues and negotiations with regions over individual countries, thus expanding its outreach to a larger scale. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations - ASEAN and ASEAN+3 - which are developing collective mechanisms for regional harmonization, have become one of the strategic regions for the EU partnerships in higher education. This paper draws on policy diffusion approach in regional studies literature and a constructivist approach to policy movement and mutation in geography to examine how Bologna policies have travelled to ASEAN and transformed their features and effects in the new context. Bringing the theoretical frameworks from political science and geography into higher education studies, this paper attempts to make a novel methodological contribution. Tracing the evolution of the ASEAN regional cooperation in higher education over the last four decades and using first-hand empirical data, this paper argues that although the Bologna Process provides a point of reference for ASEAN, the active construction of an ASEAN regional higher education space in its flexible institutional design can become a model in its own right and potentially provide a useful source for reflecting on European Bologna practices.
Internationalisation of higher education with the establishment of foreign university campus onsh... more Internationalisation of higher education with the establishment of foreign university campus onshore is gaining importance. Chinese and Vietnamese higher education systems are two typical examples of this transformation, although the differences between the two countries are as great as the similarities. Cross-border university campus is a relatively new area of research, many characteristics and models of this form of education export are unexplored. Therefore, this thesis explores the internationalisation of higher education with particular focus on cross-border education in the form of foreign university campuses in China and Vietnam. The thesis addresses three main questions: 1. Why did China and Vietnam engage in internationalisation of higher education in the last decade? 2. On which parameters do the Vietnamese higher education internationalisation strategies differ from those of China given the two countries share many similarities? How can these differences be explained? 3. To what extent does the WTO/GATS Agreement influence cross-border higher education policies and practices in China and Vietnam? Through examining three case studies of foreign university campuses, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology campuses in Vietnam, the University of Nottingham Campus in Ningbo, China and the Sino- Danish Centre for Education and Research in Beijing, China, the thesis arrives at some findings as follows: - Both countries have many reasons to engage in internationalisation of their higher education. Most obviously, it is the demand for national economic growth and competitiveness. Both countries need a more qualified and skilled workforce, and new knowledge in many fields. Higher education is seen as a way to achieve these objectives, especially through international cooperation and cross-border in various forms. • In addition, academic motivations and intellectual stimulation for scholarly exchanges and quality education are also an important reason and a strong driving force for internationalisation strategies of all countries involved, especially the host countries. • It is evident that cross-border education supports mutual understanding and capacity building at both individual and organisational levels. This capacity building, especially in the case of foreign campuses, is becoming a two-way process, which signifies the improvement of educational institutions and individuals in both host and home countries. In short, though at different levels, the two host countries, China and Vietnam, are becoming partners in educational cooperation than just importers of education. • The two higher education systems have different patterns of development, different agendas and different points of departure for internationalisation. China seems to have more to offer to their partners in terms of research capacity and resources, therefore China has more equal decision making power or even takes more control over the partnerships. • Vietnam has shown considerable courage in opening its doors to foreign providers in education services. Its resolve to internationalise its higher education and training is very strong but is clearly hampered by lack of human and financial resources, and long-term strategic plan.
Since its establishment in 1996, trade and investment have been the most developed and substantiv... more Since its establishment in 1996, trade and investment have been the most developed and substantive form of ASEM cooperation. However, the vision and the purposes of ASEM go beyond economic ties. The second decade of ASEM has seen much effort of member countries invested in forging an inter-regional strategic partnership in higher education. The trajectories of this new partnership have many tales, but for the Special Edition ‘The ASEM Education Process at 10’, this article mainly focuses on these questions: ➢ Can education build ASEM? ➢ What does it mean when Asia and Europe engage in education partnership? ➢ How does the ASEM Education Process work in practice?
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is at a critical juncture caused by Washington... more The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is at a critical juncture caused by Washington’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Beijing’s support for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. As the APEC Chair in 2017, Vietnam is urging members to focus on “Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future,” renewing APEC’s agenda, and reaffirming objectives central to its development.
The EHEA’s vision by 2020 is ‘to enhance the quality and relevance of learning and teaching; to f... more The EHEA’s vision by 2020 is ‘to enhance the quality and relevance of learning and teaching; to foster the employability of graduates, to make the systems more inclusive; and to implement agreed structured reforms in all member countries’, whereas the ASEM’s vision is to create a ‘single higher education area linking Europe and Asia’ where ‘mobility of students, teachers, researchers, ideas and knowledge would be the core common goal’. Despite the differences in geographical boundaries, purposes and stages of cooperation, the two groupings share a common feature: ‘creating regions of higher education’. Over the years, these regional spaces have not only influenced policy making at the national level, but also reshaped the landscape of global higher education. This educational regionalism has changed the ways people organise places, spaces and institutions when thinking about higher education.
Evaluación educativa en la formación de profesores: Brasil, Colombia, Chile, España, Inglaterrra, México, Nueva Zelanda y Uruguay, 2021, págs. 137-150, 2021
This paper contributes to the theoretical debate over a global upsurge in higher education (HE) r... more This paper contributes to the theoretical debate over a global upsurge in higher education (HE) regionalisms which pursue different region-building processes and create policy spaces beyond national boundaries. Focusing on the Nordic countries, the paper studies parallel processes of intra-Nordic and European HE and research cooperation. Although individual Nordic countries opt for different kinds of relationships with the European Union (EU), they have participated in the Europeanisation process of HE and research while intensifying their Nordic regional identity. Drawing on spatial logics in European integration and HE regionalism theories, the concept of ‘Nordic added value’ (NAV) and three Nordic flagship programmes, this paper addresses two questions: What are the links and outcomes of parallel regionalising processes of the EU-Nordic and intra-Nordic cooperation in HE and research? How has ‘Nordic added value’ been utilised to strengthen Nordic HE regionalism? The paper argues that spatial logics provide new and holistic understandings of rationales for region-building processes, whereas NAV, being a floating signifier, generates regionalising ideas and functions as a distinctive mechanism of Nordic HE regionalism. Both spatial logics and NAV render opportunities for Nordic regional imaginaries, identity-building and Nordic-EU mutual policy learning.
Discourse and Communication for Sustainable Education, 2021
The article examines the complexities associated with effectively and comprehensively tackling th... more The article examines the complexities associated with effectively and comprehensively tackling the climate change crisis. Focusing on the need for education, the authors discuss a model of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) that supports the development of competencies, coalition building and the capacity to support and maintain positive action. Drawing upon principles highlighted by the United Nations, the paper outlines the breadth and depth of knowledge required to support transformative ESD. Firstly enhancing comprehensive knowledge that develops cognitive, affective and axiological dimensions and proficiency. This enhances critical engagement with information and enables individuals to act responsibly and align with others in coalition building. The second element refers to collaborative partnership that is crucial for changes to be effective. This has been one of the most challenging barriers preventing positive action on the catastrophe pf climate change. Finally, th...
During the past twenty years the word ‘lifelong learning’ has become a part of the lexicon of hig... more During the past twenty years the word ‘lifelong learning’ has become a part of the lexicon of higher education language in Europe and other parts of the world. But what are the implications for institutional changes when the university sector carries out its lifelong learning mission? What challenges is the internal life of universities facing? Drawing on experiences from the Nordic countries, France, England, China and Australia, this article argues that universities can engage in lifelong learning in at least four ways: 1) train students to develop skills and attributes of lifelong learners; 2) conduct research into lifelong learning and provide knowledge for policy development and practice enhancement; 3) provide lifelong learning opportunities for non-traditional students to increase their access and improve their skills; 4) contribute to the University of the Third Age.
Different traditions of knowledge production and variations in history, political cultures, educa... more Different traditions of knowledge production and variations in history, political cultures, educational cultures and state-university relations suggest different interpretations of academic freedom and university autonomy. This paper provides a new perspective and expands the understanding of institutional autonomy and academic freedom by analysing the practices of state interventions and the consequences of neoliberal reforms in East Asian higher education. Our analyses advance two main arguments (1) in East Asia, authoritarianism is not the only threat to institutional autonomy and academic freedom, the application of market fundamentalism in higher education reforms leads to even tougher curbs on them; (2) greater institutional autonomy may not ensure academic freedom at the individual level.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is at a critical juncture caused by Washington... more The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum is at a critical juncture caused by Washington’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Beijing’s support for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. As the APEC Chair in 2017, Vietnam is urging members to focus on “Creating New Dynamism, Fostering a Shared Future,” renewing APEC’s agenda, and reaffirming objectives central to its development.
For centuries Vietnamese higher education has had vast experience of changing under the influence... more For centuries Vietnamese higher education has had vast experience of changing under the influence of different regimes spanning a colonial society which was transformed into a socialist society and is now a regulated market economy. Since 1986 the Communist Party of Vietnam has introduced the profound socio-economic renovation policy (known as Doi moi), which has brought about major changes in every aspect of Vietnamese society, including higher education. Since then the country’s higher education has undergone important reforms and significant expansion. The non-public HEIs came into existence since the 1990s as a result of Doi moi policy, while the majority of public universities were established in the 1950s and 1960s after Vietnam became independent. Using document analysis and information from semi-structured interviews, this chapter aims at giving a brief introduction into governance of Vietnamese higher education system and the current developments. The current governance model is the results of the three higher education reforms financed by the World Bank between 1998 and 2013. Major structural changes have occurred in three policy areas concerning governance, finance, and quality in Vietnam’s higher education. The governance reform aims at giving greater autonomy to individual HEIs and introducing measures to create a climate of competition that is supposedly promote improvement. This new form of governance requires institutional capacity and readiness in which most Vietnamese HEIs have deficiencies. The new financing model aims at ‘enhancing transparency, sustainability and effectiveness of HE sector’ in policy language, but in practice ‘sustainability’ of the sector means increase in tuition fees for students. The Bank addresses the tuition fee cap set by the government as limiting the capacity of the system to produce high quality education and research. However, for equity and access, the tuition fee cap is considered necessary. Internal and external quality assurance processes at institutional and programme levels for over 400 HEIs prove to be an extremely costly business. Given the lack of qualified evaluators and accreditors, efforts to quickly increase number of institutional self-evaluation reports and external accreditation may not improve the quality and trust. Teacher professional development and research capacity of HEIs should be given the highest priority and resources.
Abstract The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has led the way in constructing the E... more Abstract The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has led the way in constructing the East Asian region with China, Japan, and South Korea, and an inter-regional entity with the European Union (EU)—known as the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM). The initial aims were security and trade. Recently, however, higher education has been brought into these regionalising processes, largely as a response to the globalising of neoliberalism. The paper argues that regions are social, economic, and political constructions shaped by both material forces and cultural factors. It emphasises the importance of the latter and explains three mechanisms at work: harmonisation to build intra-ASEAN higher education cooperation; socialisation to create the ASEAN+3 region; and mutual learning to engage with the EU in shaping an ‘ASEM Education Area’. These mechanisms influence the ways in which regional actors form new conceptions of self and other, negotiate norms, and (re)construct their identities and interests, thus creating new forms of cooperation and community. Particularly, mutual learning generates the outcome of a deeper negotiation for an equal partnership between the ‘Asia’ and the ‘Europe’ in ASEM. Hence, higher education regionalism emerges as a way to reposition Southeast Asia.
Today the modern Silk Road between Asia and Europe is increasingly well-travelled in both directi... more Today the modern Silk Road between Asia and Europe is increasingly well-travelled in both directions by students, academics and policy makers. Over the last decade the European Union (EU) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been making more attempts to shape this route by creating an educational partnership through an inter-regional forum for regional cooperation and policy development: the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM). Beside economic and diplomatic relations, education has been receiving increasing attention since the 2000s and has become an important and strategic act of cooperation by ASEM education ministers. Higher education and lifelong learning are the main topics for the multi-level dialogues and exchanges of ideas between the two regions. This paper describes the emergence of this new inter-regional educational phenomenon and examines its characteristics by analysing the case of the 10-year-old ASEM Lifelong Learning Initiative. Furthermore, the paper argues that ASEM education cooperation carries characteristics of a cultural and associational process, an agenda-setting process, a policy transfer process, an instrument for intra-regional integration and building regional identity.
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The paper argues that spatial logics provide new and holistic understandings of rationales for region-building processes, whereas NAV, being a floating signifier, generates regionalising ideas and functions as a distinctive mechanism of Nordic HE regionalism. Both spatial logics and NAV render opportunities for Nordic regional imaginaries, identity-building and Nordic-EU mutual policy learning.
Since then the country’s higher education has undergone important reforms and significant expansion.
The non-public HEIs came into existence since the 1990s as a result of Doi moi policy, while the majority of public universities were established in the 1950s and 1960s after Vietnam became independent. Using document analysis and information from semi-structured interviews, this chapter aims at giving a brief introduction into governance of Vietnamese higher education system and the current developments.
The current governance model is the results of the three higher education reforms financed by the World Bank between 1998 and 2013. Major structural changes have occurred in three policy areas concerning governance, finance, and quality in Vietnam’s higher education.
The governance reform aims at giving greater autonomy to individual HEIs and introducing measures to create a climate of competition that is supposedly promote improvement. This new form of governance requires institutional capacity and readiness in which most Vietnamese HEIs have deficiencies. The new financing model aims at ‘enhancing transparency, sustainability and effectiveness of HE sector’ in policy language, but in practice ‘sustainability’ of the sector means increase in tuition fees for students. The Bank addresses the tuition fee cap set by the government as limiting the capacity of the system to produce high quality education and research. However, for equity and access, the tuition fee cap is considered necessary. Internal and external quality assurance processes at institutional and programme levels for over 400 HEIs prove to be an extremely costly business. Given the lack of qualified evaluators and accreditors, efforts to quickly increase number of institutional self-evaluation reports and external accreditation may not improve the quality and trust. Teacher professional development and research capacity of HEIs should be given the highest priority and resources.
in both directions by students, academics and policy makers. Over the
last decade the European Union (EU) and the Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN) have been making more attempts to shape this route by
creating an educational partnership through an inter-regional forum for regional
cooperation and policy development: the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM). Beside
economic and diplomatic relations, education has been receiving increasing
attention since the 2000s and has become an important and strategic act of
cooperation by ASEM education ministers. Higher education and lifelong
learning are the main topics for the multi-level dialogues and exchanges of
ideas between the two regions. This paper describes the emergence of this new
inter-regional educational phenomenon and examines its characteristics by
analysing the case of the 10-year-old ASEM Lifelong Learning Initiative.
Furthermore, the paper argues that ASEM education cooperation carries
characteristics of a cultural and associational process, an agenda-setting process,
a policy transfer process, an instrument for intra-regional integration and
building regional identity.
programmes between European and Asian universities. It analyses the rationales of collaboration,
governance model, and sustainability of the programmes. It argues that university consortia
construct a ‘third space’ where they shift the boundaries between regional, national, and
institutional regulatory environments in order to sustain the partnerships and improve learning
and teaching experiences.
The history of Asia-Europe academic exchange and current ASEM policies demonstrate that cross-border academic mobility encompasses different political, economic, and cultural/intellectual interests at regional, national, institutional, and individual levels. This necessitates ASEM education policymakers to work across sectors and consider a variety of inter-related factors that influence patterns of academic mobility, including domestic education provision, economics, demographics, labour market requirements, and immigration policies. It is proposed that ASEM education policies should strike a balance between educational, social, and economic values of mobility to enhance Asia-Europe connectivity in the long term.
Cross-border university campus is a relatively new area of research, many characteristics and models of this form of education export are unexplored. Therefore, this thesis explores the internationalisation of higher education with particular focus on cross-border education in the form of foreign university campuses in China and Vietnam.
The thesis addresses three main questions:
1. Why did China and Vietnam engage in internationalisation of higher education in the last decade?
2. On which parameters do the Vietnamese higher education internationalisation strategies differ from those of China given the two countries share many similarities? How can these differences be explained?
3. To what extent does the WTO/GATS Agreement influence cross-border higher education policies and practices in China and Vietnam?
Through examining three case studies of foreign university campuses, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology campuses in Vietnam, the University of Nottingham Campus in Ningbo, China and the Sino- Danish Centre for Education and Research in Beijing, China, the thesis arrives at some findings as follows:
- Both countries have many reasons to engage in internationalisation of their higher education. Most obviously, it is the demand for national economic growth and competitiveness. Both countries need a more qualified and skilled workforce, and new knowledge in many fields. Higher education is seen as a way to achieve these objectives, especially through international cooperation and cross-border in various forms.
• In addition, academic motivations and intellectual stimulation for scholarly exchanges and quality education are also an important reason and a strong driving force for internationalisation strategies of all countries involved, especially the host countries.
• It is evident that cross-border education supports mutual understanding and capacity building at both individual and organisational levels. This capacity building, especially in the case of foreign campuses, is becoming a two-way process, which signifies the improvement of educational institutions and individuals in both host and home countries. In short, though at different levels, the two host countries, China and Vietnam, are becoming partners in educational cooperation than just importers of education.
• The two higher education systems have different patterns of development, different agendas and different points of departure for internationalisation. China seems to have more to offer to their partners in terms of research capacity and resources, therefore China has more equal decision making power or even takes more control over the partnerships.
• Vietnam has shown considerable courage in opening its doors to foreign providers in education services. Its resolve to internationalise its higher education and training is very strong but is clearly hampered by lack of human and financial resources, and long-term strategic plan.
➢ Can education build ASEM?
➢ What does it mean when Asia and Europe engage in education partnership?
➢ How does the ASEM Education Process work in practice?
The paper argues that spatial logics provide new and holistic understandings of rationales for region-building processes, whereas NAV, being a floating signifier, generates regionalising ideas and functions as a distinctive mechanism of Nordic HE regionalism. Both spatial logics and NAV render opportunities for Nordic regional imaginaries, identity-building and Nordic-EU mutual policy learning.
Since then the country’s higher education has undergone important reforms and significant expansion.
The non-public HEIs came into existence since the 1990s as a result of Doi moi policy, while the majority of public universities were established in the 1950s and 1960s after Vietnam became independent. Using document analysis and information from semi-structured interviews, this chapter aims at giving a brief introduction into governance of Vietnamese higher education system and the current developments.
The current governance model is the results of the three higher education reforms financed by the World Bank between 1998 and 2013. Major structural changes have occurred in three policy areas concerning governance, finance, and quality in Vietnam’s higher education.
The governance reform aims at giving greater autonomy to individual HEIs and introducing measures to create a climate of competition that is supposedly promote improvement. This new form of governance requires institutional capacity and readiness in which most Vietnamese HEIs have deficiencies. The new financing model aims at ‘enhancing transparency, sustainability and effectiveness of HE sector’ in policy language, but in practice ‘sustainability’ of the sector means increase in tuition fees for students. The Bank addresses the tuition fee cap set by the government as limiting the capacity of the system to produce high quality education and research. However, for equity and access, the tuition fee cap is considered necessary. Internal and external quality assurance processes at institutional and programme levels for over 400 HEIs prove to be an extremely costly business. Given the lack of qualified evaluators and accreditors, efforts to quickly increase number of institutional self-evaluation reports and external accreditation may not improve the quality and trust. Teacher professional development and research capacity of HEIs should be given the highest priority and resources.
in both directions by students, academics and policy makers. Over the
last decade the European Union (EU) and the Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN) have been making more attempts to shape this route by
creating an educational partnership through an inter-regional forum for regional
cooperation and policy development: the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM). Beside
economic and diplomatic relations, education has been receiving increasing
attention since the 2000s and has become an important and strategic act of
cooperation by ASEM education ministers. Higher education and lifelong
learning are the main topics for the multi-level dialogues and exchanges of
ideas between the two regions. This paper describes the emergence of this new
inter-regional educational phenomenon and examines its characteristics by
analysing the case of the 10-year-old ASEM Lifelong Learning Initiative.
Furthermore, the paper argues that ASEM education cooperation carries
characteristics of a cultural and associational process, an agenda-setting process,
a policy transfer process, an instrument for intra-regional integration and
building regional identity.
programmes between European and Asian universities. It analyses the rationales of collaboration,
governance model, and sustainability of the programmes. It argues that university consortia
construct a ‘third space’ where they shift the boundaries between regional, national, and
institutional regulatory environments in order to sustain the partnerships and improve learning
and teaching experiences.
The history of Asia-Europe academic exchange and current ASEM policies demonstrate that cross-border academic mobility encompasses different political, economic, and cultural/intellectual interests at regional, national, institutional, and individual levels. This necessitates ASEM education policymakers to work across sectors and consider a variety of inter-related factors that influence patterns of academic mobility, including domestic education provision, economics, demographics, labour market requirements, and immigration policies. It is proposed that ASEM education policies should strike a balance between educational, social, and economic values of mobility to enhance Asia-Europe connectivity in the long term.
Cross-border university campus is a relatively new area of research, many characteristics and models of this form of education export are unexplored. Therefore, this thesis explores the internationalisation of higher education with particular focus on cross-border education in the form of foreign university campuses in China and Vietnam.
The thesis addresses three main questions:
1. Why did China and Vietnam engage in internationalisation of higher education in the last decade?
2. On which parameters do the Vietnamese higher education internationalisation strategies differ from those of China given the two countries share many similarities? How can these differences be explained?
3. To what extent does the WTO/GATS Agreement influence cross-border higher education policies and practices in China and Vietnam?
Through examining three case studies of foreign university campuses, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology campuses in Vietnam, the University of Nottingham Campus in Ningbo, China and the Sino- Danish Centre for Education and Research in Beijing, China, the thesis arrives at some findings as follows:
- Both countries have many reasons to engage in internationalisation of their higher education. Most obviously, it is the demand for national economic growth and competitiveness. Both countries need a more qualified and skilled workforce, and new knowledge in many fields. Higher education is seen as a way to achieve these objectives, especially through international cooperation and cross-border in various forms.
• In addition, academic motivations and intellectual stimulation for scholarly exchanges and quality education are also an important reason and a strong driving force for internationalisation strategies of all countries involved, especially the host countries.
• It is evident that cross-border education supports mutual understanding and capacity building at both individual and organisational levels. This capacity building, especially in the case of foreign campuses, is becoming a two-way process, which signifies the improvement of educational institutions and individuals in both host and home countries. In short, though at different levels, the two host countries, China and Vietnam, are becoming partners in educational cooperation than just importers of education.
• The two higher education systems have different patterns of development, different agendas and different points of departure for internationalisation. China seems to have more to offer to their partners in terms of research capacity and resources, therefore China has more equal decision making power or even takes more control over the partnerships.
• Vietnam has shown considerable courage in opening its doors to foreign providers in education services. Its resolve to internationalise its higher education and training is very strong but is clearly hampered by lack of human and financial resources, and long-term strategic plan.
➢ Can education build ASEM?
➢ What does it mean when Asia and Europe engage in education partnership?
➢ How does the ASEM Education Process work in practice?