The reviving academic profession in China: The case of Zhejiang Shu Ren University.

摘要

One of the fastest growing and most important parts of the Chinese higher education system is the revival of nongovernmental (minban) institutions of postsecondary education after almost a 30 year freeze from the early 1950s to the early 1980s. Throughout China's history, education is generally regarded for public good and the government is responsible for education though private education always existed in history before 1950. The long tradition of Confucianism values knowledge for knowledge's sake because it is regarded as wealth of the nation. These social visions are increasingly under assault by market-driven mechanisms and economic reforms. Chinese higher education is no longer an elite education, but going toward mass education. The resurgence of private higher education is the result of the growing demand for higher education as the nation's economic reforms continue to unfold. This dissertation focuses on the faculty at one of the most important of these new institutions, Zhejiang Shu Ren University (Shu Ren). This is the first in-depth and detailed study of the faculty at a private institution in China with a qualitative research methodology. We have seen some studies on Chinese private higher education in general, but none of these have discussed the related issues in details. This study is of special importance because of the central role a faculty plays in any higher education institution. The detailed discussion on the faculty with the data from the 32 interviews has revealed that the newly revived academics are a group of academics with high motivation for teaching and research but with low qualifications due to historical reasons. Interviewees' views on the institutional changes---consolidation and upgrading, working environment, teaching and research, academic freedom are analyzed in great details. The research found that the institutional changes are positive for Shu Ren as a private institution. They are also a motivation for faculty to study for higher degrees and to engage in research. However, the short history of Chinese private higher education has been marked with heavy regulations and control by the government. The private institution's preoccupation to copy and emulate the public system has made it unlikely for the private higher education to break new grounds for innovation thus leading to institutional isomorphism.