Gerard A Postiglione

The University of Hong Kong | HKU

This research pioneered the investigation of the statistically predictive power of university students’ thinking styles for their vocational identity – beyond age, sex, academic discipline, socioeconomic status, hometown locations, and institutional ranking. One thousand and seventy-two senior-year undergraduates randomly selected from nine elite u...

This study explored factors that influence academics to collaborate in research with their doctoral students. It focused on Hong Kong academics, using data from the Academic Profession in Knowledge Society survey conducted in 2017–2018. The study found that academics’ research collaboration with doctoral students is influenced by several factors, i...

The recent 40th anniversary celebrations of City University of Macau made it clear that the present is a crucial point at which to recapture the past of our university, while it can still be retrieved. This workshop provided a launching pad from which to do so. It focused primarily on the first thirty years of City University of Macau, especially i...

Amongst all jurisdictions, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China has been one of the most effective in limiting cases of COVID-19, despite being one of the first places to be affected by the pandemic in early 2020. In the months since the first case was confirmed, COVID-19 has affected all aspects of Hong Kong society, including the...

China implemented an unprecedented expansion of higher education along with excellence initiatives that propelled more universities into the global rankings. Yet, the international influence of the higher education system pales in comparison to its economy. This paper argues that governance reforms in higher education only partially address the inc...

Purpose This article provides a policy review of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) development strategies and their relevance to higher education. Design/Approach/Methods This article reviews key GBA policies adopted by the central government of China and interprets higher education cooperation policies at provincial and national levels before discussing...

For more than a century, whether or not the research-teaching nexus exists has remained an intensely debated issue in the global academy at both the conceptual and empirical levels. Situating teaching styles within the context of teaching, conceptualizing research agendas as a dimension of research, and using academic self-efficacy as a mediator, t...

Recent developments in higher education have placed greater emphasis on performance and accountability and raised concerns about increasing levels of stress among academics. Stress not only influences academic productivity but may also affect institutional commitment, which is key to guaranteeing academics’ organisational stability, identity and pe...

This research pioneered the investigation of the role of doctoral students' thinking styles in their program satisfaction and perceived intellectual competence. Participants were 285 STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) students in Hong Kong. Results showed that students' thinking styles as measured by the Thinking Styles Inventory-...

Purpose Studying abroad is not new for Hong Kong students, especially those from the middle class. For a variety of reasons, traversing to Mainland universities has been an unconventional path confined mostly to students who pursued specific programs, or had family or social ties. Beginning in 2012, an admission scheme was launched for Hong Kong s...

In the original publication of this article, the acknowledgement section was incorrectly published. The correct acknowledgement section is given below. © 2018 Education Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea

East Asian higher education is experiencing a massive growth in doctoral education with the world-class university initiatives. The growth of doctoral education in the region is remarkable especially as seen in the Chinese system which became positioned as the world’s second largest doctoral degree-granting system. Yet, there are growing issues in...

In the World Library of Educationalists series, international experts compile career-long collections of what they judge to be their finest pieces - extracts from books, key articles, salient research findings, major theoretical and practical contributions - so the world can read them in a single manageable volume. Readers will be able to follow th...

Within the context of a changing governance structure, increasing access, provision and internationalization of higher education in Hong Kong, its academic promotion practices adapted to a changing academic profession. Characterized by a high degree of institutional autonomy within a top-down hierarchy, Hong Kong’s UGC-funded higher education insti...

This book aims to explore the following issues in Hong Kong’s academic profession. How has the profile of the academic profession in Hong Kong changed? Has academic freedom become more or less important, and how has it weathered challenges to its vitality? Has research condition been improved or declined during last two decades? How has the change...

The academic profession has experienced significant changes over the past 20 years. The transition from elite to mass higher education, the prevalence of knowledge economics, the introduction of technology allowing hyper-connectivity, and the growth of international academic mobility have precipitated a global convergence of university management p...

New preferential policies in China promise to increase the number of rural students entering top-tier universities, where there is a wider path to a higher social status. While a substantial body of literature has investigated rural students’ trajectories to university, there is a dearth of systematic empirical studies on the academic success of ru...

In the World Library of Educationalists series, international experts compile career-long collections of what they judge to be their finest pieces – extracts from books, key articles, salient research findings, major theoretical and practical contributions – so the world can read them in a single manageable volume. Readers will be able to follow th...

Hong Kong's universities have been transformed by the move from elite to mass higher education, from government support to market driven finance, from academic management to professional management, from local to cross border and international outreach, from China's education bridge to China's education window, and from a colonial model of curricul...

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is a country with two systems: The mainland and the special administrative systems. Most universities are located in the Chinese mainland where there has been a rapid expansion of universities, generous funding by government, and an increased in top tier international universities. Though much smaller, the Hong...

This research investigated the statistical predictive power of organisational commitments for academics’ teaching approaches. Participants were 268 academics working in six elite universities in Beijing, mainland China. Results showed that academics’ organisational commitments as measured by the Organisational Commitment Inventory significantly pre...

The authors examine the special case of Hong Kong higher education’s institutional partnerships in the Chinese mainland. After noting the rise of cross-system university partnership in Asia, it provides a neoinstitutional perspective on the differences between the two China higher education systems. Finally, a case study of the experience of the lo...

The liberal arts and sciences have become more important to China as it diversifies its higher education system, builds world-class universities, strengthens its knowledge economy, and takes a greater role in international higher education. Yet, there is increasing debate about how China’s indigenous cultural tradition should shape a distinct Chine...

1979 was as good a time as any to be a student in the sociological study of education. Power and Ideology in Education had been in print for three years. Schooling in Capitalist America was published two years earlier. The Credential Society was in press. While writing my doctoral dissertation, I took time out to read the Sunday New York Times. The...

Thirty-five years after the launch of its economic reform and opening to the outside world, China finds itself inching closer to become the world’s largest economy (Jacques, 2009; Beardson, 2013; Telegraph, 2014).

This article provides an overview of the causal relationship between ethnicity and educational achievement. It sets educational achievement as a process in which culture is transmitted differentially and results in inequalities across ethnic and racial groups. This article summarizes key theoretical paradigms including genetic intelligence, cultura...

The Chinese state sees language as an essential determinant in ethnic minority schooling. The use of minority language as a medium of instruction is viewed as a way to increase attendance rates and strengthen socialization into a national ideology. However, the policies differ for those ethnic minorities with or without a commonly used written scri...

Data on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) are computed by the Department of National Accounts of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) based on different approaches in the light of the different features of various sectors, various expenditure structures and different data sources. GDP is a measurement of value which changes depending on changes of pr...

Throughout history, race, language and religion have divided China as much as physical terrain, political fiat and conquest. However, it is always a politically sensitive issue to identify those non-Han people as different ethnic groups. As a result, the total number of ethnic groups has never been fixed precisely in China. For example, in 1953, on...

Despite the global economic crisis, the Republic of Mongolia is determined to move ahead in restructuring its higher education system. But, Government spending on higher education is severely limited in comparison to other regional players. Also, the quality of private higher education has yet to surpass that of the public institutions. The economy...

Hong Kong's top universities have achieved considerable success in the rankings and are recognized for their quality. This article examines the reasons for Hong Kong's success, and compares Hong Kong with mainland China. Among the themes discussed are good governance, internationalization, high academic salaries, and others.

A key factor in internationalizing any university is the academics who work there. This article notes that analyzes the attitudes of the academic profession and notes that most academics are not very internationally minded. Results from two international studies are used for this analysis.

This study examines the differential patterns of school success of rural students as a result of China’s market transition. The process dimension, how families from different social backgrounds within rural society get involved in rural schooling and how this contributes to the inequality of school success within rural society, is investigated. The...

This chapter explores the development of mass higher education in Hong Kong and discusses at policy agendas forpost-massified higher education. Hong Kong has experienced the rapid expansion of higher education during last three decades and the government has developed several policy strategies to respond the increasing demands. For example, in addi...

This chapter addresses the policy issue of how to improve the transition from school to university of an increasing number of students in developing countries in Asia. Based on data about rising enrollments in higher education, the paper identifies ways to improve the alignment between schools and universities in a manner that will maintain an effi...

This book discusses mass higher education development in East Asian countries by means of three main issues: the strategy for higher education development; the way professors and students in the region are experiencing the rapid developments; and the challenges imposed by mass higher education. These challenges include the quality of education as w...

This book discusses mass higher education development in East Asian countries by means of three main issues: the strategy for higher education development; the way professors and students in the region are experiencing the rapid developments; and the challenges imposed by mass higher education. These challenges include the quality of education as w...

With its easy-to-use format, this book provides a collection of annual data on China’s 56 ethnic groups. It is a resource book that profiles the demography, employment and wages, livelihood, agriculture, industry, education, science and technology, culture, sports, and public health for each of these ethnic groups. This material, which is compiled...

The search continues for a Chinese research university model that can balance quality and quantity in research and teaching. This paper argues that finding one depends upon deepening internationalization, defining educational sovereignty, and expanding university autonomy. The paper does this by examining selected aspects in the development of the...

This study aims to compare congeniality and research productivity across higher education systems and examine the impact of congeniality on research productivity. Most of the literature has grouped influential factors into two broad categories: Individual-level characteristics and institutional features. This study covers both levels. It conceptual...

p>China’s newest reform of the gaokao will split the exam into two modes, one aiming at technically inclined students and the other at the traditionally academically oriented students. Six hundred local level colleges are asked to restructure their teaching programs from academic education to applied technology and professional education. Success o...

The remote, sparsely populated, and harsh environment of Tibet plateau further complicates educational reform in this frontier region. In their chapter, Gerard Postiglione, Ben Jiao, Li Xiaoliang, and Tsamla survey the challenges associated with popularizing basic education in the nomadic regions of Tibet. Drawing on fieldwork in remote Nakchu and...

Deeply informed by Western scholarship on multicultural education, Postiglione argues that China is at a crucial turning point as the rapid pace of economic and social reforms opens up new divisions and ethnic tensions within Chinese society. He puts forward two possible directions: the sort of plural monoculturalism discussed by Amartya Sen or a m...

While university presidents sometimes write books about their own universities, academics usually steer clear due to the risk of compromising their neutrality. The risk is more onerous in my case, due to being among the longest serving members of my University.

To what extent has globalization of knowledge and the world’s economy over the past decade reshaped the academic profession into a more internationalized one? This chapter compares the responses of faculty in ten nations to similar items on an international survey in 1992 and 2007 as well analyzing differences in the 2007 responses of faculty at di...

Gedruckte Ausg. im Verlag Jenior, Kassel, erschienen.

International competition drives research universities to find ways to anchor globalization for academic productivity and innovation through cross-border collaboration. This article examines the case of pre- and post-colonial Hong Kong and how its universities transited from undergraduate institutions to highly ranked research universities within 3...

University league tables and policies aimed at world-class standing are adopted in promoting excellence in universities both at a national and an institutional level. With a focus on the research productivity of academics, the connection between research productivity and university policies such as personnel policy and funding allocation has been r...

China’s Hong Kong has the highest concentration of world-class universities, which makes it an interesting case place for examining the main issue in this volume. While the Hong Kong government has no specific policy aimed at establishing world-class universities, all universities are public with the lone exception of one recently established priva...

China’s Hong Kong has the highest concentration of world-class universities, which makes it an interesting case place for examining the main issue in this volume. While the Hong Kong government has no specific policy aimed at establishing world-class universities, all universities are public with the lone exception of one recently established priva...

This study was to ascertain the validity of Sternberg's theory of mental self-government for Tibetan ethnic minority university students and to compare the thinking styles of Tibetan students with those of the Han Chinese majority students. Participants were 408 Tibetan students and 920 Han Chinese students. Furthermore, focus group interviews were...

This research examines the challenges and accomplishments of popularizing basic education in; nomadic regions of Tibetan Autonomous Region. The article provides a background and case study of Nyerong county in northern Tibet. The authors note the rapid progress but also point out that there needs to be more of a focus on improving the learning envi...

This paper presents a perspective on the capacity of colleges and universities during past and present economic shocks. The main argument is that the environment of the global recession—an Asia far more economically integrated than during past economic shocks, with more unified aspirations to be globally competitive and socially responsible—no long...

Education is a strategic component for accelerating Tibet's development. Yet attendance rates still lag behind the rest of China. Data gathered in villages of two counties is used to examine how home, school and community factors affect school participation. It is argued that despite the abolition of school fees and the provision of boarding school...

This chapter introduces selected preferences and perceptions of Hong Kong’s academic profession about university governance. We identify a double-edged feature of university governance in Hong Kong. On the one hand, there is an increasingly top-down pattern of management. This is reflected in the perceptions of academic staff about their low level...

National borders are becoming less relevant in the delivery of higher education. At the same time, the nature of cross-border sharing in higher education is changing. Across East Asia, international collaborations among higher education institutions have diversified in the purposes for which they are undertaken, as have the nature and design of the...

Despite globalization’s perceived effect as weakening the state and making borders more permeable, it may be too early to dismiss the reality of a world system that differentiates social systems on the basis of their distance from global power centers. As the chapters by William Cummings and Ruth Hayhoe make clear, not only are the knowledge system...

This book examines issues that have emerged as higher education systems and individual institutions across East Asia confront and adapt to the changing economic, social, and educational environments in which they now operate. The focus is on how higher education systems learn from one another and the ways that higher education institutions collabor...

Since 1999, China began to move from elite to mass higher education. During the rapid expansion in the last decade, two-to-three-year higher vocational colleges (HVCs) have played an indispensable role in achieving mass higher education objective by providing higher education opportunities for roughly half of all college students in the country. In...

This book examines issues that have emerged as higher education systems and individual institutions across East Asia confront and adapt to the changing economic, social, and educational environments in which they now operate. The book' s focus is on how higher education systems learn from each other and on the ways in which they collaborate to addr...

Bibl.

With an ethnic minority population of over 100 million, China uses a variety of preferential treatment policies in education to maintain national unity. However, ethnic pluralism has become more salient as market forces lead to increased interethnic contact and competition for jobs. Despite the national education campaign to build a harmonious soci...

This paper examines the representation of ethnic minorities in China through a review of campus newspapers, a major print medium in which universities exercise power over the discourse of cultural recognition. Three universities attended by minority students were selected. A two-dimensional mode (content and configuration) is established to analyze...