Upcoming seminar

Students’ Motivation and Learning Experience in Higher Education

Time: 10:00 to 12:00 noon.
Date: May.4th (Sat.), 2024
Mode: by zoom
Speaker: KONG Sinying, ZHOU Xinyuan, WU Tong, WANG Liangyu, LIANG Dongqin (The University of Hong Kong)
Chair: Prof. Jisun Jung (The University of Hong Kong)
Moderator: OWYONG Xinzi (The University of Hong Kong)
Registration Link: https://hku.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcuc–vqjojHNE_cCT4XwMXp90MnCXwdSAg

Book Talk: Student Engagement across Pacific Asia: Steps toward a shared framework

Time: 4:00pm-5:15pm, (HKT)
Date: 8 May, 2024
Mode: by Zoom
Speaker: Prof. Luke K. Fryer (The University of Hong Kong), Lily M. Zeng (The University of Hong Kong), Porf. Ronnel B. King (Chinese University of Hong Kong).
Discussant: Angela Yung-chi Hou (National Chengchi University)
Chair: Prof. Hugo Horta (The University of Hong Kong)
Registration link: https://hku.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwsdOuupjoiEtE0XPRYJf20jf9WevsKxDT5

Abstract:

This newly published edited book, Student Engagement across Pacific Asia: Steps toward a shared framework, is a first step toward building bridges between Pacific Asian universities that are destined to be part of this future. The overarching aim is to support the region’s universities in learning from each other, rather than exclusively relying on Western sources of innovation with regard to teaching and learning. Asia has a strong mixture of longstanding and vibrant new institutions, many of which are taking progressive approaches to supporting learning in their institutions. However, without some form of shared measurement of the impact of these initiatives, opportunities to learn from each other’s failures and successes are missed. This edited volume is a first step toward a shared understanding of student engagement across Pacific Asian Universities at two grain sizes: Degree Program and University. It therefore not only seeks to bridge universities but also bridge two siloed means of explaining the university learning experience. These two theoretical approaches to understanding the student experience were until recently separated by the Atlantic, with American approaches to quality assurance focusing on student attrition and engagement, and European approaches focusing on the quality of learning environments in courses and degree experiences. Following contextual validation, correlational and difference testing results present how students in universities from the Philippines to Japan experience higher education. Two commentaries each provide a unique perspective on the institutional and national findings presented, suggesting both critical convergences and gaps exposed by the transnational work. The book is concluded by a summary of the findings and the laying out of future directions for building on the efforts presented herein. This book is just the beginning of a longer discussion that needs to be had if the Pacific Asia’s leadership in higher education is to have international impact.

About the Speakers and Discussant:

Luke K. Fryer is an associate professor, within Hong Kong University’s faculty of education. He is an assistant director of the university’s Teaching and Learning Innovation Centre. 
Lily M. Zeng is an assistant professor in the Teaching and Learning Innovation Centre in the University of Hong Kong.
Ronnel B. King Ronnel King is an associate professor at the Faculty of Education, Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Discussant: Angela Yung-chi Hou, is Professor of Higher Education at National Chengchi University, Taiwan. Currently, she serves as Associate Dean of College of Education, National Chengchi University, as well as Executive Director of Higher Education Evaluation & Accreditation Council of Taiwan.

Book Launch: Building a Better Normal: Visions of Schools of Education in a Post-Pandemic World (Emerald Publishing)

Date: 13 May, 2024
Time: 4:00 pm – 5:15 pm (HKT)
Mode: Online (via ZOOM)
Speaker (in order of agenda):
Marian Mahat, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Nadine Petersen, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Sinikka Neuhaus, Lund University, Sweden
Jim Watterston, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Priya Goel, The University of Hong Kong
Smridhi Marwah, The University of Auckland
Jonathon Simmons, The University of Connecticut
Bairbre Redmond, Universitas 21 Former Provost

Abstract

This edited volume features contributions from over 20 education scholars from 12 higher education institutions, mostly affiliated with the Universitas 21 (U21) global network. Drawing on case studies and narrative reflections, contributors offer crucial insights that can guide higher education and schools of education on structural and conceptual shifts in approaches to leadership, research, teaching, learning, and student and staff well-being. This volume can be accessed and purchased at this Emerald Publishing Book link. The webinar will feature sharings from several contributors to this volume, including a former provost, education deans, faculty, and a doctoral student. The contributors will also engage in a lively Q&A session with the audience.

Speaker (in order of agenda):
Marian Mahat, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Nadine Petersen, University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Sinikka Neuhaus, Lund University, Sweden
Jim Watterston, The University of Melbourne, Australia
Priya Goel, The University of Hong Kong
Smridhi Marwah, The University of Auckland
Jonathon Simmons, The University of Connecticut
Bairbre Redmond, Universitas 21 Former Provost

Knowledge – The Most Important and Least Considered Object of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

Time: 4:00pm-5:00pm, (HKT)
Date: 14 May, 2024
Mode: by Zoom
Speaker: Prof. Paul Ashwin (Lancaster University)
Chair: Prof. Juuso Henrik (The University of Hong Kong)
Registration link: https://hku.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYpfuurqDoiHtcrZeD4Vv_pz8PsMjr4JEFS

Abstract

In this seminar, I will argue that studies of teaching and learning in higher education all too frequently fail to consider the role of knowledge in educational processes. This occurs regardless of the island of higher education research that they inhabit. This means we get discussion of student-centredness, student engagement, or student identities without any sense of how all of these processes are shaped by the knowledge to which students are seeking to gain access. This occurs for both  methodological and conceptual reasons but is ironic given higher education’s primary role as a steward of knowledge for societies. I will argue that without an understanding of knowledge it is not possible to understand what it means to educate students. 

About the Speaker

Paul Ashwin is Professor of Higher Education, Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University. He is Deputy Director of the Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE) and leads the Centre’s Graduate Experiences of Employability and Knowledge project, which is examining the experiences of graduates of chemistry and chemical engineering in England, South Africa and the United States. His book, ‘Transforming University Education: A Manifesto’ (2020), argues for a focus on the educational, rather than economic, purposes of university degrees in order to understand their transformational impact on students and societies. He is also the lead author on Reflective Teaching in Higher Education (2015, 2020) written by an international team to support the development of research-informed university teaching.

Relational pedagogies in higher education

Date: 20th May, 2024 (Monday)
Time: 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. (GMT+8)
Mode: Online (via ZOOM)
Speaker: Dr. Karen Gravett (University of Surrey)
Chair: Professor Juuso Nieminen (The University of Hong Kong)

Abstract

Relational pedagogies involve thinking about relationships, connections and care in higher education. Thinking about connections is not a new idea. But what is new are the pressures upon forging connections in universities. There is a plentiful literature on the difficulties of academic life where institutions have been described as environments that are both uncaring and unhealthy. Educators are also still grappling with the impacts of the Covid pandemic, with increasing workloads, as well as engaging with new questions regarding how artificial intelligence will reorientate engagement. This session explores how we engage in meaningful connections with others. In this seminar I engage theoretical approaches, for example posthumanism, affect theory and sociomaterial concepts, to think about relational connections in new ways. I explore how thinking with theory offers us different starting points for education that positions the teacher or student as entangled within a web of relations, that includes nonhuman others, spaces and things. I suggest that thinking in new ways about relationality and connection enables us to ask different questions, and to notice our students, institutions and learning spaces anew.

About the Speaker

Dr. Karen Gravett is Associate Professor and Director of Research at the Surrey Institute of Education at the University of Surrey, UK, where her research focuses on the theory-practice of higher education, and explores the areas of student engagement, belonging, and relational pedagogies. She is Director of the Language, Literacies and Learning research group, a member of the SRHE Governing Council, and a member of the editorial board for Teaching in Higher Education, and Learning, Media and Technology. She is also a a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA) and an Honorary Associate Professor for the Centre for Assessment and Digital Learning (CRADLE) at Deakin Unversity. Karen’s work has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Society for Research in Higher Education, the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education, the British Association for Applied Linguistics, and the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Her latest books are: Gravett, K. (2023). Relational Pedagogies: Connections and Mattering in Higher Education, and Kinchin, I. M. and Gravett, K. (2022). Dominant Discourses in Higher Education.

Registration Form: https://hku.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUufuGvpzIqEte88OsMRHnLsgE2U6UQ5hNo

Revival of “internationalization” in mainland Chinese universities with Christian roots? Historical and empirical inquiries in overseas experienced talent recruitment

Date: 29th May, 2024 (Wednesday)
Time: 4:00 p.m. – 5:20 p.m. (GMT+8)
Mode: Online (via ZOOM)
Speaker: Dr. Hantian Wu (Zhejiang University)
Chair: Professor Hugo Horta (The University of Hong Kong)

Abstract

Internationalization has been a priority in mainland China’s higher education development for the past two decades, and recruiting overseas returnees has become a strategic approach to facilitate it. Such practices have deep historical roots that predate 1949, especially in Christian universities established by foreign missionaries. Pre-1949 Christian universities in China, such as St. John’s University in Shanghai and Soochow University in Jiangsu Province, were considered “world-class universities with Chinese characteristics” (Perry & Tu, 2020, p.35). Given that recruiting scholars with foreign credentials has become a crucial strategy for improving Chinese higher education, this research adopts historical and empirical approaches to examine the histories and current situations of two case institutions related to this matter. It focuses on answering the main research question: How do the historical roots of the case institutions influence their current internationalization practices, and what are the effects and reasons?

Based on theoretical perspectives related to higher education internationalization and indigenization (e.g., Lingard and Rizvi, 1998; Wu and Zha, 2018), an intrinsic case study, which maintains the research interest in the case itself (Stake, 2005), has been conducted for two Chinese institutions, East China Normal University and Soochow University, and their respective predecessors (i.e., St. John’s University and Christian Soochow [Dongwu] University). Data were collected through historical files, policy documents, interviews, and observations. By examining these two universities with pre-1949 Christian roots, the research intends to identify successful historical experiences with talent recruitment and current challenges and problems with the overseas experienced talent recruitment strategy concerning higher education internationalization. Findings from historical analysis and fieldwork reveal that the role of the current wave of talented overseas returnees has not been fully operative in mainland China’s higher education development for institutional and macro-level reasons, such as utilitarianism and an unhealthy academic culture, which dominate academic communities at the local level and beyond. It highlights that the marginalization of overseas returnees can hinder both substantive international research collaborations and the development of students’ intercultural communication skills, and suggests that further research on mainland China’s academic culture and its historical roots is necessary.

About the Speaker

Dr. Hantian Wu is a professor (tenure-track) and doctoral supervisor at the College of Education, Zhejiang University. He is also the deputy head of the Department of Educational Studies and the deputy director of the university’s Office of Global Engagement. He received his doctoral degree from OISE, University of Toronto, under the supervision of Prof. Ruth Hayhoe, and his master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Institute of Higher Education, East China Normal University. His research focuses on comparative and international higher education, higher education internationalization and indigenization, transnational academic mobility, and academic knowledge production in a global context. His research on these topics has been published in Higher Education, Studies in Higher Education, and the Journal of Studies in International Education, as well as some prestigious Chinese journals.

Registration Form: https://hku.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAude6pqzssHdfrv_7euAxphDhKYbfCGzNd

Academic Exchanges and Sino-American Relations: Canary in Coal Mine, Bellwether of Change, or Bridge over Troubled Waters?

Abstract

This talk aims to explore the role played by academic exchanges in Sino-American relations since the former undertook the monumental decision to reform and open-up. In particular, it aims to interrogate the extent to which academic exchanges, educational partnerships, and joint initiatives are a) victims and beneficiaries from both headwinds and improvement in bilateral relations, b) predictable indicators of changes to come in other, non-education spheres, and c) possible grounds or bases for constructive remedies to frayed Sino-American relations. Drawing upon a combination of social scientific, educational, and philosophical literature on the matter, the author makes the claim that at times when Sino-American macro relations are steadily improving, academic exchanges are both direct beneficiaries and facilitators of closer relations. At times when such relations begin to deteriorate, education exchanges – whilst immune – would inevitably become politicised, albeit with a time lag (and hence are ill-suited to be the ‘bellwethers’ of change). Last but not least, the space for leveraging such exchanges to mend bilateral relations does exist, but the maneuvering room is more limited and finite than most would like it to be.

Date: 3rd June, 2024 (Monday)
Time: Start from 3:00 p.m. (GMT+8)
Mode: Hybrid (via ZOOM)
Venue: TBC
Speaker: Dr. Brian Wong (The University of Hong Kong)
Chair: Professor Gerard A. Postiglione (The University of Hong Kong)

About the speaker

Dr. Brian Wong is an Assistant Professor in Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong. His research examines intersection of geopolitics, political and moral philosophy, and technology, with particular interests in the ethics and dynamics of authoritarian regimes and their foreign policies, responding to historical and colonial injustices, and the impact of automation on labour and human societies.

Registration Form

https://hku.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eguFgJ4YRv1iB3U

香港大學世紀之問 —— 改革開放初期與內地交流的人和事

HKU in the Early Days of Reform and Opening-up 

Jamil Salmi (ed.) (2023). Transforming Lives at the Institutional Level: Equity Promotion Initiatives Across the World

In the ever-evolving landscape of global education, the quest for equitable access to quality higher education remains a pressing challenge. Across the world, countless children and young individuals confront daunting circumstances that impede their educational opportunities due to factors such as race, gender, socioeconomic background, and geographical origin. This particularly affects those in developing countries and marginalized groups globally. To address this issue, promoting inclusivity and pluralism within higher education institutions has become an imperative driven by the principles of social justice and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Throughout Transforming Lives at the Institutional Level: Equity Promotion Initiatives Across the World, readers will gain profound insights into various equity-focused initiatives. From integrating low-income students into university cultures and implementing student aid programs to promoting balanced regional selection and supporting students with disabilities, the case studies offer a wealth of knowledge and good practices. They delve into affirmative action, indigenous inclusion, coaching programs, and many more initiatives aimed at improving access for underrepresented groups. This volume underscores the importance of comprehensive equity promotion policies that encompass financial and nonmonetary aspects. It emphasizes the need for coordination between national and institutional actions, with an equal focus on both access and completion. Long-term perspectives and well-established information systems are essential in effectively addressing equity gaps and measuring progress.

Editor
Jamil Salmi, Global Tertiary Education Expert, Emeritus Professor of Higher Education Policy at Diego Portales University, Chile

Gerard A. Postiglione, Christopher J. Johnstone, & Wesley R. Teter (eds.) (2023). HANDBOOK OF EDUCATION POLICY A New Direction for EU Foreign Policy?

Edited by Gerard A. Postiglione (Professor Emeritus, Honorary Professor, The University of Hong Kong), Christopher J. Johnstone (Associate Professor, University of Minnesota, US) and Wesley R. Teter (Research Fellow, Center for Advanced School Education and Evidence Based Research, University of Tokyo, Japan)

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

‘The new Handbook of Education Policy edited by Postiglione, Johnstone and Teter is a welcome addition to the academic literature on the transformation of education policy in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 22 chapters of this well-researched book give a comprehensive analysis of how education policy must adapt to a radically changed world. Through a skilful combination of thematic pieces and case studies from a large range of countries, the chapter authors challenge us to embrace new education policy concepts, such as public value governance and knowledge democratization, that can foster innovation and accountability in times of uncertainty. Gerard Postiglione, Christopher Johnstone, and Wesley Teter should be congratulated for this excellent scholarly contribution that has the potential of influencing policy makers all over the world to design and implement more sustainable and innovative education policies.’
– Jamil Salmi, Diego Portales University, Chile
‘This Handbook combines an up-to-date overview with theoretically-informed analysis of global education policies. It is erudite, insightful and original. It will be a vital resource for education policy researchers and an excellent starting point for students, in any location.’
– Stephen Ball, University College London, UK

This insightful Handbook is an essential guide to educational policy around the world. As shifting geopolitics, intensified climate change, and widening economic inequalities persist, the need for informed educational policy is critical.

Bringing together a unique collection of international case studies by scholars and practitioners from over twenty countries, the Handbook highlights how the contextual nature of educational policy and its implementation acknowledges both global trends and local nuance. Chapters explore key contemporary topics including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on international educational policy; opportunities for academic modernization in Ukrainian society; gender equality in Korean and Japanese universities; and inclusive education policies throughout the developing world, including India, South Africa, and Uruguay. It further discusses the ways in which governmental, non-governmental, and global education specialists are shaping new agendas focused on equity and responding to global crises.

Offering new perspectives on educational policy in a post-pandemic world, this comprehensive Handbook will be crucial reading for students and scholars of education policy, politics and public policy, sociology, and university management. It will also be beneficial for educational research associations and international development agencies, including UNESCO, the Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank.

Click here to access further details about the book.

Book review: Below is the book review for the “Handbook of Education Policy.” You can click on the image to view the full book review or simply click here to explore the book review in more detail.

Tilak, J. B. (2023). Book review: Gerard Postiglione, Christopher J. Johnstone, and Wesley R. Teter (Eds.), Handbook of Education Policy.