Transnational Professional Development for Chinese University Leaders: Case Studies from China and Finland

Abstract

Globalization exacerbates motilities of ideas, people, and technologies. China is reforming her education in terms of equality, equity, and quality by learning from others. Professional development, especially overseas training, is a prime strategy used by the Chinese government to develop leadership capacities of university presidents. An overseas training project was launched in 2012 to address this issue: Dispatching 1000 university leaders from Chinese central and western regions for overseas training (2012–2016) (MOE 2012). Finland, a small Nordic country, was chosen as one destination due to its relevance to Chinese regional university transformation. This study explores Chinese university leaders’ (CULs) experiences of transnational professional development (TPD) in the Finnish context. The aim is to investigate CULs’ reflections and usefulness of TPD and their perceptions of effective TPD. Two different Finnish training programs (FTPs) for CULs are included in the study: one took place in 2014 in China and one in 2015 in Finland, respectively. Data collection methods include interviews, learning reports, and minutes of summary meetings after completing these trainings. Data is analyzed by thematic analysis. Taken together, CULs have critical reflections of FTPs. They were positively surprised by discourses on principles of the Finnish education system; education and learning environments. Meanwhile, they saw challenges in Finnish education in terms of balancing ‘equality and marketization’ in Finnish higher education and insufficient resources. Nevertheless, they notified the context differences when applying the Finnish experience in China. CULs, thereby, identified four key features of ETPD: contents, methods, formats, and social aspects. The findings imply that TPD can play a positive role in enhancing CULs’ leadership capacities. Such form of people nobilities has practical implications for training institutions to develop programs in transnational contexts, for both Chinese and Finnish policymakers. Future study is needed to examine long-term impact of TPD and how to build qualified TPD.

Strand selected: Mobilities of People