Call for chapters: TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATION EXPORTS AND IMPORTS

TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATION EXPORTS AND IMPORTS
THE SEARCH FOR THE CHINESE EL DORADO
Eds. Fred Dervin (University of Helsinki), Xiangyun Du (Aalborg University) & Zhao Ke (SHUFE)

Deadline for abstracts: 20th November 2017
Volume to be published by Palgrave Macmillan in the Palgrave Studies on Chinese Education in a Global Perspective (Eds. Dervin/Du)

It has become a truism to say that education is now a global business. It is marketised, sold and consumed across borders, in multifaceted forms. Like most countries around the world, China has witnessed education as an import and, increasingly, an export sector. Through her driving growth, China is engaging in selling and buying knowledge-based products and services, sending and attracting students, and setting up international branches locally and internationally.

Some examples:
– More than half a million Chinese students study abroad every year. In Australia, for instance, Chinese students accounted for 27% of all Australian education export earnings in 2016.
– At home, Chinese universities are hiring foreign expects and attracting an increasing number of international students. In 2015, there were 397,635 international students from 202 countries and regions (in comparison to 100,000 in 2004). They studied in a wide range of geographic areas within China: for example, in 2015 31 provinces and regions received international students, the top three being Beijing, Shanghai and Zhejiang provinces (MOE, 2016). China is also involved in franchising, twinning degrees activities as well as programme articulations and branch campuses.
– China’s so-called soft-power diplomacy has also led to the creation of culture and language schools and Confucius Institutes around the world. These institutions contribute highly to exporting and importing many and varied forms of education.
– The first overseas university founded by a Chinese university was founded in the capital of Laos by Soochow University in 2011. International Economy and Trade, International Finance but also Chinese and Computer Science and are offered at the satellite campus. Xiamen University Malaysia opened its doors in 2016 in Kuala Lumpur, offering bachelor degree courses in Chinese studies, journalism, digital media technology, Traditional Chinese Medicine, amongst others. This was the first overseas branch of a top tier Chinese university. One of the best Chinese universities, Peking University, is opening a branch of its HSBC Business School in Oxford in 2017, having bought Foxcombe Hall in the city.
– Finally, math textbooks imported from Shanghai will be used in the UK in 2017. According to the managing director for Collins Learning, the education division of HarperCollins, “they’re producing content that is of a fantastically high quality.” Real Shanghai Mathematics consists of a Teacher Guide, Textbook and Pupil Practice Book for each Year (1-6). It “emphasises complete mastery of basic numeracy knowledge and skills to allow vastly accelerated progression through to advanced numeracy”. The British government has allocated $71-million to train teachers in the methods used in Chinese schools.

For this volume, potential authors may submit a proposal about the following issues – or other relevant issues related to education exports and imports to and from China:
-Policy analysis related to transnational education exports/imports
-Success and/or failure of transnational education exports/imports (concrete impact, who benefits?, hidden agendas)
-Impact on individuals, knowledge, locality and any other relevant aspects
-Intercultural and identity aspects of transnational education exports/imports
-Social justice, equality and equity issues in transnational education exports/imports
-Languages in transnational education exports/imports (learning and use, hierarchies, etc.)
-Transnational education exports/imports beyond the classroom (parents, larger community, involvement of the business world)
-The use of ICT in transnational education exports/imports.
-Critical reflection on student and teacher experiences
-Critical studies on pedagogy and curriculum issues in educational exports and imports
– Employability and sustainability of education exports and imports.

Deadlines
Abstract of proposed chapter (300 words): 20th November 2017
Full chapters to be submitted: 15th March 2018
Authors are invited to submit a 300-word proposal (including a few lines about the author(s)) in English to both editors ([log in to unmask], [log in to unmask], [log in to unmask]) – please no pdf!
The proposals should clearly explain the theoretical positioning and concerns of the proposed chapter, and include a short description of data (where applicable). A basic bibliography may also be added.