“Glocalizing” Chinese Higher Education: Groping For Stones To Cross the River

Over two and one-half decades have passed since Deng Xiaoping proclaimed that Chinese education must face in “three directions”–toward modernization, the world, and the future. At that time leaders had yet to articulate the driving purpose of reform as the creation of a robust market integrated with the global economy. Today Chinese educators and policymakers use “globalization” rather than modernization to approximate the pedagogical and social means (including cultivating a citizenship capable of creativity, flexibility, independent thinking, and innovation) they believe will ensure China’s engagement in an international knowledge economy. In response, Chinese universities grapple with how to shape institutional frameworks that fit the social, political, economic, and intellectual contours of this evolving context. Most Chinese commentators have jumped on the globalization bandwagon, praising globalization for injecting into education a forward-looking “Olympic spirit.” Some, however, describe the impact of globalization on education more cautiously, using a Chinese proverb, “groping for stones to cross the river.” We see in this proverb an apt metaphor for the tentative searching on the part of Chinese higher education for a firm foothold in a globalizing world. The proverb also alludes to a number of contemporary metaphors for dislocation and economic change, such as diving into or crossing dangerous waters. Such images may represent the outward-looking, risk-taking, profit-seeking values associated with China’s goal of “connecting” with the world.

Our paper offers a modest response to challenges set by two comparative educators who have contributed to our understanding of education and globalization processes. First, Nelly Stromquist has asked, “How can we apply the theory and knowledge of unfolding globalization developments to create an understanding of new educational phenomena?” We begin with that application in our examination of higher education reforms in China. Second, Philip Altbach has noted that “a balanced perspective [on how globalization trends influence education] requires careful analysis of the downside– viewpoints often not articulated in the rush toward the global future.”