Do Returnee Faculty Promote the Internationalization of Higher Education? A Study Based on the “2014 Faculty Survey in China”

Abstract

Based on data from the “2014 Chinese University Faculty Survey,” this article analyzes the distribution characteristics and manifestations of internationalization from returnee faculty to Chinese colleges as well as their impacts on the internationalization of higher education in the three dimensions of scientific research output, teaching content and methods, and international exchanges. Compared to local teachers, returnee faculty members adjust their research output strategies to reach a higher level of internationalization. They favor publishing papers in international journals and publish fewer domestic papers and make fewer domestic patent applications. They focus on international perspectives and content in their course teaching content and methods. In terms of international exchanges, they participate in international academic conferences and travel abroad more often for advanced studies. Their experiences studying overseas accumulate their comparative advantage in the internationalization of the academic profession. Higher education institutions should make them play larger roles in promoting the internationalization of scientific research and teaching as well as international academic exchanges to improve the level of internationalization of Chinese higher education.

Keywords:

• Comparative advantage
• internationalization of higher education
• local teachers
• returnee faculty

Additional information

Funding

The research for this paper was supported by the Central University Basic Scientific Research Functional Expense Special Fund Grant (Grant No. 2017WKYXZX002); the General Program of the China National Science Foundation (Grant No. 71273101).

Notes on contributors

Yu Li

Yu Li is an assistant professor in the Center for Higher Education Research, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China.