Understanding Chinese educational leaders' conceptions in an international education context

Abstract

This article presents the findings from an interpretative study of an Australian offshore leadership development programme conducted in China from 2002 to 2003. The study explored the conceptions of learning and leadership brought by a group of Chinese educational leaders to the course and investigated the perceived influence of the course upon their conceptions. It was a pre‐ and post‐ comparison case study, inspired by the phenomenographic approach which employed semi‐structured and in‐depth interviews of twenty participants over a 12‐month period. Comparison of their conceptions prior to and after the course indicated an expanded range of, and more complex conceptions. There was a general shift from content/utilitarian‐orientated learning conceptions to meaning/developmental‐orientated conceptions. There was also a shift from task/directive‐orientated conceptions about leadership to motivation/collaborative‐orientated conceptions. This study therefore makes a new contribution to understanding Chinese educational leaders' conceptions of learning and leadership in an international education context.

∗Ting Wang's manuscript was a finalist in the journal's 2005 graduate manuscript competition. Congratulations! For details of next year's competition, visit the journal's website or contact Michele Acker‐Hocevar at [email protected]

Notes

∗Ting Wang's manuscript was a finalist in the journal's 2005 graduate manuscript competition. Congratulations! For details of next year's competition, visit the journal's website or contact Michele Acker‐Hocevar at [email protected]

1. Programmes in which learners are located in a country other than the one in which the awarding institution is based are referred to as ‘offshore’ education in Australia and ‘transnational’ education in much of the rest of the world (UNESCO and Council of Europe, 2000).

2. While the terms ‘globalisation’ and ‘internationalisation’ are closely related (indeed, they could be seen as synonymous), some may recognise subtle distinctions between them. ‘Globalisation’ generally refers to the spread of ideas, policies and, practices across national boundaries, while ‘internationalisation’ relates to the adoption of outward‐looking perspectives, in stark contrast to ethnocentrism (Walker and Dimmock, 2000b, p.227).

3. Cross‐cultural approaches generate generalised statements about difference between cultures. The classic exemplar in the field is Hofstede's cultural frameworks (1980, 1991, 1994). Such frameworks are valuable but limited to macro and, somewhat, static views of culture.

4. In this study, X stands for Xue Xi in Chinese, which means ‘learning’. This is used in order to distinguish categories of learning conceptions from those of leadership conceptions, where L is used to stand for Ling Dao in Chinese, meaning ‘leadership’.

5. In this study, pseudonyms are used to preserve the confidentiality of the respondents. English rather than Chinese names are used for the ease of the readers who are not familiar with Chinese names. In doing so, the researcher has no intention of showing disrespect for the participants.

6. The concept of ‘team leadership’ is somewhat different from the one discussed in the Western leadership literature. The Western notion of team leadership emphasises that every one working on a team takes on leadership roles depending on their ability and skills. It is not dependent upon formal leadership structures (Gronn, 1998, 1999): The team members may not hold official positions in an organisation, while team members in Chinese leadership teams are often those who have authority and positional power.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ting Wang∗

Ting Wang is a lecturer in educational leadership in the School of Education and Community Studies at the University of Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. Email: [email protected]. She received her PhD in education from the University of Canberra in 2005, and is a former lecturer at Beijing International Studies University. Her interests include Chinese learning traditions, transnational tertiary pedagogy, and professional development of educators.