Gender, Popular Music, and Music Learning in China’s Shanghai

This study focused on the collective music experiences and practices of students’ involvement with Western and non-Western popular music in Shanghai. Data were gathered through a survey questionnaire given to 1,739 Shanghai students (802 females and 937 males attending Grades 7 through 12), supplemented by semi-structured interview data from a subset (50 females and 10 males attending Grades 7 through 12) of these participants. Statistical and qualitative analyses indicated that gender and preferences for popular music can impact some aspects of individual experiences and attitudes toward learning popular music in school. The implicit premise of this study was what classroom pedagogy and cultural change might reveal from the participation of music education in the continued production and reproduction of gendered music practices in the contemporary music classroom. Though further research may be necessary, the immediate implications of the present study are important for understanding the impact of cultural and racial identity formation of gender and music practices in the contemporary world

Bilingual preschool education: a comparative study between Hong Kong and Shanghai

Global and local factors have recently pushed English-Chinese bilingualism to the forefront of early childhood education in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Signaling new sociolinguístic alignments, each city is pursuing language policies according to its own political and economic imperatives. Using Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) ecological system's theory as a framework for analysis, this research study examines the contextual layers that shape the linguistic environments of the two cities, focusing on the macrosystem’s forces of globalization, the exosystem’s social networks, the mesosystem's institutions and human players, the microsystem's schools and homes, and the chronosystem’s biology, acknowledging all factors that affect child development. In the hope of providing better strategies and interventions for developing second language learning, it looks at the stakeholders' attitudes towards, beliefs about, and expectations of English, as well as at parental involvement in children’s English education, perceptions about NETs (native English-speaking teachers), and curriculum implementation. Quantitative and qualitative data collected (from four schools in each city and a total of 438 respondents) through questionnaires, interviews and archival documents are then triangulated to identify differences and similarities between the two cities. The results show that English is universally promoted for its economic benefits, both to individuals and society. The form of preschool bilingualism advocated by the governments of Hong Kong and Shanghai, however, is unduly influenced by political and nationalist considerations. This has lead in Shanghai to conceptualizations of bilingualism that allow only for the acquisition of English without its attendant cultural and philosophical dimensions. In Hong Kong, the government's attempt to arbitrarily reduce the size of English-medium education, has lead, due to blowback, to extremely high English literacy expectations for preschoolers, delivered through overly ambitious programmes. In both cities, attempts to safeguard the use of the mother tongue as the primary medium of Instruction stand in the way of early bilingual development through immersion or partial immersion. In addition, the stakeholders' disparate expectations about when, how and why English at preschool is important have given rise to conflicts and dilemmas that distort the two cities' cultures of learning and the extent and form of their education reforms. The recommendations made seek to create for bilingual preschool education, sufficient space, given the current political, social, and economic conditions in both cities, to allow educators to pursue it with the most effective pedagogies

EFL Learning Motivation in Shanghai Upper-secondary Students and the Influence of Important Others.

This study aims to investigate the extent and styles of English learning motivation and i how it is influenced by three types of important others - parents, teachers and peers - for upper-secondary-level students in Shanghai, one of China's leading cities currently spearheading many of her English reform initiatives. A survey strategy has· been used involving seven academic schools of varying status. In the main study, 610 'usable' questionnaire responses were obtained, followed by 64 'usable' interviews. The research design has been mainly informed by two influential perspectives from the field Gardner's social-educational theory and Deci and Ryan's (1985) self-determination theory. The main results from this study are as follows. (1) On a six-point Likert scale ranging from 'very high' to 'no motivation at all', 4.4% of the survey respondents reported their overall strength of English-learning motivation was 'very high', 28.4% 'fairly high' and 46.7% 'medium'. (2) Their regulation was predominantly 'external regulatory', followed by 'identified regulatory'. (3) A factor analysis produced a threefactor solution of the reasons for learning English: integrative, life/career aspects and external pressure. These serve as evidence that the more traditional orientations (integrative and instrumental) can be relevant to a wide range of EFL contexts including the city of Shanghai; additionally, the exam-tied Eastern cultures may have elements unique to that situation. (4) The influence of important others was positive but small, with teachers being viewed as most influential, which is followed by parents and peers. Those groups of people generally illustrate positive but limiting English-related attitudes or reasoning, which is in tune with a collective understanding of the society. (5) Additionally, prevalent means of parental, teacher and peer influences have been identified; specifically in the cases of parents and teachers, the gap between prevalent practices and the 'wanted' strategies has been highlighted. (6) Finally, in the aspect of value transmitting, SDT-based data illustrate that parents, teachers and peers appear to have varied degrees of influence on the students' orientations, regulatory styles and certain types of motivated behaviour. The findings have a number of implications for practice, future research and policy

A study of the applicability of policy making theories in post-Mao China (1978-1995)

PhD ThesisTo examine the applicability of a range of policy making theories and models, which created by Western scholars, to the practice of post-Mao China is significant in view of what follows. First, to explore to what extent they are applicable to interpret China's practice is beneficial for both absorbing the useful elements from them and discovering and understanding the general features of China's policy making process. Second, particularly, in the post-Mao period, some remarkable changes in China's policy-making pattern have ended a period of stagnation which had lasted for nearly two centuries, and started a course of rejuvenation characterised by rapid economic growth and social prosperity. Thus, these changes and development are well worthy of study with the assistance of above-mentioned theories and models. Aiming at exploring the applicability of these theories and models and how and to what extent these changes occurred and influenced China's policy making processes in all major aspects including policy makers, motivation, policy-making methods, political environment and institutions, this thesis studied the development course (1978-1995) of China's Special Economic Zones (SEZ), which was an important programme of China's reform and opening-up strategy. In doing so, the thesis adopted a method that probes the major features, changes and development of the policy making process in post-Mao China, through examining the applicability of some selected policy making theories and models in China's practice. These selected theories and models consist of those concerning how policy is made, and those relating to how policy should be made. The above examination achieved two goals, which include (a) demonstrating the extent to which each of these theories and models can be used to observe and analyse Chinese policy making practice respectively and their reasons as well, and (b) obtaining the main findings of the thesis about China's policy making process in the post-Mao period as below. (1) Although Marxism was still the fundamental guiding thought of China's policy making, a great flexibility had been adopted, which enabled a series of new policies to be made in last two decades. (2) The twin approaches of incrementalism and pragmatism were the foundation of China's policy-making mechanism, which powerfully promoted its successful operation. (3) The rise of a pluralist tendency significantly influenced China's policy process, which included the increasing involvement of the non-CPC (Communist Party of China) or non-government political and social forces. (4) Political elites continued to dominate China's policy-making process, and this central role was much more prominent than it was in other modern countries. (5) Existing institutions were decisive in shaping China's policy-making mode, by determining the power structure and the power relations within which the policy-making actions taken place

To enlarge the travel markets from Shanghai to Turku (Shanghai CITS, Ltd.)

This paper is made in order to make thorough analysis in current Chinese travel markets and travel agencies, as well as the analysis on Turku’s travel markets, with which it can know the feasibility in enlarge the travel markets for CITS into Turku. In details, as the background information, the brief overview of history of China’s domestic travel agencies and a brief description of Shanghai CITS in terms of its business and management status are posed with the aim of getting enough supporting information. Further researches on background have been placed in the appendix, including the information of Chinese Oversea Travel Market, the information of Shanghai Travel Markets, More Information about CITS, and information of Turku Travel markets. As the preparation of marketing research on the above objective, theoretical structure about marketing and tourism are reviewed in terms of marketing mix theory, sustaining developments in tourism industry, brand marketing, and SWOT analysis. The research was mainly contained both secondary information and primary information, the secondary information is acquired mainly from domestic books and journals in writing for the introduction and analysis of Chinese and Turku’s travel markets, relative data will be collected within the range of the topic in supports the findings of primary information as well as the further analysis. Primary information is acquired from a semi-structured interview with on of the marketing manager in CITS, current working in Shanghai. And 9 questions will be posed in order to gather enough information for the CITS’ idea and desire in establishing abroad market. After the research multiple analyses including the SWOT analysis on the Shanghai and Turku’s travel markets, especially for the abroad touring market in Shanghai. Besides, the brand strategy in CITS is been researched, together with its marketing resource in planning, and the competition with other travel agencies. Conclusion and final findings will be focused in four aspects summarized from the above analysis, including the strengthening of macro-control in tourism market for Chinese Authorities, the establishment of sustainable tourism development concept, and the accelerate product development of tourism, the three aspects of analysis, in line with the suggestion for building strategic alliance with abroad hospitality companies and government and NGOs, will make the travel agencies have better performance in foreign traveling market, and as for CITS, the expansion in Turku will be much smoother than it supposed to be

Context sensitivity of regional complex knowledge: From an analytical framework to empirical studies

Regional complex knowledge evolution has become a popular topic in the economic geography literature. Scholars measure regional complex knowledge to explain regional economic complexity or the agglomeration of innovative activities. According to the literature, such knowledge is tacit in nature, and it is mainly static and ingrained in the workers, companies, and institutions of specific locations. While studies have provided valuable insights into the agglomerative spatial patterns of complex knowledge production, making significant advancements in how it is measured and evaluated, they have not addressed the sensitivity of the context of complex regional knowledge in economic geography. To address such a gap, this dissertation aims to advance the understanding of complex knowledge by examining knowledge base combinations. I do so by exploring and comparing knowledge evolutionary processes in two industries in Shanghai: high-end medical devices and electric vehicles. This dissertation makes four main contributions. First, it advances the understanding of complex knowledge from a CKB perspective, providing a complementary approach to measuring complex knowledge in economic geography. Second, it introduces a contextsensitive theory of complex knowledge evolution by combining the concepts of CKBs and ISR. Third, it draws on a recent empirical study of the Shanghai medical device and automobile industries to illustrate the theory and shed light on complex knowledge trajectories and the relations among multiple sectors at the regional level. Fourth, it examines upstream–downstream interactions in the Shanghai medical device and electric vehicle industrial chains, refining complex knowledge research at different spatial scales and transitional contexts

Laowai: Contested Identity and Imagined Community among Shanghai's Expatriates

Considering their significance to the globalised economy, expatriate communities have attracted relatively little scholarly scrutiny. Much has been written about non-Western migration to the West, but there has been little attention paid to population transfers in the opposite direction. Shanghai has a long historical and cultural association with the West and, thanks to China’s continued economic growth, the city's Western expatriate population has more than tripled since 2001. This research utilises ethnographic methods to examine identity and community within Shanghai's expatriate population. Using data from participant-observation, as well as text gleaned from interviews and personal narrative, I document the construction, by expatriates, of small, tightly bounded networks of support as well as the broader imagined community of "Westernness" from which these fictive kinship groups were typically drawn. Analysing transmigrancy through a ritual lens, I argue that this imagined Western community is best understood as an expression of communitas and that expatriates are liminal figures themselves, stalled in the middle phase of the migration ritual. Indeed, expatriates frequently located themselves between China and the West, unable to become Chinese but also unwilling to be seen as just another tourist. Local Chinese constructions of self also position the Western Other on the periphery - entangling "whiteness" and Westernness with assumptions of class, cosmopolitanism and personal freedom. Walled compounds and private drivers allowed some expatriates to move easily from one comfortable enclave of Westernness to another, only engaging with the local Chinese Other touristically. However, many expatriates made deeper claims of local emplacement, stitching together patchwork cosmopolitan neighbourhoods out of scattered, often discontiguous local and expatriate spaces. These blended neighbourhood bubbles provided expatriates with a space for the performance of new, liminal, transnational identities - rooted in Shanghai but still comfortably Western

Globalization and higher vocational education (HVE) in China : a case study in Shanghai

In China, higher vocational education (HVE) is a specific educational form in terms of its the educational goals, management structure, and close relationship with the economy. During the past quarter century, China has experienced not only a substantial increase in economic progress, but also the influence of globalization on its political, socio-economic, and educational development. This thesis examines how HVE has changed since the emergence of a socialist market economy (SME) in 1992. It interprets the relationship between globalization and HVE in terms of actual changes that have occurred at the Vocational College of Shanghai Jiaotong University (VCSJTU).The thesis is significant for three reasons. First, it generates useful insights into the process of HVE policy implementation in China since its economic transformation in the early 1990s, and interprets the relationship between globalization, SME, and HVE. The case study also generates insights which can contribute to understanding HVE policy on learning in relation to the context of the economic situation within China and the impact of globalization. Second, the thesis puts special emphasis on analyzing the culture and value changes in VCSJTU since its foundation and explores the deep roots between different values and their implications for people's understanding and appreciation of globalization in the school context. Third, the academic contributions of this case study include theoretical frames of reference on culture, education, and economic globalization. In particular, the study outlines and analyzes (with reflections) the experience gained during the internal economic transformations within China---an analysis which contributes to the international sociology of education, to an understanding of the values within education in relation to the impact of globalization

Incentives in the classroom: performance-based compensation implementation and impact in high performing schools in Shanghai, China

Performance-based compensation is gaining traction in the education systems of countries that lead in the world economy and in comparative international assessments of student achievement. Longstanding and contemporary debates in educational policy and research question the potential of this incentivist policy to improve teaching. Some scholars warn that decades of experimental research have found bonuses yield little or no improvement in various measures of teaching quality and student achievement. Yet, policymakers and performance-pay advocates maintain that financial bonuses will lead to better teaching, student learning, and educational markets. As PBC persists, we remain unaware of how financial bonuses are enacted and shape teaching. To better understand how financial bonuses shape teaching, recent qualitative research has investigated exactly how performance-based compensation unfolds inside of complex school settings. Building on this emerging scholarship, this research examined the implementation of merit pay and its effects on teaching from the perspectives of teachers at School M1, a high performing elementary school in Shanghai. Those who aspire for high ranks in comparative international assessments and other proxies of global economic leadership are turning to regions such as Shanghai for lessons on “what works.” Shanghai thus provided the opportunity to investigate incentivism in a system that has gained global influence yet whose policies and corresponding practices remain understudied. A principal and 20 teachers were interviewed, and a range of policy documents were collected in This qualitative case study. Data were coded according to theory on incentivism, policy enactment, and teacher development. Responses were then further analyzed to determine recurring themes and patterns. I find that state and national policymakers and the M1 Principal intended for PBC to improve teaching quality. However, the M1 teacher participants perceived bonuses were intended to augment base pay, compensate teachers for their existing effort, and to provoke teachers to exert additional effort. Teachers had little understanding of merit pay implementation processes. While merit pay did not erode teacher relationships, and norms of respect and deference to authority guided teachers’ silence on and acceptance of the policy and shaped their participation in policy enactment. They perceived high expectancy, low instrumentality and valence, and they held mixed views on fairness. The majority of teachers suggested their sense of motivation and self-efficacy was driven by a sense of personal responsibility for collective good and by public displays of recognition from their peers and superiors. Teachers suggested that social relationships, professional community, and trust were more efficacious ways to get to improved teacher quality. Overall, teachers perceived bonuses neither inspired instructional improvement compelled their low performing peers to leave the school or the profession. Advocates suggest bonuses motivate educators to behave in desirable ways, incentivize strong teachers to join and stay in the workforce, and force weak teachers to exit. While compelling, this lens ignores how financial incentives operate in the cultural foundations of schools. Additionally, teacher perceptions of bonuses bear directly upon how bonuses are levied in schools. To assess the efficacy of PBC as a school improvement mechanism, this research offers a sorely needed school-level investigation of PBC that explores the perspectives of teachers and is founded in sociocultural lenses on school improvement. In doing so, this research builds on an emerging body of qualitative research that helps assess the prevailing hypothesis that there is a neat relationship between an incentive, teacher practice, and student learning