Launching new educational provision in China

Services are dominant entity in the global economy nowadays. Previous research has largely concentrated on new physical product launch. This research study generalizes and extends the current new product launch literature review by focusing on new service launch. Rather than focus primarily on a developed market, this project focuses on an international market. Thus, this research study addresses the research question: What are the successful strategic and tactical launch decisions for the launch of new educational provision in China? The research identifies the successful service launch strategies and understanding the nature of a proficient service launch strategy in the international market. To expand the previous research heavily focused on financial services that are standardized and mass-produced, an in-depth study of new service launch in complicated services featuring a high degree of complexity and customization was conducted. This study integrates empirical data with theoretical concepts from various disciplines (e.g., services marketing, new service development, international services and education marketing) to encourage a new perspective to the research of new international service launch for an improved understanding of launching new educational provision in China. The study uses a multiple case research strategy where empirical data was collected in three transnational higher education institutions (TEIs). Challenging extant research that has focused on a manager’s perspective, this current research focuses on the dual perspectives of TEIs and students, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the complicated phenomenon of launching new educational provision in China. In a practical sense, it provides greater insight into understanding what contributes to successful international service launch and in effect, attaining the goal of improving launch success rates by allowing foreign institutions interested in launching new educational provision in China to refine their launch decisions for new TNE offerings. Any reader wishing to understand more about the workings of the TNE marketplace in China, the management practices and managerial directions therein would benefit from this detailed research project

Perceptions of Chinese top-up students transitioning through a regional UK university : a longitudinal study using portrait methodology

This thesis seeks to gain a good understanding of the academic and social experiences of a group of Chinese top-up students when they are studying their top-up programme in a UK institution. It adopts the U curve model and Bottery’s variation of portrait methodology as the theoretical foundations. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, which took place three times at the key transition stages of these students during their one-year study period, namely the moving in stage (pre-departure and post arrival), the moving through stage (the start of their top-up programme to the end of the first semester) and the moving out stage (the start of the second semester to the end of their top-up programme). After each interview, written portraits were produced for the participants based on their interview transcripts.The findings of this thesis suggest that firstly this group of Chinese top-up students seemed to have had a really difficult time during their journey in this UK institution. It appears that their perceptions and some aspects of their behaviour (academic) changed while they went through this one-year study abroad journey, however, other aspects of their behaviour (social) appeared to remain largely the same. Additionally, the transition experiences of most Chinese top-up students in this group seemed to have only partially followed the U curve model. In other words, they experienced the honeymoon, the crisis and the recovery stages, but not the readjustment stage.This study makes a contribution to both the U curve and the portrait methodology literature by showing that when studying the transitional experiences of international students, attention needs to be paid to the factors at the institutional and national levels, apart from those at the personal level. In addition, the findings demonstrate that portrait methodology may produce very different insights when it is applied to different groups of people

Perceptions of Chinese top-up students transitioning through a regional UK university: a longitudinal study using portrait methodology

This thesis seeks to gain a good understanding of the academic and social experiences of a group of Chinese top-up students when they are studying their top-up programme in a UK institution. It adopts the U curve model and Bottery’s variation of portrait methodology as the theoretical foundations. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, which took place three times at the key transition stages of these students during their one-year study period, namely the moving in stage (pre-departure and post arrival), the moving through stage (the start of their top-up programme to the end of the first semester) and the moving out stage (the start of the second semester to the end of their top-up programme). After each interview, written portraits were produced for the participants based on their interview transcripts. The findings of this thesis suggest that firstly this group of Chinese top-up students seemed to have had a really difficult time during their journey in this UK institution. It appears that their perceptions and some aspects of their behaviour (academic) changed while they went through this one-year study abroad journey, however, other aspects of their behaviour (social) appeared to remain largely the same. Additionally, the transition experiences of most Chinese top-up students in this group seemed to have only partially followed the U curve model. In other words, they experienced the honeymoon, the crisis and the recovery stages, but not the readjustment stage. This study makes a contribution to both the U curve and the portrait methodology literature by showing that when studying the transitional experiences of international students, attention needs to be paid to the factors at the institutional and national levels, apart from those at the personal level. In addition, the findings demonstrate that portrait methodology may produce very different insights when it is applied to different groups of people

Getting In: understandings of potential, talent and ability, and access to HE for Scottish young people from areas of high deprivation

Widening Participation for young people from areas of high deprivation is an ongoing concern for the Scottish government. However, the attainment gap between the least and most affluent young people in Scotland persists. Using the theories of Ziegler and Philipson, Bronfenbrenner and Bourdieu, this research examines how Scottish young people from areas of high deprivation, their teachers, parents, and other key professionals understand potential, talent and ability and the relationship between this understanding and Higher Education choices and experiences. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, using secondary data, survey data and interviews with students (n=26) and adults (n=11). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse quantitative data, and reflexive thematic analysis was deployed for interview data. Secondary and survey data indicated potential barriers to attainment for young people from lower SIMD quintiles. Interview data indicated restrictions on subject and level choice for this group. Survey data indicated similar attitudes to HE between SIMD quintiles across almost all measures. Interview data suggested that SIMD 1 and 2 students tended to see themselves as more committed and passionate students than their more affluent peers. Interviews indicated fractured, unstable, and sometimes self-contradictory understandings of potential, talent and ability amongst students, teachers, parents, SDS workers and WP workers. A range of attitudes was also found towards WP to HE and to HE itself. Survey data and interview data indicated that a surprisingly wide range of students had accessed WP, including students from SIMD quintile 3, 4 and 5. Students’ focus on HE as pleasurable and the purpose of HE contrasted with that of teachers and SDS workers who understood HE as primarily vocational. This thesis shows that the multiple contradictory and sometimes self-contradictory understandings of potential, talent and ability allow groups and individuals with very different understandings of key concepts to believe they are using shared language to reach a shared goal, while in fact their perceptions, beliefs and aims are very different. This could facilitate the reproduction of existing educational inequity

Contemporary Journalism Education and the Employability Agenda in Scotland's Universities

Journalism education in Scotland's universities is failing to meet the demands of the 21st Century. Scottish journalism education has become homogenised, siloed in pre-digital modes of production and disconnected from the skills and expectations of potential employers in the news industry. Furthermore, the lack of teaching in Scottish universities around the democratic role of journalism and in critical approaches to news, has under- mined the ethos of democracy among graduands and therefore fails to adequately contribute to upholding democracy within society as a whole. This study suggests a radical rethink of journalism education is necessary in Scotland to more appropriately reflect current circumstances, contemporary critical thinking and to ensure the sustainability not only of the Scottish media, but also of Scottish democracy. This study explores how university-level journalism education in Scotland has evolved alongside technological and other shifts that have changed the face and prospects of news businesses, with a particular focus on the notion of employability and its evolution. This research employs face-to-face interviews with current and former university journalism educators and professionals in associated organisations who work in advisory roles to university journalism departments, including employers of students with journalism degrees, to explore how Scottish universities have adapted in order to enhance the employability of their students in an industry that has suffered a decline in jobs. In addition, it includes analysis of key university documents

An anthropological study of ethnicity and the reproduction of culture among Hong Kong Chinese families in Scotland

This thesis is about inter-generational relationships and the reproduction of culture in the family lives of Hong Kong Chinese people in Scotland. It is based on fifteen months of ethnographic fieldwork and informal interviews in family homes, Chinese language schools and community organizations in Edinburgh. A central question is that of ethnicity and how people learn to “be ethnic” while living in a Western, multicultural society. The first part asks what Scottish-born Chinese children learn about ethnicity through growing up in families who work in the ethnic catering trade. Chapter 1 introduces the themes of ambition and achievement, and the mixed emotions associated with this sometimes-stigmatized occupation. Chapter 2 focuses on ideas about the duties of parents, drawing on life stories of three generations of Chinese Scots to describe their decisions concerning childcare and schooling. The second section concerns the learning of specific cultural practices – language and handicrafts – in the institutional context of Chinese complementary schools. Chapters 3 and 4 show that these are important spaces where people feel part of a group with shared moral responsibility for the maintenance and transmission of culture. The question of “authenticity” in both cultural practice and interpersonal relationships is discussed. Chapters 5 and 6 explore how Hong Kong Chinese Scots are responding to the rise of China as a global economic and cultural power. Ethnographic data from Chinese New Year celebrations in Edinburgh, and Mandarin language classes for Cantonese-speaking children suggest that people may engage in “inauthentic” cultural practices for strategic economic or political reasons. However, these articulations of ethnic identity are also important for the nurture of inter-generational relationships. The thesis concludes with the argument that Chinese Scots take a futureorientated approach to family and community life, drawing selectively on the resources of inter-ethnic ties and language to prepare their children for a changing economic and social environmen

An analysis of the promotion of Chinese culture within an L3 language experience at the P5-7 Stages in selected Scottish primary schools

This study investigates the promotion of Chinese culture in selected Scottish primary schools through a third language experience. Three research questions give distinctive insights into current classroom practices, stakeholders’ cultural views and the programme’s impact on pupils’ understanding of the country and its people. Its conceptual base recognises the tensions that exist within the framing of ‘culture’ with particular emphasis on Post-colonial theory and related discourses around Orientalism. Given the paucity of Scottish research, the literature review is partly comparative in drawing upon selected global education systems. The research paradigm is interpretivist, employing a mixed methods model where a quantitative survey is used with P5-7 pupils across 5 schools and analysed through SPSS. Qualitative data is gathered through focus groups involving Scottish teachers, Hanban teachers, Professional Development Officers and pupils and uses NVivo software in assisting thematic analyses. Integration of datasets is achieved through joint presentation and discussion within 3 findings chapters. The results highlight classroom practices that can construe China, its culture and values through a traditional lens, emphasising ‘large culture’ or national narratives at the expense of exposure to ‘small cultures’ that may help exemplify everyday life and better balance pupils’ experiences. The L3 model in operation is almost entirely dependent on Hanban teachers with very few Scottish counterparts engaging due to a lack of confidence and training, which potentially distorts cross-cultural understanding, content and potential collaboration. Though worthwhile classroom practices certainly exist for expansion, curriculum delivery issues can impact on pupils’ progressive understanding and awareness of Chinese culture across the Primary 5-7 continuum and, at times, their attitudinal development. Recommendations and implications are offered for a range of stakeholders (schools, local authorities and relevant external organisations) in terms of policy, training and delivery which are relevant to wider language practices beyond this particular study and L3 provisions.This study investigates the promotion of Chinese culture in selected Scottish primary schools through a third language experience. Three research questions give distinctive insights into current classroom practices, stakeholders’ cultural views and the programme’s impact on pupils’ understanding of the country and its people. Its conceptual base recognises the tensions that exist within the framing of ‘culture’ with particular emphasis on Post-colonial theory and related discourses around Orientalism. Given the paucity of Scottish research, the literature review is partly comparative in drawing upon selected global education systems. The research paradigm is interpretivist, employing a mixed methods model where a quantitative survey is used with P5-7 pupils across 5 schools and analysed through SPSS. Qualitative data is gathered through focus groups involving Scottish teachers, Hanban teachers, Professional Development Officers and pupils and uses NVivo software in assisting thematic analyses. Integration of datasets is achieved through joint presentation and discussion within 3 findings chapters. The results highlight classroom practices that can construe China, its culture and values through a traditional lens, emphasising ‘large culture’ or national narratives at the expense of exposure to ‘small cultures’ that may help exemplify everyday life and better balance pupils’ experiences. The L3 model in operation is almost entirely dependent on Hanban teachers with very few Scottish counterparts engaging due to a lack of confidence and training, which potentially distorts cross-cultural understanding, content and potential collaboration. Though worthwhile classroom practices certainly exist for expansion, curriculum delivery issues can impact on pupils’ progressive understanding and awareness of Chinese culture across the Primary 5-7 continuum and, at times, their attitudinal development. Recommendations and implications are offered for a range of stakeholders (schools, local authorities and relevant external organisations) in terms of policy, training and delivery which are relevant to wider language practices beyond this particular study and L3 provisions

New Right Conservatism and the Scottish leisure profession: a critical analysis 1979-97

The nature of the leisure profession and the leisure professional has been recharacterised by a series of government policies first implemented by the Conservative government during the period 1979-97. Whilst the re-characterisation has been acknowledged by leisure professional bodies and also in an emerging body of literature, no systematic analysis of this process has been undertaken in the Scottish context. This thesis addresses this through an ideological analysis of New Right Conservatism and the impact of New Right policies in Scotland and on the Scottish Leisure profession. Scottish political and cultural traditions together with the notion of credentialism provide original dimensions to this critical analysis. Using a multimethodological research approach, this thesis examines the link between New Right government policies and the Scottish leisure profession. It establishes whether or not the process of professionalisation is a coherent one that will underpin a collective legitimacy for the Scottish leisure profession. It is concluded that the New Right undermined the professionalisation of leisure management in Scotland. Leisure management has been restructured and generalised and the resulting professional anticollectivism within the industry has left the standing of the profession in doubt. This original theoretically and empirically informed study of the leisure profession in Scotland makes a small contribution to the growing body of work on professionalism and professionalisation