Liu, Jingzhou

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Comparative and International Education / ÉducationComparée et InternationaleVolume 45 | Issue 3 Article 10December 2016Book review: Spotlight on China: ChineseEducation in the Globalized WorldJingzhou LiuUniversity of Calgary, jingzhou.liu@ucalgary.caFollow this and additional works at: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cie-eciThis Book review/Compte rendu is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion inComparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For moreinformation, please contact tadam@uwo.ca.Recommended CitationLiu, Jingzhou (2016) "Book review: Spotlight on China: Chinese Education in the Globalized World," Comparative and InternationalEducation / Éducation Comparée et Internationale: Vol. 45: Iss. 3, Article 10.Available at: http://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cie-eci/vol45/iss3/10  Book Review: Spotlight on China: Chinese Education in the Globalized World  Guo, S., & Guo, Y. (Eds.) (2016). Spotlight on China: Chinese Education in the Globalized World. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense, pp. 378.  ISBN: 9789463006675, $43.00 (paperback) ISBN: 9789463006682, $ 99.00 (hardback) E-Book, ISBN: 9789463006699  Reviewed by Jingzhou Liu, University of Calgary  Shibao Guo and Yan Guo are notable scholars in education whose outstanding work spans the intersection of globalization, transnational migration, and comparative and international education. Their recent edited collection of research, Spotlight on China: Chinese Education in the Globalized World, is a refreshing and insightful examination of the impact of globalization on China and its interactions with the globalized world. This book frames globalization within social and economic contexts and processes. It also contextualizes and problematizes globalization and its influence on education in the context of Chinese education and society.  The volume’s 20 chapters and 4 sections begin with an insightful and comprehensive introduction written by the editors. This overview of key themes makes a bold offering of new conceptual angles, especially a fresh interpretation of globalization and internationalization. The first section on the internationalization of Chinese education establishes a conceptual and philosophical foundation of globalization and internationalization. Barbara Schulte’s chapter, ‘Global Paths, Local Trajectories: China’s Education and the Global,’ sets the tone for this section. She argues that the globalization of education can be enriched by local understanding and interpreted in three dimensions: time and space/place, legitimating myths, and friction and pressures. She also lays the groundwork for the following chapter by Rui Yang, who provides an overview of internationalization of Chinese higher education, illustrating that China needs a global mindset to increase its global educational influence. The two internationalization cases in Yi Feng’s chapter continue to strengthen Yang’s argument by demonstrating two pioneer institutions in developing joint ventures between Britain and China in international collaboration, curriculum, and pedagogy. Heather Schmidt’s chapter on ethnographic research on the Confucius Institute in Edmonton and its headquarters in Beijing shows that these two regimes can be defined as a reposition of China’s social and cultural identity and a reproduction of China’s image.  Section II, Student Mobility and Intercultural Adaptations, focuses on students’ learning experiences in a globalized world. First, an overview chapter by Baocun Liu and Qiang Liu illustrates the trends, features, and recommendations of internationalization in China and their connections to both international students in China and Chinese students studying abroad. Qing Gu’s chapter on Chinese students’ intercultural adaptation experiences in the UK focuses on investigating their belonging, identity, and self-efficacy through demonstrating their living and learning struggles in a different culture. Kun Yan and David Berliner’s chapter further illustrates Chinese international students’ intercultural adaptation in the U.S., their acculturation process, and adjustment challenges. They argue that active students within the host culture and integration of both cultures’ traditions yield better transnational performances and transformations. Fred Dervin’s research in Sweden focuses on Chinese international students’ informal learning   experiences, delineates the concept of identity, otherization, and representation, and examines how these concepts affect Chinese students’ intercultural learning experiences.  Section III, Cross-Cultural Teaching and Learning, examines teaching and learning experiences of international teachers and students in Chinese higher education. Guided by neoliberalism, Ling Shi and Lin’s chapter presents a case study exploring a Chinese expatriate teaching English as a Foreign Language in a Chinese university and how this neoliberal phenomenon reflects individual interest in global education. Zhen Li and John Lowe’s chapter depicts the experience of British expatriates teaching in a UK university in China with a majority Chinese student population. Students are provided with as similar as possible UK campus learning experiences in course content and teaching and learning culture. Ming-yeh Lee, David Hemphill, and Jacob Perea report on a transformational teaching and learning program in China that focuses on the positive impact of globalization on education on both teachers’ and students’ lived experiences. Ting Wang’s chapter, a study of insights into culture and learning experiences of Australian students in Chinese universities, argues these universities endeavour to improve service and foster close student-teacher relationships to create a better study and living environment. Dan Cui’s study shifts our attention to Chinese immigrant youth development in Canada through examining factors that affect identity construction among first and second generation Chinese youths in a multiculturalism context.  The last section illustrates transnational talent mobility between China and the world. Biao Xiao’s intensive analysis of emigration trends and policies in China, particularly the movement of the wealthy and highly skilled, argues that Chinese emigrants are motivated by economic opportunities and social and political conditions. Wei Li and Wan Yu’s chapter traces intellectual migrants between the U.S. and Asia from changing geopolitics and economic growth. The authors argue that winning the hearts and minds of people and serving the best long term strategic national interests are good for retaining and increasing both Chinese and U.S. global influence. Yixi Lu and Li Zong’s chapter focuses on Chinese international students’ transition to permanent residency in Canada. They analyze major factors that affect Chinese students’ immigration motivation, which is highly correlated to employment possibilities, local acceptance, and discrimination experiences in local communities. Shibao Guo’s chapter turns our attention to transnational intellectual immigrant mobility between China and Canada, particularly their “returned” experiences after they left Canada. He developed the term “double diaspora” to characterize their dualities as both Chinese and Canadian, simultaneously diasporas and returnees, playing double roles as cultural and economic brokers between Canada and China with an enduring dual belonging and identity. Scherto Gill’s chapter investigates the effect of studying overseas and returned Chinese postgraduates’ lives in China, demonstrating that re-adaptation is not work in “the Chinese way” but an intercultural awareness to participate with a different mindset. The last chapter in this volume, written by Su-yan Pan, explores global brain gain strategies in China and shows these strategies intensify economic development and reinforce political stability.  This volume is richly empirical, informative, and well-structured. New theoretical and methodological contributions emerge from its analyses of internationalization of Chinese education, student mobility and intercultural adaptation, cross-cultural teaching and learning, and transnational talent mobility. By engaging qualitative, quantitative, and case studies, the chapters contribute to dialogues in the area and explore our understanding of globalization in China and the world. They challenge international researchers and educators to re-think the diverse concepts and perspectives between globalization and Chinese education. In addition, the   engaging material will help scholars and graduate students refine their ideas for their own research. Finally, it also serves as a useful reference for scholarship, policy, and practices that can be widely read by academics, policymakers, and educators internationally.   

Book review: Spotlight on China: Chinese Education in the Globalized World

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Book review: Spotlight on China: Chinese Education in the Globalized World

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