Inward international students in China and their contributions to global common goods
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Inward international students in China and their contributions to global common goods Lin Tian 1 & Nian Cai Liu 1 # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract
This study identifies the (global) common goods produced and augmented by inward student mobility and its relevance to national policies and strategies in China by interviewing 27 policy-makers, university leaders, and academics, as well as international students. Most importantly, it develops a new framework for interpreting inward student mobility through the lens of (global) common goods, with benefit, influence, and balance as the three key elements. The findings of this study indicate that inward international students contribute to global common goods in the aspects of cultural diversity, global talents, improved policies, and practices, etc. (benefit). Key policies related to inward international students are generally supportive, and meanwhile compatible with these global common goods to a large extent (influence). Though some problems and tensions are observed in this study, constructive solutions have already been proposed by both the Chinese government and HEIs (balance). Keywords Inward international students . Student mobility . (Global) common goods . Higher education . National policy
Introduction Internationalization of higher education and inward student mobility Under the influence of globalization since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the internationalization of higher education has become an unstoppable and irresistible trend. International student mobility, in its multiplicity of forms, continues to be a high priority of internationalization, which refers to students moving from a country of origin to a country of education for study in a limited time (Knight 2012). More specific, inward student mobility is
* Nian Cai Liu [email protected]
1
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Room 241, Chen Ruiqiu Building, 800 Dongchuan Road. Minhang District, Shanghai 200240, China
Higher Education
viewed from the perspective of the chosen country of study (that is, the favorite destinations), which brings a potential “brain-gain” (Murphy-Lejeune 2008). There were about 5.3 million international students pursuing higher education overseas in 2017, comparing with 3.3 million in 2008 (OECD 2019). They have the potential to bring significant academic and economic implications, and their numbers are expected to grow continuously (Knight 2012). However, perhaps as important as the rising numbers of international students is the fact that the traditionally dominant destination countries for international students (e.g., the USA, the UK, Australia, etc.) face growing competition from newly industrialized countries like China, Russia, Singapore, and Malaysia. These countries, which once sent large numbers of students abroad, are gradually becoming recipients of international students, as a result of their efforts in promoting inward student mobility (de Wit et al. 2013; Abdullah et al. 2017). For instance, in 2017, China sent 608,400 students to study a
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