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The Development of Higher Education in China and Malaysia: A Comparative Perspective

Received: 20 April 2021    Accepted:     Published: 24 May 2021
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Abstract

Since the 1990s, higher education in the developing countries has gone through great changes in response to their fundamental political and socio-economic reforms. China and Malaysia, the two main Asian developing countries with emerging economies and ambitious goals, were picked up for a comparison of higher education development to better illustrate this general trend. In this comparative framework, comparability about the two countries is analyzed firstly, followed by the consideration of three key dimensions, and George Bereday’s method of comparison is accordingly used. It is noted from the comparison that both Chinese and Malaysian higher education systems have experienced massification, marketization and internationalization, and are currently striding toward universalization with more excellence-driven initiatives of higher education, which involve the main mechanisms and rules, as well as strategies and policies of marketization and internationalization. Yet other than the commonalities at a macro level, in these three areas concerning higher education there are some remarkable differences and disparities, such as the actual paths of size expansion, the growth and fate of private institutions, the conception of internationalization, due to different historical paths, national agendas and socio-political environments. Along this comparative approach, there are three common issues that need further elaborate discussions, namely, the unbalanced structure of quantitative development, centralized decentralization, and internationalization at home.

Published in Science Journal of Education (Volume 9, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjedu.20210903.12
Page(s) 77-86
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Expansion, Marketization, Internationalization, Higher Education

References
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  • APA Style

    Chen Li. (2021). The Development of Higher Education in China and Malaysia: A Comparative Perspective. Science Journal of Education, 9(3), 77-86. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20210903.12

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    Chen Li. The Development of Higher Education in China and Malaysia: A Comparative Perspective. Sci. J. Educ. 2021, 9(3), 77-86. doi: 10.11648/j.sjedu.20210903.12

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    AMA Style

    Chen Li. The Development of Higher Education in China and Malaysia: A Comparative Perspective. Sci J Educ. 2021;9(3):77-86. doi: 10.11648/j.sjedu.20210903.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjedu.20210903.12,
      author = {Chen Li},
      title = {The Development of Higher Education in China and Malaysia: A Comparative Perspective},
      journal = {Science Journal of Education},
      volume = {9},
      number = {3},
      pages = {77-86},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjedu.20210903.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20210903.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjedu.20210903.12},
      abstract = {Since the 1990s, higher education in the developing countries has gone through great changes in response to their fundamental political and socio-economic reforms. China and Malaysia, the two main Asian developing countries with emerging economies and ambitious goals, were picked up for a comparison of higher education development to better illustrate this general trend. In this comparative framework, comparability about the two countries is analyzed firstly, followed by the consideration of three key dimensions, and George Bereday’s method of comparison is accordingly used. It is noted from the comparison that both Chinese and Malaysian higher education systems have experienced massification, marketization and internationalization, and are currently striding toward universalization with more excellence-driven initiatives of higher education, which involve the main mechanisms and rules, as well as strategies and policies of marketization and internationalization. Yet other than the commonalities at a macro level, in these three areas concerning higher education there are some remarkable differences and disparities, such as the actual paths of size expansion, the growth and fate of private institutions, the conception of internationalization, due to different historical paths, national agendas and socio-political environments. Along this comparative approach, there are three common issues that need further elaborate discussions, namely, the unbalanced structure of quantitative development, centralized decentralization, and internationalization at home.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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    AU  - Chen Li
    Y1  - 2021/05/24
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20210903.12
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    T2  - Science Journal of Education
    JF  - Science Journal of Education
    JO  - Science Journal of Education
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    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2329-0897
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20210903.12
    AB  - Since the 1990s, higher education in the developing countries has gone through great changes in response to their fundamental political and socio-economic reforms. China and Malaysia, the two main Asian developing countries with emerging economies and ambitious goals, were picked up for a comparison of higher education development to better illustrate this general trend. In this comparative framework, comparability about the two countries is analyzed firstly, followed by the consideration of three key dimensions, and George Bereday’s method of comparison is accordingly used. It is noted from the comparison that both Chinese and Malaysian higher education systems have experienced massification, marketization and internationalization, and are currently striding toward universalization with more excellence-driven initiatives of higher education, which involve the main mechanisms and rules, as well as strategies and policies of marketization and internationalization. Yet other than the commonalities at a macro level, in these three areas concerning higher education there are some remarkable differences and disparities, such as the actual paths of size expansion, the growth and fate of private institutions, the conception of internationalization, due to different historical paths, national agendas and socio-political environments. Along this comparative approach, there are three common issues that need further elaborate discussions, namely, the unbalanced structure of quantitative development, centralized decentralization, and internationalization at home.
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Author Information
  • School of Education Science, Liupanshui Normal University, Liupanshui, China

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