tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/asian-higher-education-17110/articlesAsian higher education – The Conversation2018-11-28T11:42:25Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1072442018-11-28T11:42:25Z2018-11-28T11:42:25ZTest prep is a rite of passage for many Asian-Americans<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246681/original/file-20181121-161630-u8v5gh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students prep for the SAT at a test prep center in New York City.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-york-january-26-2016-students-373931653?src=ajMPIbcoYceQT37ZI4uJxQ-1-10">Kaplan Test Prep</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When ACT released its latest test scores this past October, the <a href="http://leadershipblog.act.org/2018/10/math-readiness-drops-to-14-year-low.html">results showed</a> that average scores took a dip for every racial group in the United States except one – <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/10/22/act-scores-drop-only-asian-americans-saw-gains">Asian-Americans</a>.</p>
<p>A similar situation played out with the SAT. Asian-Americans experienced a <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2018/10/29/sat-scores-are-gaps-remain-significant-among-racial-and-ethnic-groups">gain over the prior year</a> – 42 points on a 1600-point scale – whereas other groups had more modest gains, no gains, or lost ground.</p>
<p>The issue of Asian-Americans’ high test scores featured prominently in a <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/Both-Sides-at-Harvard-Trial/245006">pending legal case</a> in which a group called Students for Fair Admissions – led by an <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2018/06/15/meet-man-behind-harvard-admissions-lawsuit/Y3ANrpg5aP5191ZTutoiRK/story.html">activist</a> who opposes the consideration of race in college admissions – alleges that Asian-Americans are discriminated against in Harvard College’s admission process.</p>
<p>As a <a href="https://education.umd.edu/directory/julie-j-park">researcher</a> who specializes in the study of <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=nq3NcqAAAAAJ&hl=en">Asian-Americans and higher education</a>, I see three factors that help explain this trend around test scores. </p>
<h2>1. Many Asian-American students are socialized into test prep</h2>
<p>As I document in my book, <a href="http://hepg.org/hep-home/books/race-on-campus">“Race on Campus,”</a> many Asian-American students get frequent messages from an early age about the importance of doing well on tests. Test prep businesses may post an “honor roll” that features local youth and their elite college destinations. Relatives may stress that good test scores matter.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247563/original/file-20181127-76749-1le91jh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247563/original/file-20181127-76749-1le91jh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247563/original/file-20181127-76749-1le91jh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247563/original/file-20181127-76749-1le91jh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247563/original/file-20181127-76749-1le91jh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247563/original/file-20181127-76749-1le91jh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247563/original/file-20181127-76749-1le91jh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247563/original/file-20181127-76749-1le91jh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Many Asian-American students are socialized from an early age to score high on college entrance exams.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-teenage-before-classroom-1007737042?src=GhpBySZ5RBzmcnjprNbyOg-1-9">Tom Wang</a></span>
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<p>These messages are powerful, as explained in the book <a href="https://www.russellsage.org/asian-american-achievement-paradox">“The Asian American Achievement Paradox</a>.” They set up high expectations for Asian-American students. Test prep becomes a way of meeting those expectations.</p>
<p>In many ways, these messages reflect the influence of East Asia, where college admission is decided on a <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2149978/inside-asias-pressure-cooker-exam-sytem-which-region-has-it-worst">single high-stakes test</a> – such as China’s <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2097512/gaokao-how-one-exam-can-set-course-students-life-china">gaokao</a> or South Korea’s <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46181240">suneung</a> – and where intense test prep is a regular feature of teenage life. For that reason, many Asian immigrant parents see the SAT or ACT as the equivalent of Asia’s admissions tests. As a result, many conclude that test prep is a worthy investment.</p>
<p>This helps explain why Asian-Americans, and in particular Chinese- and Korean-Americans – have the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0002831211425609">highest rate</a> of participation in SAT/ACT test prep.</p>
<p>In one study, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/0002831211425609">I found</a> that over half of Korean-Americans and 42 percent of Chinese-Americans took an SAT prep course prior to college, compared to 35.6 percent of white students, 32.4 percent of Hispanic students and 40.4 percent of black students. While affluent Asian-Americans are more likely to take test prep, 46.7 percent of low-income Korean-Americans still took a prep course.</p>
<h2>2. Asian-Americans are better prepared to benefit</h2>
<p>East Asian-Americans are the only group that show <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0038040711417009">statistically significant gains</a> from test prep. Average gains linked with test prep are more in the range of <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED505529">10-30 points</a>, versus the <a href="https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/02/24/22sat-act_ep.h30.html">hundreds of points</a> that are often advertised. Why?</p>
<p>Test prep tends to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0038040711417009">work best</a> when students already have high levels of academic preparation. While there is a wide range of experiences within the Asian-American community, on average, Asian-Americans tend to have access to <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/asian-american-success-and-the-pitfalls-of-generalization/">higher quality K-12 education</a> than other minority groups. </p>
<p>They are also <a href="https://www.civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/integration-and-diversity/brown-at-62-school-segregation-by-race-poverty-and-state">less likely</a> to attend racially segregated, poorly resourced schools, unlike their black and Hispanic counterparts.</p>
<p>For these reasons, even some lower-income Asian-Americans enter test prep with <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0038040711417009">high levels of prior educational achievement</a>. </p>
<p>This is not to say that test prep can’t help students with weak academic preparation. It just won’t help in a way that will radically transform their ACT or SAT score, most likely. For instance, one study <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w19562.pdf">found no significant benefit</a> from test prep among a sample of low-income students.</p>
<h2>3. Test prep companies target Asian-American communities</h2>
<p>Test prep businesses that cater to Asian-Americans are a mainstay in urban centers like Koreatown in Los Angeles or heavily Asian suburbs, such as the San Gabriel Valley, as noted sociology professor Min Zhou <a href="http://hepgjournals.org/doi/10.17763/haer.76.1.u08t548554882477">has found</a>.</p>
<p>Signs in the front window of these businesses advertise in multiple languages. These test prep companies also advertise in Asian-language newspapers and ethnic media. Their presence is hard to miss, making SAT/ACT prep highly visible and available for Asian-American students. As <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/25/magazine/asian-test-prep-centers-offer-parents-exactly-what-they-want-results.html">The New York Times observed</a>, most of New York City’s 411 prep centers are based in Queens and Brooklyn, “with over a quarter of them springing up in the past four years alone, most notably in the boroughs’ Asian enclaves of Flushing and Sunset Park in Brooklyn.”</p>
<p>“On the opposite coast, 861 such tutoring centers exist in California’s Orange, Santa Clara and Los Angeles counties, all heavy with Asian-American families,” the article states.</p>
<h2>Beyond test scores</h2>
<p>Related to the Harvard case, test scores for all students should be considered with a grain of salt. Yes, high scores are impressive, but they should be understood in the context of opportunity. It’s also important to note that strong scores are <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/views/2018/09/04/harvards-admissions-policies-are-being-distorted-lawsuit-charging-anti">the norm</a> in Harvard’s applicant pool.</p>
<p>Given that test scores are <a href="http://www.cshe.berkeley.edu/publications/growing-correlation-between-race-and-sat-scores-new-findings-california-saul-geiser">limited</a> in their ability to predict future achievement, and are heavily shaped by <a href="http://www.cshe.berkeley.edu/publications/growing-correlation-between-race-and-sat-scores-new-findings-california-saul-geiser">race and social class</a>, colleges should consider the value of SAT-optional or even doing away with the test. </p>
<p>But as long as the ACT and SAT remain part of college admissions, it should be understood that test prep alone won’t be enough to eliminate racial disparities in standardized test scores.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107244/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie J. Park served as a consulting expert for The President and Fellows of Harvard College (Harvard Corporation) (“Harvard”) in connection with the matter of Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard, Civ. Act. No. 1:14-14176. The views and opinions expressed here are her own and do not reflect Harvard’s views or information learned from Harvard in the course of her work.</span></em></p>Test prep is a prominent feature in Asian-American communities, which helps explain recent gains that Asian-Americans made in the SAT and ACT college entrance exams, a higher education scholar argues.Julie J. Park, Associate Professor of Education, University of MarylandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/546802016-03-07T14:36:49Z2016-03-07T14:36:49ZMassive expansion of universities in Asia raises tough questions on social mobility<p>Universities in East and South-East Asia have experienced significant expansion in the last few decades. Enrolment in higher education in Asia <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20120831155341147">has increased by over 50%</a> in the last 10 years and by a higher percentage in countries such as China. In recent years, universities in mainland China have produced <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28062071">over seven million graduates a year</a>, up from one million in 2000.</p>
<p>This rapid expansion of higher education has brought its own problems, leading to issues over academic standards and quality of universities in mainland China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. My own <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01425692.2015.1111751?journalCode=cbse20">new research</a> has also highlighted strong empirical evidence suggesting that the “massification” of higher education – the extension of university education to the masses and not just an elite – has resulted in graduate unemployment and underemployment in East Asia. </p>
<p>For the most part, the statistics I found tell a worrying story. In South Korea, there are three million economically inactive graduates. In Japan, approximately 38% of graduates were unemployed eight months after graduation in 2009 and graduate employment has not improved since then. In India, one in three young graduates is unemployed. </p>
<p>In China, although accurate data is hard to come by, my research found that in 2013 alone only 38% of graduates were issued contracts – <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0ahUKEwiyxpeo_fvKAhXHvBQKHbQxDgYQFggoMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ied.edu.hk%2Finclude%2Fgetrichfile.php%3Fkey%3D4702ef08506287728ccae43a52a9080d%26secid%3D4163%26filename%3Dapera2014%2FKeynote%2520abstract_Prof%2520Hugh%2520Lauder.pdf&usg=AFQjCNHIzsnjixG7z2u5LlKOLlYEwV6f9g">an indicator</a> of quality jobs. </p>
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<p>The table above provides further details about unfavourable graduate employment figures in China, Taiwan and Korea. Hong Kong and Singapore are exceptions to this graduate employment trend because both city states have attempted to <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nZI0CwAAQBAJ&pg=PR3&lpg=PR3&dq=Access+and+Expansion+Post-Massification:+Opportunities&source=bl&ots=X5-zYoictk&sig=gCjKTsdx6HK_muXLFaqYjAogG7o&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi5vbHrlITLAhUILhoKHW0MBxUQ6AEIMzAE#v=onepage&q=Access%20and%20Expansion%20Post-Massification%3A%20Opportunities&f=false">set a quota</a> for higher education enrolment, especially for publicly-funded universities. <a href="http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/about-edb/press/legco/others/legco%20brief-e.pdf">Hong Kong has a 20% cap</a> for the annual cohort of 17- to 18-year-olds admitted to public universities, while Singapore has a cap of 25-30% for the same cohort. </p>
<h2>Jobs for the young</h2>
<p>Against the context of a move to expand higher education, it is apparent that youth unemployment has emerged as a serious social concern confronting a number of Asian countries. </p>
<p>The role of education in upward social mobility is under scrutiny. In a less globalised and more elite higher education system, a university degree may contribute to increased earnings and possibilities for a young graduate. But the status quo has changed with the ever-intensifying globalisation of higher education and its expansion to more and more parts of society. </p>
<p>A degree does not assure employment, high earnings, and upward social mobility. The promotion of social mobility through university credentials has become challenging in both developed and emerging economies. In top-tier colleges and universities in the US, <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Global_Auction.html?id=yZppAgAAQBAJ&source=kp_cover&hl=en">almost three quarters</a> of those entering each year are from the highest socio-economic quartile. The pool of qualified youth is far greater than the number admitted and enrolled.</p>
<p>Similar developments can be easily found in other parts of Asia, particularly when higher education expansion has not kept up with changing labour market needs. The unintended consequence of this has been a growing pressure to create more high-skilled job opportunities, but that pay less. This is a symptom of the over-supply of talents in what has been called the “<a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/The_Global_Auction.html?id=yZppAgAAQBAJ&source=kp_cover&hl=en">Global Auction</a>”, a worldwide competition for good, middle-class jobs. </p>
<h2>What’s the point of a degree?</h2>
<p>It is against this backdrop that questions are being raised about the value of a degree. A 2015 <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21647285-more-and-more-money-being-spent-higher-education-too-little-known-about-whether-it">article in The Economist</a> shed light on the issue of what sort of skills and knowledge sets universities must provide for students who will probably face uncertain futures and unclear global labour markets. We will certainly confront the situation whereby: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The value of a degree from a selective institution depends on its scarcity, good universities have little incentive to produce more graduates. And, in the absence of a clear measure of educational output, price becomes a proxy for quality. By charging more, good universities gain both revenue and prestige. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The expansion of higher education does not necessarily lead to upward social mobility. Yet, it has changed the social and economic role of higher education in the lives of graduates, especially when they begin to cast doubt on the economic return of heavy investment in higher education. </p>
<p>The cruel reality confronting many university graduates is intensified competition, and little choice but to face an “opportunity trap” that has created increasing social congestion for decent jobs.</p>
<p>An over-supply of university graduates carrying high expectations for career development and upward social mobility could create serious social and political pressure – particularly if they keep confronting a mismatch between their expectations and the cruel reality of the global labour market.</p>
<p>We may witness an increase of unhappy young people, which will require East Asian governments to address the widening gap between the changing economic structures and the massive, and growing, supply of qualified graduates.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54680/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joshua Mok Ka-ho is affiliated with the Centre for Global Higher Education at the UCL Institute of Education. He has received funding from the APEC HK Study Centre. </span></em></p>An oversupply of graduates is putting pressure on the social contract in East Asia.Joshua Mok Ka-ho, Vice President and Chair Professor of Comparative Policy, Lingnan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/511572015-12-16T12:50:13Z2015-12-16T12:50:13ZFunneling funds to elite universities won’t guarantee world ranking success<p>Asian universities occupied the top six spots in the latest ranking of the <a href="http://www.topuniversities.com/top-50-under-50">top 50 universities</a> under 50-years-old. As in previous years, Asia made a particularly strong showing on the list, published by QS World University Rankings, with 16 of the region’s universities making the cut.</p>
<p>Two thirds of institutions in the ranking are from non English-speaking countries. This contrasts sharply with general overall world university league tables, which <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2016/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25">tend to be dominated</a> by English-speaking universities – particularly those from the US. In the QS top 50 under 50 list there are no institutions from the US, just one from Canada and eight from Australia. Five are from the UK: the universities of Bath, Loughborough, Heriot-Watt, Brunel and Aston.</p>
<p>The impressive performance of young Asian universities on the list could be used to back up claims that Asian institutions are <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-34390466">“snapping at our heels”</a> – a claim regularly made by the Russell Group of elite UK universities in response to the publication of university rankings. The <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-boosts-standing-but-asian-countries-snap-at-our-heels/408580.article">Russell Group has argued</a> that Asian countries are investing in their “top” institutions, and pushes for the UK to do the same to fend off a supposed challenge. </p>
<p>But would concentrating funding on a top tier of “world-class” universities boost the UK’s performance in the world university rankings?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/sass/research/AcceptedManuscriptMatthewDavidFabricatingWorldClassBJSE.pdf">New analysis</a> that one of us has published in the British Journal of Sociology of Education (BJSE) of overall university rankings (not just those under 50-years-old) reveals that there has been no significant improvement in the performance of Asian universities. Indeed, historical analysis of world university rankings up until 2011 shows there has been no large-scale evidence for an Asian ascent, as the graph below shows. </p>
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<p>Looking at the data another way, by “reverse scoring” the results so that the first-placed university gets 200 points and the 200th placed gets one point, doesn’t change this for the most part. But this kind of analysis does show a modest statistically significant increase in performance for Asian universities. This is wholly explained by the performance of one country – South Korea, whose results now parallel Scotland’s. With South Korean students paying different amounts of private fees for their education and Scottish students studying in Scotland eligible for free tuition, no policy implications can readily be drawn. </p>
<p>So Asian universities’ consistently good performance in the of rankings of universities under 50-years-old is not down to an overall “Asian ascent”. Rather, the absence of an “old elite” in many of these countries may be more significant in explaining the success of newer institutions.</p>
<h2>In search of international excellence</h2>
<p>In the UK, the Russell Group positions its member institutions as the <a href="http://www.russellgroup.ac.uk/policy/publications/jewels-in-the-crown-the-importance-and-characteristics-of-the-uk-s-world-class-universities/">“jewels in the crown”</a> of the UK higher education sector. It <a href="http://www.russellgroup.ac.uk/policy/publications/jewels-in-the-crown-the-importance-and-characteristics-of-the-uk-s-world-class-universities/">argues</a> that government policy: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Should support and concentrate funding significantly on centres of international excellence and allow for greater diversity within the higher education sector … [to] help ensure the UK continues to enjoy the international recognition it rightly deserves for the quality of its educational provision and cutting-edge research.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/sass/research/AcceptedManuscriptMatthewDavidFabricatingWorldClassBJSE.pdf">The BJSE analysis</a>, which also looked at all UK media coverage of the world university league tables between 2002 and 2012, shows that the Russell Group has argued that global league tables of universities prove that concentrating resources at the top, such as is the case in the US, produces the best results.</p>
<p>Yet <a href="https://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/sass/research/AcceptedManuscriptMatthewDavidFabricatingWorldClassBJSE.pdf">the BJSE analysis</a> of all non-age restricted world university league table data since they first began shows that, once language is controlled for, the success of universities in English-speaking countries in global rankings correlates almost exactly with their population size. In other words, the US dominates the top 200 world university league tables not because its best institutions are much more generously funded but because it is a bigger country and they teach in the academic <em>lingua franca</em> of English. This is the case from the US all the way down to New Zealand. </p>
<p>Under such an analysis, a country such as South Korea isn’t any more successful than you’d expect, given its relative wealth. That its universities now parallel Scotland’s in university rankings – a country ten times smaller in population – may be evidence of the effect of speaking English.</p>
<p>Results for the under fifties show that English-speaking countries with more old universities (the US and UK) have fewer high-ranking new universities than their size would otherwise predict, in comparison to smaller countries with fewer older universities such as Australia and Hong Kong. </p>
<p>There are two possible interpretations for this. First, where high quality universities already exist, talent and resources will naturally remain, gravitate to and develop in those institutions rather than in less-established institutions. Second, the existence of dominant elite universities may act to harm newer entrants by squeezing resources unfairly away from them. </p>
<h2>An elite tier</h2>
<p>But can the Russell Group be said to constitute a distinctive elite tier of universities within the UK? <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03054985.2015.1082905">Previous analysis</a> of the research activity, teaching quality, economic resources, academic selectivity and socioeconomic student mix of 127 UK universities suggests that there are <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03054985.2015.1082905">four distinctive clusters</a> of universities in the UK.</p>
<p>The top cluster was not in fact the 24 Russell Group universities, but just two of its member institutions – the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. The other 22 Russell Group universities were found to occupy a <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/comment/laurie-taylor-26-november-2015">second distinctive cluster</a>, which also included most other old, non-Russell Group institutions. The third and fourth clusters identified were comprised predominantly of new universities created since a change in the law in 1992. This raises doubts as to whether the Russell Group really are the UK’s “jewels in the crown”. </p>
<p>The Russell Group has argued that the key to success in world university rankings is a concentration of research funding at the top and the <a href="http://russellgroup.ac.uk/news/summer-budget-2015/">ability to increase fees</a>, and that pursuing such “success” is necessary for fear of Asian ascent. Neither claim is proven by ranking data itself, and it is just as possible to conclude from such data that exactly the opposite might be the case.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/51157/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vikki Boliver has received research funding from the British Academy, ESRC and Scottish Funding Council. She published the research mentioned here on clusters of universities in the Oxford Review of Education. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew David published the research on world university rankings mentioned here accepted for publication in the British Journal of Sociology of Education. </span></em></p>New analysis shows the secret to success in world university rankings isn’t all about money.Vikki Boliver, Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy, School of Applied Social Sciences, Durham UniversityMatthew David, Senior Lecturer in Sociology in the School of Applied Social Sciences, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/420142015-05-20T10:36:25Z2015-05-20T10:36:25ZSouth Korean universities remain challenging places for foreign students and faculty<p>Spurred on by a globalisation of higher education, <a href="http://www.iie.org/%7E/media/Files/Services/ProjectAtlas/Website%202014/Project-Atlas-Trends-and-Global-Data-2014.ashx?la=en">over 4.5m students</a> from around the world studied abroad in 2012, more than double the number of students a decade earlier. While the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France and Germany remain the major destination countries, hosting more than 50% of foreign students worldwide, many countries which traditionally sent students abroad have started receiving them in recent decades – especially in Asia.</p>
<p>South Korea follows this general pattern: it is third place in Asia after China and India in the number of students it sends abroad to study. But at the same time, the <a href="http://kess.kedi.re.kr/eng/publ/view?survSeq=2014&publSeq=4&menuSeq=3645&itemCode=02&language=en">number of foreign students</a> in Korean universities reached 84,891 in 2014, most of them from China and less developed parts of Asia, especially Vietnam and Mongolia. The number of foreign faculty teaching in Korean universities has also increased from 1,373 (2.4%) in 2000 to 6,034 (6.8%) in 2014. Although the figures are still relatively low compared to the percentages in Europe and North America, they bring a potentially significant force of change to Korean society, which has 97% ethnic homogeneity.</p>
<p>The growing movement of students and faculty across societies naturally creates more culturally diverse campuses. In the US and Europe, such changes have led to significant efforts to create a culture of respect for diversity and inclusion, albeit with much regional and country-level variation in situations and strategies. Despite its critics, Europe has <a href="http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/highereducation/News/Intercultural%20dialogue_EN.pdf">consistently articulated</a> the value of “interculturality”, “diversity” and respect for cultural differences in debates about higher education.</p>
<h2>Diversity, just for show</h2>
<p>However, this is not the case with Korea and most other Asian nations. One major reason is that Korean universities primarily attract foreign students as a means to clear ends. The universities want them to come to enhance university prestige or create “education hubs” and improving international higher education rankings. They can also help to fill the gap in a declining domestic college student population: the number of high school graduates is expected to fall short of the college entrance quota from 2018. As a result, Korean campuses have become much more diverse. However, appreciation of the intrinsic educational value of a culturally diverse student and faculty body has not been embraced by university leadership.</p>
<p><a href="http://aparc.fsi.stanford.edu/research/diversity_and_tolerance_in_korea_and_asia">Our new study</a> on diversity in South Korean higher education shows a noticeable disjuncture between different aspects of diversity in the university environment. Korean universities may have accepted more students of varying racial and ethnic backgrounds, but the curriculum offers limited opportunities for students to think more deeply about assumptions concerning race, ethnicity and other individual or group differences. Courses focusing on racial and ethnic groups in Korea are conspicuously absent and those few addressing cultural differences focus on international (not internal) diversity, suggesting that diversity is viewed as something “out there” in the world that is still very unfamiliar and perhaps undesirable.</p>
<p>At the interpersonal level, both Korean and foreign students report very low levels of cross-cultural interaction. Foreign students often report experiencing cultural chauvinism and ethnocentrism in their encounters with Korean students. A female student from Iran studying at a top Korean university, for instance, said in an interview with us that: “my Korean acquaintances are not interested in getting to know other cultures. They seem to like to live among themselves in their own ways.” There is also a perception that foreign students gain easier admission to Korean universities than Korean students and often attend university on generous scholarships from the Korean government. As one Korean student put it: “We have to work really hard to get in, but international students can get in easy. It’s not fair.” </p>
<p>Foreign faculty, too, rather than being valued as full, contributing members of their academic communities, are often perceived as temporary skilled labour. Korean universities employ them largely to help boost their global credentials: the numbers of foreign faculty, their ability to publish in international journals and teach courses in English all help to raise domestic and international university rankings. There is also a tendency among Koreans to perceive foreign faculty as “second-tier” scholars who were unable to secure employment in their countries of origin. “I don’t feel valued here,” said one foreigner, explaining his reasons for choosing to leave his tenure-track position at a prestigious Korean university. </p>
<h2>Exclusive culture remains</h2>
<p>The Korean government and universities have worked closely together to promote structural diversity in university admissions, but core Korean values of <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Ethnic_nationalism_in_Korea.html?id=nNc2AzJmwPoC&hl=en">ethnic nationalism</a> remain firmly entrenched at the educational and interpersonal levels. At best, universities assist foreign students and attend to their adjustment needs but neglect to foster a tolerant, inclusive university culture where foreigners are considered full, valued members of Korean universities and society. Such an exclusive culture impedes Korean universities’ aspirations to become global.</p>
<p><a href="http://vserver1.cscs.lsa.umich.edu/%7Espage/thedifference.html">Much research</a> demonstrates the positive effects of diversity on various academic and social outcomes such as the ability to form wider friendship networks, increased cultural awareness, acquiring global citizenship skills, improving the campus climate and innovation. Universities are ideal settings for students from different backgrounds to meet, generate new ideas and interact with one another at an early stage in their lives. It is no accident that many of the innovative ideas associated with Microsoft, Yahoo, Google and Facebook were all born on American university campuses, where diversity is embraced. Facilitating diversity and recognising its long-term effects for <a href="http://aparc.fsi.stanford.edu/news/can-asia-emulate-silicon-valley">innovation</a> and development should be a major goal of higher education in Korea.</p>
<p>Korean universities often proclaim that their mission is to become “global” but they should first realise that this requires more than simply recruiting foreigners and offering more courses in English. What is most urgent is to produce “global citizens” through the creation of a campus environment and culture that appreciates and respects diversity. The educational value of such an approach is even more important for a society like Korea that has been built on pride in ethnic nationalism.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42014/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>On a mission to become global higher education players, Korean universities still fall short on diversity.Gi-Wook Shin, Director of the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford UniversityRennie Moon, Assistant Professor of Research Method , Yonsei UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.