Breaking the Cycle: A Comparative Cross-National Analysis of Legitimacy-Building Strategies of Private Universities

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: The Policies and Structures of Higher Education (Table 13)

Abstract

Even with rapid growth of private higher education (HE), this sector has struggled to establish legitimacy in the eyes of the public, and the government with many students still preferring public HE. We were interested in understanding the barriers encountered by private universities in building their legitimacy in the national HE system and how they navigated these barriers to establish legitimacy. To investigate this topic, we carried out a comparative analysis of the factors influencing the legitimacy of private universities in three diverse country contexts: Canada, China, and the United Arab Emirates. Findings reveal three important mechanisms: financial support, policy support, and international support that help private universities circumvent legitimacy barriers.

Authors

• Shangcao Yuan, University of Toronto - OISE

• Alison D'Cruz, University of Toronto - OISE

• Elizabeth Summer Buckner, University of Toronto