The interrelations among domestic and international geopolitical contexts affecting university policies

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

As we prepare our proposal, the world is inundated with news of the extensive earthquake and tsunami that just affected thousands of Indonesians. Echoes of the 2004 earthquake and tsunami, in another province of Indonesia, cannot eclipse our memories and how university research and scholarship can be translated into addressing natural disasters. Yet some crisis are human made such as the violent actions of rogue groups, refusal to permit certain demographic immigrants into nations (while allowing others from the same nations to enter), and the presence of government policies that do not enable citizens to participate fully in educational venues.

Such illustrations and others were portrayed at the 2018 United Nations General Assembly wherein global and international matters were, obviously, at the forefront. Discussions incorporated the 2030 sustainable goals (that encompass education), migration, and terrorism. In addition, there are continuous media coverages in the Western world about the impact of Chinese economic and political influences in various parts of both developed and developing nations (National Public Radio, October 9, 2018). A central feature that meshes such illustrations are what roles may universities exert in light of national and state educational policies and defacto and dejure policies that emerge from larger geopolitical contexts.

Hence our panel proposal concentrates on examples from three distinct, yet interrelated geographical topics. A first paper focuses on issues of widening educational participation in view of current and emerging policies within Brazil, Great Britain, and the United States. A second paper examines the influence of Confucius Institutes that promote Chinese language and culture by establishing such sites in a range of American universities. Various university executives and public officials have contended Confucius Institutes are subtle policies to expand Chinese economic and technological influence beyond its borders. The third presentation focuses on geopolitical and national policies that affect women’s university leadership in countries in the midst (of) or undergoing conflict, post-conflict, or transitional from macro and intermediate level circumstances.

The three papers explicate the necessity of applied policy research wherein the results may be unknown for years or even decades, while continued conceptual policy frameworks are being refined. Our working framework asserts that policies encompass plans of action to accomplish organizational goals that emerge from political, social, and economic or fiscal realities. Within educational institutions, policies are often overall procedures or methods designed for program implementation in light of both macro-level and micro-level conditions grounded in the social and cultural milieu of time and place (Mario and Lindsay, 2011). In emerging countries, policies often evolve from national ministries such as Minister of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, or Ministry of Defence/Defense (Altbach, 2010; Altbach, 2007; ASEAN, 2017; Lindsay, Kofie, Mbpera, 2017).

During the current time and in the future such questions will be explored such as:
• How are policies defined or envisioned?
• What university or external factors lead/led to the formation of new policies in the regions we examine?
• Who is or will be in leadership cadres involved in policy development?

In examining such illustrative questions, our papers are based upon a blend of research methods to include content analysis of public documents, participant observations, focus groups, and interviews.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chair

• Frank Fernandez, University of Houston

Individual Presentations

• Widening postsecondary participation in the era of nationalism: A comparative policy analysis of Brazil, Great Britain, and the United States. - Lorenzo Baber, Iowa State University

• Edging past the competition: China’s Stealth Plan to gain Soft Power through Confucius Institutes, Chinese and American University Partnerships - Shaneeka Favors-Welch, Georgia State University

• Geopolitical and National Policies Affecting Women University Leadership: Illustrations from Conflict, Post-Conflict, and Transitional Societies - Beverly Lindsay, University of California

Discussant

• Hugo Garcia, Texas Tech University