No description available.

Thesis--University of California, Los Angeles. / Bibliography: p. 144-172.

Thesis--University of California, Los Angeles. / Bibliography: p. 144-172.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This study examines the perceived value of higher education by mainland Chinese students enrolled in self-funded taught postgraduate courses (STPCs) at a prestigious university in Hong Kong. Using a quantitative research approach, this study adapts the questionnaire from Lai et al.’s (2012) research and analyses the resulting 269 responses. The findings indicate that career prospects, parental influences and social interaction on campus are strong drivers of value in a self-funded taught postgraduate education setting. In addition, when comparing value judgments on demographic and social variables, the results show that students across all disciplines believe that the image projected by the host university adds value to their STPC degrees. The results also indicate that students from the faculties of Business & Economics and Engineering exhibit high satisfaction regarding the functional value associated with the career prospects brought by their degree; however, students from the faculty of Education are most concerned with the value their degree may bring with regard to vocational opportunities and future earnings. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Based on the history of Chinese higher education and a historical comparative study, the research has drawn the outline of China’s higher education reform throughout its development while discovering a relatively weak historical continuity through the comparison between the two reforms at Peking University, namely the historic reform initiated by renowned educator Cai Yuanpei during 1917-1927 and the contemporary case of Yuanpei College. Guided by the question ‘Is Yuanpei College a legacy of Cai Yuanpei?’, the study examined both cases from different angles such as reform objectives, theoretical foundation, principles and the main strategies applied. Major factors that contributed to the success and constraints in both reforms are revealed and, at the end of the comparison, a conclusion was made that Yuanpei College, though named after the university’s former President Cai, is not a direct legacy of Cai Yuanpei due to various reasons related to history and the environment of reform. A set of suggestions are given by the research to deal with the problems that China has encountered during its reforms in areas such as the educational-societal relation, the stress on core values, the indigenization of international experiences and the crucial role of traditional Chinese culture in forming the Chinese model of a university that has a great potential to make unique contributions to the world. To succeed in higher education reforms, core values and a long-term vision is required from the policy makers. Finally, the research stressed on the significance of adopting a historical and cultural perspective when China determines her future directions in higher education reforms. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Abstract not available

published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Driven by higher education quality assurance and accountability in recent decades, higher education evaluations have attracted momentous publics' attention. Internal evaluation and external evaluation varied with different emphases as well as distinct functions. However, external evaluation brought pressures and burdens to universities by focusing on outcomes and excessively intervening internal one. The overall aim of this study is to give suggestions which help improve the higher education evaluation system in Hong Kong. This qualitative case-study explored evaluation purposes and evaluation impacts in The University of Hong Kong. Eleven interviews with academic staff were conducted to answer the research question "what are academic staff's opinions on how and why conducting internal and external evaluation?" Findings indicate the both internal and external are necessary because of the positive impacts on academic staff's development. This study also confirms the differences between internal and external evaluation in terms of the purpose and emphasis. To support the emergence of eminent evaluation, evaluator should provide clear purpose and mission statements as well as determine appropriate method and instrument. According to the data, evaluators need pay attention to data interpretation, fairness insurance, and stimulating motivation. Moreover, the value of improvement should be highlighted in evaluation practice and evaluation culture. This study also identifies areas for further research such as the comparison between Hong Kong and other higher education evaluation systems. / published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education