Linkages between research, scholarship and teaching in universities in China



Richard Neale

LINKAGES BETWEEN RESEARCH,
SCHOLARSHIP AND TEACHING

IN UNIVERSITIES IN CHINA

Richard Neale

University of Glamorgan

Abstract

LINKAGES between research, scholarship and teaching are a topic of contemporary interest in UK universities,
driven by pressures such as traditional views of the nature and purpose of universities, reputation, student expec-
tations of their teachers, educational enhancement through up-to-date research and scholarly input, and personal
ambitions and satisfaction. The paper describes a study of these linkages at the Beijing Institute of Technology (B
IT)
during 2006 within the Sino-UK Higher Education Leadership Development Programme, which allows for senior
academics from China and the UK to study a particular management issue to identify good practice which they can
apply in their institution. The activities included a preliminary workshop in the UK, a two-week visit to B
IT in and
a workshop in Beijing. My study was conducted through a semi-structured interview programme with a wide range
of academics and administrators. It was enlightening to find that a leading Chinese university, which operates within
quite different systems and cultures from the UK, nevertheless has similar issues, imperatives and problems. My over-
all conclusion is that there is international agreement that research and scholarly performance underpins the
credibility of academic staff to teach at a university, which in turn attracts good students and research staff.

Key words: China, nexus, research, scholarship, teaching, universities

Introduction

Linkages between research, scholarship and teaching for a
topic of contemporary interest in UK universities, driven by a
wide range of external and internal pressures, which princi-
pally include:

Tradition. A historically-based perception that universi-
ties are communities of leading scholars who also teach
at the highest intellectual level.

‘Branding’. This is a term that has penetrated higher
education management in the UK, perhaps superseding
the more traditional terms ‘reputation’ and ‘prestige’.
Research and scholarship have always been two of the
most prestigious measures of a university’s brand.

Student expectations. Both university applicants and
students increasingly expect their teachers to show evi-
dence that they are scholars and that their scholarship is
recognised by their peers. There is an international
expectation that university lecturers are actively engaged
in developing their subjects as well as teaching and
examining them. This is especially the case with interna-
tional applicants who, from distant places, seek some
readily available evidence of the academic credibility of
the people who are offering to teach them.

Enhancement of teaching and learning. There is a
widely accepted notion that the content of a university
course should be informed by the research and scholarly
activities of its teachers. Academics who have their work
accepted by their peers after public scrutiny are deemed
to be up to date and to have a deep and meaningful
grasp of their subjects.

Academic careers and personal satisfaction. This
manifests itself most commonly in promotion and
recruitment processes, but the personal satisfaction and
individual prestige that an academic derives from

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education

Volume 1 Number 1 74



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